[Federal Register: March 13, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 11337-11340]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr07-28]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Adoption of Alternative Arrangements Under the National
Environmental Policy Act for New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Damage
Reduction System
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Public notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mississippi Valley
Division, New Orleans District (CEMVN) is implementing Alternative
Arrangements under the provisions of the Council on Environmental
Quality Regulations for Implementing the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.11) in order to expeditiously complete
environmental analysis of major portions of a new 100-year level of
Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction effort authorized and funded by
the Administration and the Congress. The proposed actions are located
primarily in southern Louisiana and relate to the Federal effort to
rebuild the Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction system following
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The USACE consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ), as required under 40 CFR 1506.11 and the USACE Environmental
Quality Procedures for Implementing the NEPA (33 CFR 230), concluded on
February 23, 2007 with the CEQ approving the Alternative Arrangements.
The Alternative Arrangements request was also coordinated with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service,
Environmental Protection Agency, Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, Department of Homeland Security-Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries,
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality and the
[[Page 11338]]
Louisiana State Historic Preservation Officer.
During the consultation, the USACE and CEQ hosted four public
meetings in New Orleans metropolitan area to assess the request and
gather input on the proposed Alternative Arrangements. The input
received during the course of the discussions and meetings provided
strong support for Alternative Arrangements that allow for expedited
decisions on actions to lower the risk of floods and that restore
public confidence in the hurricane storm reduction system so that the
physical and economic recovery of the area can proceed as citizens
return and rebuild. It was also made clear that the Alternative
Arrangements should provide the USACE a way to proceed that complements
other ongoing and proposed hurricane protection and coastal restoration
efforts.
These Alternative Arrangements apply to certain proposed actions
included in the 100-year Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction measures
authorized under Public Law 109-234, Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane
Recovery, 2006 (4th Supplemental). The Alternative Arrangements will
allow decisions on smaller groups of proposed actions to move forward
sooner than under the traditional NEPA process. An in-depth analysis
and consideration of potential environmental impacts will be completed
and negative environmental impacts will be addressed. Detailed
information on the Alternative Arrangements can be downloaded from the
USACE New Orleans District Web site at: http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pd/Envir_Processes_NEPA/Index.htm
.
DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting dates.
ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting addresses.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the emergency
Alternative Arrangements should be addressed to Gib Owen at U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, PM-RS, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, LA 70160-0267,
phone (504) 862-1337, fax number (504) 862-2088 or by e-mail at
mvnenvironmentalpd@mvn02.usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Emergency Alternative Arrangement Process: In order to meet the
needs of the people of southern Louisiana in a timely manner that is
appropriate to the level of imminent threat, CEMVN will comply with the
NEPA by using the following emergency Alternative Arrangements.
1. CEMVN is placing this public notice of the NEPA Alternative
Arrangements in the Federal Register along with a description of the
proposed actions that will be analyzed in Individual Environmental
Reports (IERs) and a Comprehensive Environmental Document (CED).
2. Scoping Process: a. This Federal Register notice is initiating
the scoping process with a thirty-day public comment period for the
IERs described in this notice. CEMVN will also host a series of public
scoping meetings, followed by thirty-day comment periods, in the New
Orleans metropolitan area to gather public comments on the proposed
actions. Additional scoping meetings may be conducted in other locales
in the United States if deemed necessary.
b. Concurrent with this Federal Register notice, CEMVN is placing
public notices in broadcast media, local newspapers and a newspaper
with national distribution publicizing the dates and location of the
public scoping meetings, describing each proposed action that will be
analyzed in the IERs, and providing thirty days for written comments to
be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to a point of contact at CEMVN. The
information for each proposed action will also be mailed and e-mailed
to all interested stakeholders, including state and Federal resource
agencies. The Corps will make its best effort to reach the citizens of
New Orleans, including, to the extent feasible, persons who have
relocated to other areas. The comments received will be compiled and e-
mailed to appropriate Federal and state agencies for coordination.
c. CEMVN will establish and maintain a Web page that provides
details for each IER and other proposed actions being investigated or
projects that are being constructed in the area by the USACE. The Web
site will contain a description of the Alternative Arrangements CEMVN
is following to achieve NEPA compliance. Additionally, information or
links from other Federal and state agencies conducting operations in
the New Orleans area will be available on this Web site. This will
include, where available, links to proposed actions and ongoing
environmental analyses, and references and available links to
environmental analyses previously conducted in the area.
d. Interagency environmental teams are being established for each
IER. Federal and state agency, local governmental and tribal staff will
play an integral part in the project planning and alternative analysis.
