[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48764-48765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17686]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the
Western Everglades Restoration Project, Hendry, Broward, Collier
Counties, Florida
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(Corps) is beginning preparation of a National Environmental Policy Act
assessment for the Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP). The
Everglades ecosystem, including Lake Okeechobee, encompasses a system
of diverse wetland landscapes that are hydrologically and ecologically
connected across more than 200 miles from north to south and across
18,000 square miles of southern Florida. In 2000, the U.S. Congress
authorized the Federal government, in partnership with the State of
Florida, to embark upon a multi-decade, multi-billion dollar
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) to further protect and
restore the remaining Everglades ecosystem while providing for other
water-related needs of the region. CERP involves modification of the
existing network of drainage canals and levees that make up the Central
and Southern Florida Flood Control Project. One of the next steps for
implementation of CERP is to identify opportunities within the
tributary areas of Water Conservation Area (WCA) 3A to restore natural
areas within the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation and adjacent
portions of Big Cypress National Preserve (BCNP) and the Miccosukee
Indian Reservation. Encompassing approximately 440,000 acres located
primarily in eastern Hendry County, WCA 3A tributary areas include the
C-139, Feeder Canal and L-28 Gap Basins as well as the C-139 Annex and
L-28 Interceptor. These areas are collectively called the Western
Basins as they are located along the western edge of the Everglades and
were historic flow ways. Both water supply and water quality of storm
water runoff are challenges facing the Western Basins.
ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Planning and Policy Division,
Environmental Branch, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Nasuti at 904-232-1368 or
email at [email protected]. Additional information is
also available at http://bit.ly/WesternEverglades.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
a. Since 2000, much progress has been made. Construction has begun
on the first generation of CERP project modifications already
authorized by Congress. These include the Picayune Strand Restoration,
the Indian River Lagoon South and Site 1 Impoundment Projects.
Congressional authorization has been received for the second generation
of CERP projects, including Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands--Phase 1, the
Broward County Water Preserve Areas, the Caloosahatchee River (C-43)
West Basin Storage Reservoir, and the C-111 Spreader Canal Western
Project which are already under construction or are operational, and
the Broward County Water Preserve Areas which is currently being
designed. The Central Everglades Planning Project is currently awaiting
congressional authorization. All of these CERP projects contribute
significant ecological benefits to the system and the specific regional
habitats in which they are located. The original CERP Project
identified to restore and reconnect the western Everglades ecosystem
was called the Big Cypress/L-28 Interceptor Modification. The purpose
of this project, as defined within the CERP, is to reestablish sheet
flow from the West Feeder Canal across the Big Cypress Seminole Indian
Reservation and into BCNP, maintain flood protection on Seminole Tribal
lands, and ensure that inflows to the North and West Feeder Canals meet
applicable water quality standards. Project features considered under
CERP include modification of levees and canals, water control
structures, pumps, and stormwater treatment areas with a total storage
capacity of 7,600 acre-feet located within and adjacent to the
Miccosukee and Seminole Indian Reservations in Collier and Hendry
Counties. This CERP component will serve as the starting point for the
WERP and will be refined through the planning process.
b. The objectives of the WERP are to improve the quality, quantity,
timing and distribution of water needed to restore and reconnect the
western Everglades ecosystem.
c. A scoping letter will be used to invite comments from Federal,
State, and local agencies, affected Indian tribes, and other interested
private organizations and individuals.
d. A scoping meeting will be held August 16th, 2016 from 6:30 to
9:00 p.m. at the John Boy Auditorium, 1200 South W.C. Owen Avenue,
Clewiston, Florida 33440.
e. All alternative plans will be reviewed under provisions of
appropriate laws and regulations, including the Endangered Species Act,
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Clean Water Act, and Farmland
Protection Policy Act.
f. The Draft Environmental Impact Assessment is expected to be
available for public review in late 2017.
[[Page 48765]]
Dated: July 12, 2016.
Eric P. Summa,
Chief, Planning and Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 2016-17686 Filed 7-25-16; 8:45 am]
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