[Federal Register: December 5, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 235)]
[Notices]
[Page 74150]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05de08-58]
[[Page 74150]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact
Statement for Commercial Dredging of Construction Aggregate From the
Missouri River in Missouri and Kansas
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) is preparing an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the direct, indirect,
and cumulative effects of continued commercial dredging of sand and
gravel from the Missouri River in Missouri and Kansas. The proposed
dredging will occur in a navigable waterway and the portion of dredged
material that is too coarse or too fine to be used will be discharged
back into the river, thereby requiring Department of the Army (DA)
authorization under Section 10 of the River and Harbors Act and Section
404 of the Clean Water Act. Commercial dredging in the Missouri River
has been ongoing for more than 50 years but has increased from
approximately 1.3 million tons per year in 1974 to approximately 8
million tons in 2006. The current DA permits for six Missouri River
commercial dredging operations will expire December 31, 2009 and those
six operations and four proposed operations have applied for new DA
permits to dredge up to 12.435 million tons per year beginning in 2010.
DATES: Scoping meetings will be held:
1. January 6, 2009, 4 to 8 p.m., Jefferson City, Missouri.
2. January 7, 2009, 4 to 8 p.m., Cottleville, Missouri (St. Louis
area).
3. January 8, 2009, 4 to 8 p.m., Kansas City, Missouri.
ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting locations are:
1. January 6, 2009 in the Art Gallery at the Missouri River
Regional Library, 214 Adams Street, Jefferson City, Missouri.
2. January 7, 2009 in the auditorium at the St. Charles Community
College, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, Cottleville, Missouri.
3. January 8, 2009 in the Lobby Courtyard at the KCI-Expo Center,
11730 N. Ambassador Dr., Kansas City, Missouri.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions and comments regarding the
proposed action and EIS should be addressed to Mr. Cody S. Wheeler,
Regulatory Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 601 East 12th
Street, Room 706, Kansas City, MO 64106; (816) 389-3739;
cody.s.wheeler@usace.army.mil. For special needs (visual or hearing
impaired, Spanish translation, etc.) requests during the scoping
meetings, please call Cody Wheeler by December 22, 2008.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The COE will be conducting public scoping
meetings at three locations (see DATES and ADDRESSES) to describe the
proposed activity, preliminary alternatives, the NEPA compliance
process, and to solicit input on the issues and alternatives to be
evaluated and other related matters. Written comments for scoping will
be accepted until February 10, 2009. The COE has prepared a scoping
announcement to familiarize agencies, the public and interested
organizations with the proposed Project and potential environmental
issues that may be involved. The scoping announcement includes a list
of the dredgers' requested annual extraction tonnage and the requested
dredging reaches. Copies of the scoping announcement will be available
at the public scoping meetings or can be requested by mail.
The applicants include the following currently authorized dredgers:
Holliday Sand and Gravel Company (St. Joseph and Kansas City,
Missouri); Con-Agg of MO, LLC (Columbia, Missouri); Capital Sand
Company, Inc. (Jefferson City, Missouri); Hermann Sand & Gravel, Inc.
(Hermann, Missouri); J.T.R. Inc (Jotori Dredging, St. Louis, Missouri);
and Limited Leasing Company (formerly St. Charles Sand Company, St.
Louis, Missouri). Applicants not currently authorized to dredge include
The Master's Dredging Company, Inc. (Kansas City, Missouri); Kaw Valley
Sand and Gravel, Inc. (Kansas City, Missouri); Muenks Brothers
Quarries, Inc. (Loose Creek, Missouri); and Edward N. Rau Contractor
Company (Washington, Missouri). The final EIS will also apply to future
applications for similar dredging operations on the Missouri River in
Missouri and Kansas.
The COE has documented significant degradation or down-cutting of
the river bed in areas where dredging has been concentrated. Bed
degradation may disable water intake structures, initiate tributary
head cuts, promote bank and levee instability, undermine pipelines and
bridge piers, increase encroachment of the high bank, eliminate aquatic
habitat and create navigation hazards. Some of these effects have
already been observed in some areas. Reaches that are not obviously
affected may have structures vulnerable to failure during floods or
other catastrophic events.
The EIS will be prepared according to the COE's procedures for
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c), and consistent with the COE's policy to
facilitate public understanding and review of agency proposals. As part
of the EIS process, a full range of reasonable alternatives including
the proposed dredging and no dredging will be evaluated.
The COE has invited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geologic Survey, the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Department of
Conservation, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Kansas Geologic Survey
to be contributing agencies in the formulation of the EIS.
Dated: November 26, 2008.
Cody S. Wheeler,
Regulatory Project Manager, Regulatory Branch.
[FR Doc. E8-28826 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P