[Federal Register: October 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 203)]
[Notices]
[Page 62262]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20oc08-47]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Availability of a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Hamilton Wetland
Restoration Project, Dredged Material Aquatic Transfer Facility in
Marin County, CA
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and California State
Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy), in collaboration with the Long Term
Management Strategy for Dredged Material in San Francisco Bay (LTMS)
agencies, are proposing the use of an aquatic transfer facility (ATF)
to beneficially use dredged material in restoring tidal wetlands at the
original Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project site and the Bel Marin
Keys Unit V Expansion site (collectively, the HWRP). The USACE is the
lead agency for this project under the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA). The Conservancy is the lead agency for this project under
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
DATES: Submit comments by: December 1, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Written comments about the proposed action and ATF SEIS/EIR
can be addressed to: Cynthia Fowler or Fari Tabatabai, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, San Francisco District, 1455 Market Street, San
Francisco, CA 94103; cespn-et-pa@usace.army.mil; 415-503-6870. Tom
Gandesbery, California State Coastal Conservancy, 1330 Broadway, 13th
Floor, Oakland, CA 94612; tgandesbery@scc.ca.gov; (510) 286-1015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Fowler or Fari Tabatabai, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, 1455 Market Street,
San Francisco, CA 94103; cespn-et-pa@usace.army.mil; 415-503-6870.
Betsy Wilson or Tom Gandesbery, California State Coastal Conservancy,
1330 Broadway, 13th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612; bwilson@scc.ca.gov or
tgandesbery@scc.ca.gov; (510) 286-1015.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document is a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/EIR)
to the 1998 HWRP Final EIS/EIR, the 2003 Bel Marin Keys Unit V
Expansion (BMKV) Final SEIS/EIR, and the 2006 Supplemental
Environmental Assessment (EA) to the Oakland Harbor Navigation
Improvement (-50 ft.) Project Final EIS/EIR. The HWRP Final EIS/EIR and
the BMKV Expansion Final SEIS/EIR can be found at: http://
www.hamiltonwetlands.org/documents.html. As described in these previous
reports, the authorized means of transporting dredged material to the
HWRP is via a hydraulic off-loader in San Pablo Bay that pumps dredged
material to the site through a submerged pipeline. Independent review,
workshops with national experts, and a value engineering study that
considered economic and operational effects determined that a more
efficient and flexible method of transferring dredged material should
be evaluated. Therefore, the Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project
Dredged Material Aquatic Transfer Facility SEIS/EIR (ATF SEIS/R)
evaluates alternative methods for the transfer of dredged material to
the HWRP site. The ATF SEIS/EIR will support decision making by USACE,
the Conservancy, and other responsible agencies to implement the
proposed action and to ensure compliance with the NEPA, CEQA, and other
pertinent laws and regulations.
The purpose of the proposed ATF is to maximize the operational
flexibility of the HWRP to accommodate dredged material from both large
and small dredging projects, as well as maximize the potential for
beneficial use of dredged material at the HWRP site. Four alternatives
are analyzed in this document: Alternative 1: No Action, which includes
the authorized use of a hydraulic off-loader; Alternative 2: Unconfined
ATF (Proposed Action); Alternative 3: Confined ATF; and Alternative 4:
Direct Channel to BMKV Basin. Alternative 1 would include a floating
and pile-secured off-loader facility, while Alternatives 2 and 3 would
include construction of an in-Bay ATF basin. Alternative 3 would
include incorporation of a structural enclosure around the perimeter of
the ATF basin. Three of the alternatives (1-3) would require a slurry
delivery pipeline and associated booster pump platform to transport
material. Alternative 4 would involve dredging a direct channel from
the vicinity of the in-Bay disposal site, SF-10, to the BMKV site and
construction of a transfer basin on the BMKV site.
A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 from
5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Bay Model Visitor Center, Multi-Purpose Room,
2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA.
The Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project Dredged Material Aquatic
Transfer Facility SEIS/EIR is available for review at http://
www.hamiltonwetlands.org. Copies of the document are also available for
review during normal business hours at:
(1) Marin Civic Center, 3051 Civic Center Drive 427, San
Rafael, CA 94903.
(2) Marin County Free Library--South Novato, 476 Ignacio Boulevard,
Novato, CA 94949.
(3) Novato Public Library, 1720 Novato Boulevard, Novato, CA 94947.
(4) Petaluma Regional Library, 100 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma, CA
94952.
(5) Sonoma County Central Library, 3rd and E Street, Santa Rosa, CA
95402.
(6) California State Coastal Conservancy, 1330 Broadway, 13th
Floor, Oakland, CA 94612.
Dated: October 10, 2008.
Laurence M. Farrell,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Commanding.
[FR Doc. E8-24848 Filed 10-17-08; 8:45 am]
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