Interagency teams will be integrated with USACE Project Delivery Teams
to assist in the planning of each proposed action and in the
description of the potential direct and indirect impacts of each
proposed action that will be used in the development of any needed
mitigation plans. Team members will be provided with new information
concerning the proposed action as quickly as possible in order to allow
for the expedient review and analysis of each proposed action. Teams
will rely heavily upon hydrologic models and the best engineering
judgment of CEMVN Engineering Division staff to develop appropriate
mitigation plans.
e. CEMVN will hold monthly meetings with agencies to communicate
overall developments and allow for agency feedback. All proposed work
would be closely coordinated with the ongoing Federal and state efforts
to design a coastal restoration and protection plan.
f. CEMVN will host monthly public meetings during the preparation
and completion of the IERs and CED included in these Alternative
Arrangements. The monthly meetings will keep the stakeholders advised
of IER and CED developments and provide the public opportunities to
comment during the meetings and to submit written comments after each
meeting for a 30-day period. Meetings will be advertised at least one
week prior to each meeting and meeting times and locations will be
selected to accommodate public availability.
3. CEMVN will actively involve the Federal and state agencies,
local governments, tribes, and the public in mitigation planning for
unavoidable impacts at the onset of the planning process. Quantitative
analysis of the acreages, by habitat type, determined to be potentially
impacted directly or indirectly by each reasonable alternative will be
prepared. Proposed actions to mitigate adverse environmental effects
and mitigation plans will be based upon existing methodologies utilized
for water resource planning and analyzed in one or more IERs that will
consider reasonable mitigation alternatives, including pooling
compensatory mitigation, consistent with proposed coastal restoration
initiatives. It is CEMVN's intent to implement compensatory mitigation
as early as possible in the process once unavoidable impacts are
determined. All mitigation activities will be consistent with standards
and policies established in the Clean Water Act Section 404 and the
appropriate USACE
[[Page 11339]]
policies and regulations governing this activity.
4. Prior to any decision to proceed with proposed actions, CEMVN
will complete an IER that documents the decision-making process
followed by the USACE, the preferred and all other reasonable
alternatives, the alternatives analyses that were performed, the direct
and indirect impacts of the proposed action, an initial description of
the cumulative impacts of the proposal, an initial mitigation plan, and
any interim decisions made by the USACE. Each IER will identify areas
where data was incomplete, unavailable, and areas of potential
controversy. Alternatives analysis will be based upon a geographic
segment of the area that is large enough to encompass any impacts
directly and indirectly attributable to the proposed action.
5. The IERs will be posted on the USACE CEMVN Alternative NEPA
Arrangement Web page for a 30-day public review and comment period. A
notice of availability will be mailed/e-mailed to interested parties
advising them of the availability of the IER for review in addition to
placing a notice in newspapers and other media selected to reach
residents of New Orleans including those who have relocated to other
areas. The IERs will also be made available during the monthly public
meetings.
6. Public meetings to discuss a specific IER will be held if
requested by the stakeholders involved in the review process. Upon
completion of the comment period, and after any meetings, an IER
addendum responding to comments received will be completed and
published for a 30-day public review period. Notice will be provided in
newspapers and other media, posted on the Web site, and a notice of
availability mailed/e-mailed to interested parties.
No sooner than 30 days after publication of the IER addendum, or an
IER in the event no comments or requests for meetings are received
during the public review and comment period, the District Commander
will issue a decision describing how USACE will proceed.
