[Federal Register: April 2, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 62)]
[Notices]
[Page 14965-14966]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02ap09-38]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement for the Nourishment of 25,000 Feet of Beach in Topsail
Beach, Pender County, NC
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 (USACE), Wilmington District,
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received a request for
Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from the
Town of Topsail Beach to conduct a one-time interim beach fill project
to protect oceanfront development and infrastructure until such time
that a Federally authorized shore protection project can be
implemented. The Corps has prepared a Final Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (FSEIS) in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). This FSEIS was developed as a supplement to the West
Onslow Beach and New River Inlet (Topsail Beach), NC, General
Reevaluation Report (GRR) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
(USACE, 2008) prepared by the Wilmington District Corps of Engineers
(USACE or the Corps) to evaluate resources and environmental
considerations involved with the proposed Federal Beach nourishment
project. The purpose of this supplement is to fully evaluate the
potential impacts of the private action proposed as an addition to the
Federal Project and to evaluate alternatives to the proposed action.
The private action is proposed to respond to current, substantial
erosion occurring along the oceanfront shoreline of the Town of Topsail
Beach, NC. While Federal budget priorities have made it difficult to
obtain funds for civil works projects in general and beach protection
projects in particular, the projected earliest construction date for
the Federal project is 2012. State and agency review and comment on
Final GRR and EIS were completed in summer 2008. The Recommended Plan
outlined in the Final GRR and EIS includes use of all the identified
borrow sites over the next 50 years pending further investigations
during the development of detailed plans and specifications. Given the
current status of the GRR-EIS and the need for Congressional
authorization, funding, preparation of plans and specifications, and
right-of-way acquisition, the Federal project may not be implemented
until Fiscal Year 2012, or possibly later. Accordingly, the Town of
Topsail Beach would like to construct an interim beach fill project to
protect its development and infrastructure during the period between
now and the time the Federal project is constructed. In order to
account for any possible delays in the construction of the Federal
project, a construction date of 2016 was used in the development of the
alternatives and economic analysis for the interim project. This would
maintain the baseline conditions described in the Final GRR and FSEIS.
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding the FSEIS may be
addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District,
Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number SAW-2006-40848-071, Post Office
Box 1890, Wilmington, NC 28402-1890.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and FSEIS can be directed to Mr. Dave Timpy, Wilmington Regulatory
Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4634.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project Description. The proposed project
would be constructed as a one-time nourishment event that would protect
oceanfront homes and the Town's infrastructures until the Federal
project (West Onslow Beach and New River Inlet [Topsail Beach]) is
constructed. The Applicant's Preferred Alternative is to place fill
material within the oceanfront section of the Town located between
Godwin Avenue on the south to a point 610 m (2,000 ft) northeast of
Topsail Beach/Surf City town limits, southeast along a total ocean
shoreline length of approximately 7.6 km (~ 4.7 mi). The proposed fill
design consists of three sections: A 305 m (1,000 ft) transition on the
south starting at a point opposite Godwin Avenue; a 6,700 m (22,000 ft)
main fill section that extends to the Topsail Beach/Surf City town
limits; and a 610 m (2,000 ft) northern transitional taper to the point
of intersection with the existing beach. The main fill would consist of
a horizontal berm constructed to an elevation of +1.8 m (6 ft) NAVD
(+2.1m [7 ft] NGVD). The in-place volume of the beach fill could range
from 800,000 cy to 975,000 cy. The applicant's preferred borrow area,
Borrow Area X, is located offshore of New Topsail Inlet, an area which
is not available for the construction of the Federal project due to its
location within an area designated by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act
(CBRA), more commonly known as a CBRA zone. Borrow Area X is also
located landward of the 3-mile State territorial limit and would not
require permits from the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS).
The proposed construction for the one-time beach fill is scheduled
to occur within the environmental dredging window of November 16, 2009
through March 31, 2010.
Borrow Area X has been modified throughout the Project Delivery
Team (PDT) process in an effort to avoid and minimize potential impacts
to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) (Figure 1). The original footprint of
Borrow Area X including all five cuts was 151 acres. In
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response to concerns of the resource agencies the applicant modified
Borrow Area X to relocate the landward edge of the borrow area further
seaward to minimize any potential modification to the ebb tidal delta
of New Topsail Inlet and the adjacent oceanfront and estuarine
shorelines. The modified impact area within Borrow Area X was reduced
to 127 acres, and minimized the proposed EFH impacts by 24 acres.
