[Federal Register: April 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 76)]
[Notices]
[Page 21121-21122]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18ap08-42]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Availability of the Draft Feasibility Report and Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement and Draft State Environmental Impact
Report for the Boston Harbor Deep Draft Navigation Improvement Project
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District in
partnership with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has
prepared a joint Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and
State Draft Environmental Impact Report (DSEIS/DEIR) examining
improvements to deep-draft navigation channels in Boston Harbor,
Boston, MA. Four separate improvements were developed. The first
examined deepening the outer and lower harbor's existing 40-foot
channel system to provide deeper access to Massport's Conley Terminal
in South Boston for containership traffic. All depths are referenced to
minus mean lower low water (MLLW). Navigation channel depths of between
45 to 50 feet were examined, with a depth of 48 feet recommended, with
an additional two feet in the entrance channel. Under this plan the
following project features would be improved: the 40-foot lane of the
Broad Sound North Entrance Channel would be deepened to 50 feet and
widened through the bend at Finn's Ledge. The 40-foot lane of the Main
Ship Channel from the Broad Sound North Entrance Channel upstream
through President Roads to the Reserved Channel would be deepened to 48
feet and its 600-foot-wide reaches widened to between 800 and 900 feet,
with additional width in the bends. The 40-foot lower reach of Reserved
Channel and its turning area would be deepened to 48 feet, with the
turning area also widened to 1600 feet. The 40-foot President Roads
Anchorage would be deepened to 48 feet. The second improvement would
deepen the existing 40-foot lane of the Main Ship Channel from the
Reserved Channel Turning Area upstream to just below the Third Harbor
Tunnel to a depth of 45 feet, to improve access to the Massport Marine
Terminal in South Boston. The third improvement would deepen a portion
of the 35-foot Mystic River Channel lane to 40 feet to improve access
to Massport's Medford Street Terminal. The fourth and final improvement
would deepen the 38-foot Chelsea River Channel to 40 feet, with minor
widening in the bridge approaches and the bend between the bridges. In
conjunction with work in the Federal channels, the Massachusetts Port
Authority would deepen vessel berths at the Conley Terminal and Marine
Terminal. Terminals on the Chelsea River would also deepen their berths
to match the new channel depth. A total of about 12.1 million cubic
yards (cy) of parent material, and 1.2 million cy of rock, would be
removed by dredging and placed at the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site
(MBDS). Beneficial use opportunities for the dredged material have been
identified and would be considered further during final design of the
project. Those beneficial use opportunities include: creation of rock
reefs in Massachusetts Bay and Broad Sound, and using the non-rock
material as cover at the former Industrial Waste Site, which overlaps
the MBDS. This joint Federal and State document builds on the lessons
learned from the final EIR/S prepared in June of 1995 for the previous
navigation improvement project in Boston Harbor.
DATES: Submit comments on or before June 2, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to Colonel Curtis L. Thalken,
District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District,
696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Catherine Rogers, (978) 318-8231.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
authorized to conduct this Feasibility Study by a Senate Subcommittee
on Public Works Resolution dated September 11, 1969.
[[Page 21122]]
The DSEIS/DEIR is available on-line on the New England District's
Web page at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/BHNIP/
BostonHarbor_draft_FeasibilitySEIS.zip and at the following local
libraries: Boston Libraries--25 Parameter Street, 20 City Hall Avenue,
18 Barnes Avenue, 666 Boylston Street, Boston City Hall, 179 Main
Street, 646 West Broadway, 276 Meridan Street; Chelsea Library--569
Broadway; Revere Library--179 Beach Street; and the Winthrop Library--2
Metcalf Square. If you wish to receive a copy of the Executive Summary
or an electronic copy of the DSEIS/DEIR, please contact Ms. Catherine
Rogers, Ecologist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District,
Evaluation Branch, 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742.
A public meeting to solicit comments has been scheduled for 1 p.m.
on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, on the second floor of the Black Falcon
Cruise Terminal, One Black Falcon Avenue, Boston, MA.
Dated: April 8, 2008.
Curtis L. Thalken,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, New England District.
[FR Doc. E8-8202 Filed 4-17-08; 8:45 am]
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