7. At a time when sufficient information is available from IERs
analyzing proposed actions in the New Orleans area, CEMVN will produce
a draft Comprehensive Environmental Document (CED). The CED will
incorporate the IERs by reference and address the work completed and
the work remaining to be completed on a systemwide scale and a final
mitigation plan. Updated information for any IER, or IER addendum, that
had incomplete or unavailable data at the time the District Commander
made a decision on how to proceed will be provided and the CED will
identify any new information associated with long term operations and
maintenance of the approved actions analyzed in the IERs. The CED will
include a discussion of how the individual IERs are integrated into a
systematic planning effort. A cumulative effects analysis will analyze
any indirect impacts due to altered hydrology or induced development
that resulted from the actions taken by the USACE and the relationship
of the proposed actions covered in the IERs with other proposed and
reasonably foreseeable proposals for hurricane protection measures
located within the Lake Pontchartrain and West Bank Hurricane Project
areas and proposed and reasonably foreseeable proposals for hurricane
protection and coastal restoration measures identified in the Louisiana
Coastal Protection and Restoration Study and the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority of Louisiana's Master Plan. An external
engineering peer review of the proposed levees and floodwalls work
analyzed in the IERs will be made available as soon as practicable and
no later than publication of the draft CED.
8. The draft CED will be posted on the USACE web page for a 60-day
public review period. A notice of availability will be posted on the
Web site and mailed/e-mailed to interested parties advising them of the
availability of the draft CED for review in addition to placing a
notice in newspapers and other media. Public meetings would be held
during the review period if requested by the stakeholders involved in
the process.
9. Upon completion of the 60-day review period, all comments will
be appropriately addressed in a final CED. The final CED will be
published for a 30-day public review period. Notice will be provided in
newspapers and other media, posted on the Web site, and a notice of
availability will be mailed/e-mailed out to interested parties.
No sooner than 30 days after publication of the final CED, the
District Commander will issue a decision describing how CEMVN will
proceed. This decision will be made available to stakeholders by
posting it to a Web site, mailing/e-mailing notices of availability,
public notices in newspapers and news releases to other media such as
radio and television stations.
Description of Proposed Actions: CEMVN will analyze the proposed
hurricane and storm damage reduction actions for the sub-basins within
the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity (LPV) and West Bank and Vicinity
(WBV) Hurricane Protection Project areas in a series of IERs. Each IER
will identify the proposed actions and will investigate alternatives,
direct, indirect, cumulative impacts, and mitigation for impacts to the
human environment. Exact alignments and work to be completed will be
determined as a part of the NEPA process. IERs will also be prepared
for proposed borrow material and mitigation plans. Further information
on the IER's can be downloaded from the USACE New Orleans District Web
site at: http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pd/Envir_Processes_NEPA/Index.htm
.
IER 1: LPV, LaBranche Wetlands Levee, St. Charles Parish, LA--
Proposed action: Rebuilding of 8.7 miles of earthen levees, replacement
of 6,400 linear feet of floodwalls, and fronting protection to five
existing drainage structures.
IER 2: LPV, West Return Floodwall Jefferson--St. Charles Parish,
LA--Proposed action: Replacement of 17,900 linear feet of floodwalls.
IER 3: LPV, Lakefront Levee Jefferson Parish, LA--Proposed action:
Rebuilding of 9.5 miles of earthen levees, upgrading foreshore
protection, replacement of two floodgates, and fronting protection to
four pump stations.
IER 4: LPV, New Orleans Lakefront Levee, West of Inner Harbor
Navigational Canal, Orleans Parish, LA--Proposed action: Rebuilding of
4.4 miles of earthen levee, replacement of 7,600 feet of floodwalls, 16
vehicle access gates, and one sector gate.
IER 5: LPV, Outfall Canal Closure Structures, 17th Street Canal,
Orleans Avenue Canal and London Avenue Canal, Orleans Parish, LA--
Proposed action: Construction of pump stations and closure structures
on the three outfall canals.
IER 6: LPV, Citrus Lakefront Levee, Orleans Parish, LA--Proposed
action: Rebuilding of 4.1 miles of earthen levees, replacement of
10,662 linear feet of floodwalls, and four floodgates.
IER 7: LPV, New Orleans East Levee, Maxent Canal to Michoud Slip,
Orleans Parish, LA--Proposed action: Rebuilding of 19.1 miles of
earthen levee and replacement of three floodgates.
IER 8: LPV, Bayou Bienvenue and Bayou Dupre Control Structures, St.
Bernard Parish, LA--Proposed action: Replacement of 1,000 linear feet
of floodwalls and two navigable floodgates.
IER 9: LPV, Caernarvon Floodwall, St. Bernard Parish, LA--Proposed
action: Replacement of two floodgates,
[[Page 11340]]
replacement of 1,500 feet of floodwall, and possible realignment of
levee.
