[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 84 (Monday, May 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23253-23254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10236]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Central Palm Beach County Comprehensive Erosion
Control Project in Palm Beach County, FL
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Jacksonville
District, intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) to address potential impacts associated with the construction of
groins and segmented emergent breakwaters and placement of truck hauled
sand along the coastline of the Towns of Palm Beach, South Palm Beach,
Lantana, and Manalapan. The Corps will be evaluating a Department of
the Army permit for the work under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors
Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. As part of the permit
process, the Corps is evaluating the environmental effects associated
with construction of the breakwaters and groins and the sand placement.
The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management
(County) is the permit applicant seeking to implement the Proposed
Action.
The primary Federal involvement associated with the Proposed Action
is the discharge of fill within Waters of the United States and the
construction of breakwaters and groins within Navigable Waters of the
United States. Because of the extensive hardbottom resources
immediately adjacent to the beach, the high recreational uses of the
project area, the potential to cause down drift erosion, and other
environmental impacts including potential adverse effects to Federally
listed species, the Corps will prepare an EIS in compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to render a final decision on
the County's permit application. The Corps' decision will be to either
issue or deny a Department of the Army permit for the Proposed Action.
The Draft EIS is intended to be sufficient in scope to address Federal,
State, and local requirements and environmental issues concerning the
Proposed Action and permit reviews.
DATES: A public scoping workshop will be held on, or about, May 27,
2010 from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST.
ADDRESSES: The public scoping workshop will be held at the Town of
South Palm Beach Town Hall, 3577 South Ocean Boulevard, South Palm
Beach, Florida. The workshop will give agencies and the public an
opportunity to receive more information on the Proposed Action,
alternatives, and to provide comments and suggestions on the scope of
the EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the Proposed Action
and Draft EIS should be directed to Mr. Eric Reusch, Corps Regulatory
Project Manager, by telephone at (561) 472-3529 or by e-mail at
[email protected]. Written comments should be addressed to
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: Mr. Eric Reusch, 4400 PGA
Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 34410 or by facsimile
at (561) 626-6971.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
a. Project Site and Background Information. The study area
comprises approximately 1.3 miles of shoreline and nearshore
environment within four municipalities including the Town of Palm
Beach, Town of South Palm Beach, Town of Lantana, and Town of
Manalapan. The northern limit of the project is located at Florida
Department
[[Page 23254]]
of Environmental Protection (FDEP) monument R132 (Town of Palm Beach)
and extends south to the Ritz Carlton Hotel (R138+400') located in
Manalapan. The shoreline in this area has experienced long-term
erosion, and waves have impacted the coastal armoring during major
storms. Existing structural armoring in the project area includes rock
revetments, concrete seawalls, steel sheet pile walls, a small wood
retaining structure, a concrete ramp, and a concrete waffle revetment.
Erosion currently threatens the structural integrity of several
buildings within the project reach. The County has nourished the
project area dune toes on several occasions and has planted native dune
vegetation at several locations. Due to the narrow beach profile, much
of this effort has been lost to erosion.
b. Purpose and Need. The overall project purpose is to stabilize
and restore the shoreline adjacent to the Towns of Palm Beach, South
Palm Beach, Lantana, and Manalapan.
c. Proposed Action. Palm Beach County proposes to construct 18
emergent breakwaters placed parallel to the shoreline at a depth of
about -8 feet. The breakwaters would be located seaward of the
nearshore hardbottom and landward of the offshore hardbottom. In
addition, a series of four short groins are proposed for the Lantana
Municipal Beach. Construction of these structures would help maintain
sand on the beach by reducing the amount of wave energy reaching the
shoreline. The project also proposes elevating the existing berm with
the placement of truck-hauled sand in order to offset any potential
impacts to downdrift beaches from capture of sand by the breakwaters
and groins.
d. Alternatives. An evaluation of alternatives to the Proposed
Action initially being considered includes a ``no action'' alternative,
beach nourishment and dune restoration through filling activities,
groins, segmented submerged breakwaters, upland coastal structural
reinforcement/replacement, and combinations of these alternatives, as
well as analyzing other reasonable alternatives developed through the
project scoping process.
e. Draft EIS Scoping Process. The Corps is furnishing this notice
to advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Federally
recognized Tribes, and the public of our intentions. This notice
announces the initiation of a 30-day scoping period which requests the
public's involvement in the scoping and evaluation process of the DEIS.
Stakeholders will be notified through advertisements, public notices
and other means. All parties who express interest will be given an
opportunity to participate in this process. The process allows the
Corps to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and
an opportunity to provide reasonable alternatives to be included in the
Draft EIS. The Corps invites comments from all interested parties to
ensure that all significant issues are identified and the full range of
issues related to the permit request are addressed. We will accept
written comments until 30 days after the date of publication of this
notice. (See DATES and ADDRESSES.)
f. Significant Issues. The DEIS will analyze the following:
Aesthetics/visual quality, agricultural resources, air quality,
biological resources, cultural resources, cumulative impacts,
environmental justice, flood protection, geology/soils, growth
inducement, land use/planning, noise/vibration, public health and
safety, public services/utilities, recreation, socioeconomics,
threatened and endangered species, traffic/circulation, water resources
including wetlands, and other issues identified through scoping, public
involvement, and interagency coordination. The Corps will conduct an
environmental review of the Proposed Action in accordance with the
requirements of NEPA, 1969 as amended, (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1500
et seq.), Corps Procedures for Implementing NEPA (33 Code of Federal
Regulations, Section 230 et seq.), NEPA Implementation Procedures for
the Regulatory Program (33 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 325,
Appendix B), and with other appropriate Federal laws and regulations,
policies, and procedures of the Corps for compliance with those
regulations. The Proposed Action, through the Corps permit review
process, will require consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act and the Magnunson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. Additionally, the proposed action would involve
evaluation for compliance with the Section 404(b) (1) Guidelines of the
Clean Water Act; Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act;
Water Quality Certification pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water
Act; certification of State lands, easements and right of ways; and
determination of Coastal Zone Management Act consistency.
g. Availability of the Draft EIS (DEIS). The Corps currently
expects the DEIS to be made available to the public on or about January
2011. A public meeting will be held during the public comment period
for the DEIS. Written comments will be accepted at the meeting.
Donald W. Kinard,
Chief, Regulatory Division, Jacksonville District.
[FR Doc. 2010-10236 Filed 4-30-10; 8:45 am]
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