[Federal Register: March 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 52)]
[Notices]
[Page 12646]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17mr04-58]
[[Page 12646]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Yuba River Basin Project,
Yuba County, CA
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Sacramento District, is preparing a
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact
Report (SEIS/EIR) to evaluate modifications to the previously
authorized plan to reduce flood damages in the lower Yuba River Basin,
part of the Feather River Basin, and the city of Marysville in Yuba
County, California. The modifications are needed to resolve previously
unknown levee foundation problems in portions of the authorized
project, thereby ensuring the level of flood protection previously
planned. The basic study authority for the Yuba River Basin study was
provided under the Flood Control Act of 1962.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning this study
to Ms. Kim Stevens, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District,
Attn: Planning Division (CESPK-PD-R), 1325 J Street, Sacramento,
California 95814. Requests to be placed on the mailing list should also
be sent to this address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kim Stevens, E-mail at
Kim.L.Stevens@usace.army.mil, telephone (916) 557-7332, or fax (916)
557-7856.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Public Involvement: The Yuba River Basin project will be
coordinated between Federal, State, and local governments; local
stakeholders; special interest groups; and any other interested
individuals and organizations. The Corps will announce availability of
the draft supplemental document in the Federal Register and other
media, and will provide the public, organizations, and agencies with an
opportunity to submit comments, which will be addressed in the Final
SEIS/EIR. A 45-day public review period will be provided for
individuals and agencies to review and comment on the SEIS/EIR. All
interested parties should respond to this notice and provide a current
address if they wish to be notified of the SEIS/EIR circulation.
2. Project Information: The Yuba River Basin is located in western
Yuba County about 50 miles north of Sacramento. The project focuses on
approximately 21 miles of levees along the Yuba and Feather Rivers in
the vicinity of Marysville, California. The Yuba River Basin project
area is divided into three reaches: reach 1--Yuba River/Feather River;
reach 2--Feather River; and reach 3--Marysville ring levee.
The Feasibility Report and Final EIS/EIR were completed in April
1998. Congress authorized the project in the Water Resources
Development Act of 1999, and the Record of Decision was signed in June
2000. The authorized project included specific levee modifications on
6.1 miles of the left bank of the Yuba River upstream of the confluence
with the Feather River; 10 miles of levee on the left bank of the
Feather River downstream of the confluence of the Yuba River; and 5
miles of the Marysville ring levee. The levee modification work as
authorized was intended to bring the level of protection for these
levees up to about a 200-year level of protection.
Since the final Yuba River Basin project was authorized,
geotechnical investigations and new hydrology have identified
previously unknown levee foundation problems in portions of the
specifically authorized project. Because flooding is still a
significant problem for the affected communities along the Yuba and
Feather Rivers, the State of California Reclamation Board has requested
that the Corps initiate a reevaluation of the project.
3. Proposed Action: The proposed action would be limited to a
reevaluation of the elements of the authorized project and the design
changes required to provide the level of protection previously planned.
4. Alternatives: Potential alternatives to reduce flood damages
include: (1) No Action, (2) Authorized Project, and (3) Proposed
Project. Under the Authorized Project, no modifications would be made
to the features of alternative 3 as described in the 1998 Feasibility
Report and Final EIS/EIR. Under the Proposed Project, several
modifications would be made to the Authorized Project, including deeper
slurry walls, deleting some berms, installing some new slurry walls,
increasing some berm widths, adding impervious fill and drain blankets
to the levees, relocating slurry walls from the levee toe to crown, and
reshaping some levees.
Dated: February 24, 2004.
Michael J. Conrad, Jr.,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 04-5970 Filed 3-16-04; 8:45 am]