[Federal Register: November 29, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 228)]
[Notices]
[Page 71477-71478]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29no05-40]
[[Page 71477]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
Potential Multipurpose Projects for Ecosystem Restoration, Flood Damage
Reduction, and Recreation Development Within and Along the West and Elm
Forks and Main Stem of the Trinity River in Dallas, Dallas County, TX
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The study is being conducted in response to the authority
contained in the following United States Senate Committee on
Environment and Public Works Resolution dated April 22, 1988, as quoted
below:
Resolved by the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
United States Senate, that the Board of Engineers for Rivers and
Harbors is hereby requested to review the report of the Chief of
Engineers on the Trinity River and Tributaries, Texas, House
Document No. 276, Eighty-Ninth Congress, and other pertinent
reports, with a view to determining the advisability of modifying
the recommendations contained therein, with particular reference to
providing improvements in the interest of flood protection,
environmental enhancement, water quality, recreation, and other
allied purposes in the Upper Trinity River Basin with specific
attention on the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
An initial assessment based on the resolution guidance indicates a
Federal interest in continuing with more detailed studies for these
purposes. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared to
evaluate and compare ecosystem restoration, flood damage reduction, and
recreation alternatives within and along the Trinity River in, within
and adjacent to the existing Dallas Floodway area of Dallas, TX. The
DEIS will also assess the impacts to the quality of the human
environment associated with each alternative. The study area will be
bound on the upstream by Loop 12 crossings of the West and Elm Forks
and at the downstream end by the existing terminus of the Dallas
Floodway approximated by the abandoned Santa Fe railroad on the Trinity
River. The construction and implementation of Joe Pool Lake, Grapevine
Lake, Lake Lewisville and the Dallas Floodway project along with
urbanization and development activities, have significantly degraded
the terrestrial and aquatic habitat along and within the Trinity River.
Consequently, ecosystem restoration measures will be developed and
evaluated to address the degraded habitats. In addition, recreation
measures will be developed and evaluated as complements to proposed
ecosystem restoration measures. Preliminary findings indicate that due
to major changes in runoff attributable to upstream development, the
originally authorized flood damage reduction benefits have diminished
within the study area and therefore opportunities to restore those
Floodway benefits and explore options for improving flood damage
reduction benefits within the interior drainages in the study area
should be investigated. Flood damage reduction measures will address
the loss of the authorized level of flood protection for the area.
DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held on December 13, 2005 at 7
p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Nash-Davis Recreation Center
Activity Room, 3710 North Hampton Road, Dallas, TX 75212.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions pertaining to the proposed
action and DEIS can be answered by: Mr. Gene T. Rice, CESWF-PM-C, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, P.O. Box 17300, Fort
Worth, TX 76102-0300, (817) 886-1734.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The original Dallas Floodway levees and
interior drainage improvements were completed between 1928 and 1931 by
the City of Dallas and Dallas County Levee Improvement District. The
Trinity River was rerouted by constructing a channel within the leveed
floodway. The original channel was either filled or used for sump
storage.
In the mid-1940's, major floods, compounded with continued
urbanization in the watershed draining into the Floodway system
resulted in severe flooding. The Dallas Floodway was authorized by
River and Harbor Acts of March 2, 1945 and May 17, 1950. The project,
which was completed in April 1959, entailed the channel improvement,
clearing of the floodway, strengthening of levees, installation and
modification of drainage structures, construction of pressure sewers,
pump station and sump areas. The improvements provided conveyance of
the Standard Project Flood within the floodway plus 4 feet of
freeboard.
Alternatives for ecosystem restoration, flood damage reduction, and
recreation will be developed and evaluated based on ongoing fieldwork
and data collection and past studies conducted by the Corps of
Engineers, the City of Dallas, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Ecosystem restoration alternatives that will be evaluated include
creating meanders within the Trinity River, restoring, protecting and
expanding the riparian corridor, improving aquatic habitat, creating
riffle-pool complexes, and constructing wetlands. It is anticipated
that ecosystem restoration measures would aid in improving water
quality, optimizing aquatic and terrestrial habitat, and minimizing
erosion and scouring along and within the river. Alternatives for flood
damage reduction measures will be evaluated from both a non-structural
and structural aspect. Non-structural measures that will be evaluated
include acquisition and removal of structures or flood proofing of
structures for protection from potential future flood damage.
Structural measures that will be evaluated include levee height
modification by fill or addition of flood walls, changes in interior
drainage by enlarging storage areas or increasing widths and depths
and/or a combination of these measures. Recreation measures that will
be evaluated for include multipurpose trails and passive recreation
features, such as interpretive guidance and media and picnic areas.
Recreation measures will be developed to a scope and scale compatible
with proposed ecosystem restoration measures without significantly
diminishing ecosystem benefits.
A Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Upper
Trinity River Basin Feasibility study addressing the potential
cumulative effects of reasonably foreseeable projects, including the
Clear Fork West Fork studies was completed in June 2000. The DEIS will
be tiered to the PEIS.
The public will be invited to participate in the scoping process,
invited to attend public meetings, and given the opportunity to review
the DEIS. The first public scoping meeting will be on (see DATES &
ADDRESSES). Subsequent public meetings, if deemed necessary, will be
announced in the local news media. Release of the DEIS for public
comment is scheduled for March 2007. The exact release date, once
established, will be announced through mailings to known interested
individuals, agencies and officials and in the local news media.
Future coordination with other agencies and public scoping will be
conducted to ensure full and open participation and aid in the
development of the DEIS. All affected
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Federal, state, and local agencies, affected Indian tribes, and other
interested private organizations and parties are hereby invited to
participate. Future coordination will also be conducted with the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The USFWS will furnish
information on threatened and endangered species in accordance with the
Endangered Species Act. In addition, the USFWS will also be requested
to provide support with planning aid and to provide a Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act Report. The State Historic Preservation Office will be
consulted as required by Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
John C. Dvoracek,
Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Deputy District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E5-6642 Filed 11-28-05; 8:45 am]