[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 180 (Friday, September 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63804-63805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22377]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[MMAA104000]
Use of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Sand Resources for the
Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) Comprehensive Barrier
Island Restoration in Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties,
Mississippi
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Record of Decision (ROD).
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SUMMARY: BOEM is announcing the availability of the ROD that documents
BOEM's decision to authorize the use of OCS sand resources by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District in the MsCIP
Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration Project (Project) in Hancock,
Harrison, and Jackson Counties, Mississippi. The ROD is available at
BOEM's Web site at http://www.boem.gov/Non-Energy-Minerals/Marine-Minerals-Program.aspx. BOEM will enter into a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) with the USACE and make available OCS sand for use in the MsCIP
Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration Project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terri L. Thomas, Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico Region, Regional Supervisor, Office
of Environment, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70123, (504)
736-2963, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2009, the USACE Mobile District developed
the MsCIP Comprehensive Plan (Plan) and Integrated Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (2009 PEIS) to support the long-term
recovery of Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties, Mississippi from
the severe erosion and storm damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and
other storm events. The Plan includes a long-term strategy to make the
Mississippi coast more resilient to damage from future storms and to
compensate for historical navigational dredging and disposal activities
that altered sediment availability and sediment transport along the
barrier islands. The environmental impacts associated with the dredging
of offshore sand resources and the placement of sand along East and
West Ship Islands, and Cat Island located in Hancock, Harrison, and
Jackson Counties, Mississippi, were evaluated in the MsCIP
Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration, Hancock, Harrison, and
Jackson Counties, Mississippi, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (2016 SEIS), which tiers directly from the 2009 PEIS. The
USACE's Mobile District served as the lead agency during the
preparation of the 2009 PEIS and 2016 SEIS. BOEM served as a
cooperating agency given its jurisdiction over OCS sand resources that
were being considered for use in the Project. The borrow option
selected by USACE and evaluated in the 2016 SEIS to implement the Plan
includes 10 OCS locations with a total volume of 19.6 million cubic
yards (MCY) of OCS sand. The USACE signed its own ROD in June 2016 and
requested BOEM to authorize use of OCS sand.
BOEM and the USACE will enter into an MOA authorizing the use of up
to 19.6 MCY of OCS sand from the identified OCS borrow areas. Under the
OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(k)(2)), BOEM can convey, on a
noncompetitive basis, the rights to use OCS sand, gravel, or shell
resources for use in a program for shore protection, beach restoration,
or coastal wetland restoration undertaken by a Federal, state, or local
government agency (43 U.S.C. 1337(k)(2)).
As a cooperating agency, BOEM has independently reviewed and
adopted the comprehensive analysis presented in the USACE's 2009 PEIS
and 2016 SEIS (43 CFR 46.120). The 2009 PEIS and 2016 SEIS assessed the
physical, biological, and social/human impacts of
[[Page 63805]]
the proposed project and considered a range of alternatives, including
a no-action alternative. The ROD discloses BOEM's decision, articulates
the basis for the decision, summarizes the alternatives considered by
BOEM, and identifies the environmentally preferable alternative and the
mitigation measures BOEM is adopting. The USACE is committed to
implementing the mitigation measures and monitoring requirements deemed
practicable to avoid or minimize environmental harm. The mitigation
measures and monitoring requirements are identified in BOEM's ROD and
will be incorporated into the MOA between BOEM and the USACE. The
Project will be constructed with the understanding that any proposed
use of OCS sand in future coastal restoration activities will require
an updated environmental analysis and new negotiated agreement.
Authority: This Notice of Availability is published pursuant to
the regulations (40 CFR 1506.6) implementing the provisions of the
NEPA of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Dated: September 12, 2015.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-22377 Filed 9-15-16; 8:45 am]
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