A summary of the modifications to Borrow Area X include: (1) The
landward cuts (cuts one (1) and two (2)) have been eliminated, (2) the
landward edge of cut three (3) has been moved 100 feet seaward in order
to further avoid and minimize potential impacts to the ebb-tidal delta,
and (3) cut six (6) has been added seaward of cut three (3) to account
for the loss of volume. Cut six contains 126,950 cy of beach compatible
sand which would result in a net loss of 42,566 cy from Borrow Area X.
The total volume of material in Borrow Area X once modifications are
taken into account totals 1,583,236 cy. However, the volume needed to
maintain the design beach fill totals 1,286,000 cy.
Geotechnical Investigations. The offshore sand search
investigations included bathymetric surveys, sidescan sonar surveys,
seismic surveys, cultural resource surveys, vibracore collection and
analysis, and ground-truth diver surveys to verify existence or non-
existence of hard bottoms. The results of the offshore investigations
coupled with the compatibility of the sand resource area, native beach
sand, and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) were used to define the selected
borrow area. The applicants preferred borrow area, Borrow Area X, was
further modified to reflect resource agency comments. All sediment
compatibility assessments were based on State of North Carolina
sediment compatibility standards that went into effect in February
2007.
Beach Fill Surveys & Design. Typical cross-sections of the beach
along the Topsail Beach project area was surveyed. Nearshore profiles
will extend seaward to at least the 30-foot NAVD depth contour. The
total volume of beach fill to be placed in front of the existing
development and infrastructure will be based on an evaluation of
erosion of the project area from 2002 through the expected construction
date of the Federal project. Additional offshore and inshore data for
Lea/Hutaff Island were also obtained along the northern 5,000 feet of
the island. This data was used in the evaluation of possible impacts
associated with the removal of sediment from the selected offshore
borrow area and for future impact evaluations following project
implementation through the use of numerical modeling.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE COORDINATION & PERMITTING. The USACE
prepared a General Reevaluation Report--Environmental Impact Statement
(GRR-EIS) for the larger Federal shore protection project (June 2006).
The Final GRR and EIS were released for public and agency review and
comment in the summer of 2008. The interim beach fill project will be
subject to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act and the North Carolina's State Environmental Policy Act
(SEPA).
Preliminary coordination with the USACE--Wilmington District
resulted in a determination that a Department of the Army Individual
Permit will be needed for project compliance with Sections 10 and 404.
Similarly, coordination with the North Carolina Division of Coastal
Management (NCDCM) determined that the project would require evaluation
through SEPA. A Major Permit under the Coastal Area Management Act was
issued by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management on February
27, 2009.
2. Issues of particular concern. There are several potential
environmental issues that are addressed in the FSEIS. Additional issues
may be identified during the public review process. Issues initially
identified as potentially significant include:
a. Potential impact to marine biological resources (benthic
organisms, passageway for fish and other marine life) and Essential
Fish Habitat (EFH), particularly hardbottoms.
b. Potential impact to Federally threatened and endangered marine
mammals, birds, fish, and plants.
c. Potential impacts to water quality.
d. Potential increase in erosion rates to adjacent beaches.
e. Potential impacts to navigation, commercial and recreational.
f. Potential impacts to private and public property.
g. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
h. Potential impacts to recreational and commercial fishing.
i. The compatibility of the material for nourishment.
j. Potential economic impacts.
4. Alternatives. Several alternatives were considered for the
proposed project. These alternatives were further formulated and
developed during the scoping process and an appropriate range of
alternatives, including the No Action and Non Structural alternative,
are considered in the Final Supplemental EIS.
5. Scoping Process. Project Delivery Team meetings were held to
receive comments and assess concerns regarding the appropriate scope
and preparation of the FSEIS. Federal, State, and local agencies and
other interested organizations and persons participated in these
Project Delivery Team meetings.
The COE also consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act, and with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and Endangered Species Act. The FSEIS has been revised in
accordance with the comments submitted by these agencies. Additionally,
the FSEIS has assessed the potential water quality impacts pursuant to
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, and is being coordinated with NCDCM
to determine the projects consistency with the Coastal Zone Management
Act.
6. Availability of the Final Supplemental EIS (FSEIS). The FSEIS
has been published and circulated, and is available for review at the
office of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, Regulatory
Division Office located at 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, North
Carolina.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-7380 Filed 4-1-09; 8:45 am]
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