IER 10: LPV, Chalmette Loop Levee, St. Bernard Parish, LA--Proposed
action: Rebuilding of 22 miles of earthen levees and the replacement of
1,500 linear feet of floodwalls.
IER 11: LPV, Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Navigable Floodgates,
Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes, LA--Proposed action: Construction of
gated navigable closure structures to protect the Inner Harbor
Navigation Canal.
IER 12: WBV, Harvey and Algiers Canal Levee and Floodwalls,
Jefferson, Orleans, and Plaquemines Parishes, LA--Proposed action:
Rebuilding of 31 miles of earthen levees, replacement of 18,800 linear
feet of floodwalls, modifications to 18 existing gates, and fronting
protection modifications to nine pump stations.
IER 13: WBV, Hero Canal Levee and Eastern Terminus, Plaquemines
Parish, LA--Proposed action: Rebuilding of 22,000 linear feet of
earthen levees and construction of 1,500 linear feet of floodwalls.
IER 14: WBV, Harvey to Westwego Levee, Jefferson Parish, LA--
Proposed action: Rebuilding of 12 miles of earthen levee, construction
of 7,013 linear feet of floodwalls, and modifications to three pump
stations.
IER 15: WBV, Lake Cataouatche Levee, Jefferson Parish, LA--Proposed
action: Rebuilding of 8 miles of earthen levee and fronting protection
at one pump station.
IER 16: WBV, Western Terminus Levee, Jefferson Parish, LA--Proposed
action: Construction of western terminus earthen levee section.
IER 17: WBV, Company Canal Floodwall, Jefferson Parish, LA--
Proposed action: Replacement of 13,442 linear feet of floodwalls and
fronting protection for two pump stations.
IER 18: Borrow, Government Furnished, Multiple sites--Proposed
action: Analyze information supplied from a variety of governmental
sources to determine appropriate Government Furnished borrow locations.
Sources could be from sites throughout southeast Louisiana.
IER 19: Borrow, Pre-Approved Contractor Furnished, Multiple sites--
Proposed action: Analyze information supplied from a variety of non-
governmental sources to determine appropriate Pre-Approved Contractor
Furnished borrow locations. Sources could be from sites throughout the
southern United States.
IER 20: LPV, Mitigation Pool--Proposed action: Analyze alternatives
to determine appropriate mitigation is implemented for unavoidable
impacts to the human environment.
IER 21: WBV, Mitigation Pool--Proposed action: Analyze alternatives
to determine appropriate mitigation is implemented for unavoidable
impacts to the human environment.
Scoping Meeting Schedule
All nine of the meetings start at 7 p.m. and are scheduled to
conclude at 9 p.m. Dates and locations of the meetings are as follows:
March 27, 2007--Lake Cataouatche Sub-Basin: Lake Cataouatche/Jefferson
Parish Dougie V's Restaurant--Banquet Hall, 13899 River Road, Luling,
LA
March 28, 2007--Harvey-Westwego Sub-Basin: Westwego City Council
Chamber, 419 Avenue A, Westwego, LA
March 29, 2007--St. Charles Parish Sub-Basin: American Legion Hall,
Post 366, 12188 River Road, St. Rose, LA
April 3, 2007--Gretna-Algiers Sub-Basin: Our Lady of Holy Cross
College, 4123 Woodland Drive, New Orleans, LA
April 4, 2007--Chalmette Loop Sub-Basin: 8201 West Judge Perez Road,
Chalmette, LA
April 5, 2007--Jefferson East Bank Sub-Basin: Jefferson Parish Regional
Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Avenue, Metairie, LA
April 10, 2007--Belle Chasse Sub-Basin: Belle Chasse Auditorium, 8398
Highway 23, Belle Chasse, LA
April 11, 2007--New Orleans East Sub-Basin: Avalon Hotel & Conference
Center, 830 Conti Street, New Orleans, LA
April 12, 2007--Orleans East Bank Sub-Basin: National WWII Museum, 945
Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA
Coordination: The USACE will continue to obtain concurrence,
permits, and any other authorizations necessary to be in compliance
with all other environmental laws prior to the initiation of any
proposed actions. This includes, but is not limited to, complying with
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic
Preservation Act, the Clean Water Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act,
and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Dated: March 2, 2007.
Richard P. Wagenaar,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. E7-4515 Filed 3-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-84-P