[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56080-56082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22708]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS) for the Development of a Multi-Decadal Shoreline
Protection Plan, Known as the Bogue Banks Beach Master Nourishment Plan
(Master Plan), for the 25-Mile Ocean Shoreline of Bogue Banks in
Carteret County, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Harbor Act, from
Carteret County to develop and implement, under an inter-local
agreement between the towns on Bogue Banks barrier island, a multi-
decadal Master Plan that would provide ocean shoreline protection to
approximately 25 miles of beach over a minimum period of 30 years.
DATES: A public scoping meeting for the Draft PEIS will be held at
Crystal Coast Civic Center near the Carteret County Community College,
located at 3505 Arendell Street in Morehead City, on September 30, 2010
at 6 p.m. Written comments will be received until October 15, 2010.
[[Page 56081]]
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding scoping of the
Draft PEIS may be submitted to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Wilmington District, Regulatory Division. Attn: File Number 2009-0293,
69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and Draft PEIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Project Manager,
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4811.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project Description. As a result of
significant hurricane activity in the 1990's, the County and many of
the municipalities on Bogue Banks have implemented several interim
beach nourishment activities in order to curb ocean shoreline erosion
and to help improve protection against future storms. For the past 10
years, the County has been in a cost share agreement with the USACE,
currently in the Reconnaissance Study phase, to conduct a federal 50-
year Shore Protection Project for Bogue Banks to help sustain the
island long term. However, with the uncertainties of the federal long-
term plan, the County and the beach municipalities have determined the
need to reevaluate their long-term beach nourishment solutions for
Bogue Banks. The development of the Master Plan will involve review all
of the previous nourishment efforts and current plans and formulation
of a multi-decadal all inclusive nourishment plan for the entire
barrier island of Bogue Banks.
The Master Plan and PEIS will include a comprehensive review of
present-day beach conditions, a review of Carteret County's and the
USACE's previous beach nourishment/beneficial use projects, and the
development of a multi-decadal plan based on volumetric/beach elevation
thresholds for Fort Macon/Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Indian
Beach/Salter Path, and Emerald Isle. The Master Plan will address all
anticipated beach nourishment/maintenance activities including but not
limited to; Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) dredging with
concurrent beach disposal, beneficial use dredging projects/
opportunities, FEMA reimbursement projects, and other potential sand
placement or beach maintenance activities (beach bulldozing, etc.).
Potential sand source locations to be evaluated in the Draft PEIS could
include the Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS) located
offshore of Beaufort Inlet, the USACE nearshore placement area, Bogue
Inlet, AIWW reaches, preliminary USACE offshore borrow locations,
previously permitted Carteret County offshore borrow locations, and
upland sources. The Master Plan will: (a) Establish acceptable ranges
of in-situ beach volumes and elevations, (b) establish beach volumetric
and elevation triggers for nourishment events, (c) continue a basis for
FEMA reimbursement qualifications, (d) conform to the North Carolina
Division of Coastal Management's (NCDCM) rules for static vegetation
line exceptions, and (e) establish a programmatic approach facilitating
the authorization and scheduling of Bogue Banks' nourishment/
maintenance events.
Natural resource studies and investigations which may be conducted
in support of the plan formulation include: (1) Identification and
biological characterization of estuarine habitat types (salt marsh,
shellfish, submerged aquatic vegetation) in a defined project area
using aerial mapping and/or groundtruth investigations; (2) pre-project
monitoring of, and/or use of existing data, on threatened and
endangered species and their associated habitats as determined through
coordination with project stakeholders; (3) development and/or
implementation of project monitoring and mitigation plans based on the
project impact assessment, and 4) the development of a cumulative
impact assessment.
2. Issues. There are several potential environmental issues that
will be addressed in the PEIS. Additional issues may be identified
during the scoping process. Issues initially identified as potentially
significant include:
a. Potential impacts to marine biological resources (benthic
organisms, passageway for fish and other marine life) and Essential
Fish Habitat.
b. Potential impacts to threatened and endangered marine mammals,
birds, fish, and plants.
c. Potential impacts associated with using inlets as a sand source.
d. Potential impacts to public lands, such as adjacent State Parks
(Hammocks Beach and Forth Macon) and Federal lands (Cape Lookout
National Seashore).
e. Potential impacts to Navigation, commercial and recreational.
f. Potential impacts to the long-term management.
g. Potential effects on regional sand sources and how it relates to
sand management practices.
h. Potential effects of shoreline protection.
i. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
k. Potential impacts to recreational and commercial fishing.
l. The compatibility of the material for nourishment.
m. Potential impacts to cultural resources.
n. Cumulative impacts of past, present, and foreseeable future
dredging and nourishment activities.
3. Alternatives. Several alternatives and sand sources are being
considered for the development of the management plan. These
alternatives will be further formulated and developed during the
scoping process and an appropriate range of alternatives, including the
no federal action alternative, will be considered in the PEIS.
4. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting (see DATES) will be
held to receive public comment and assess public concerns regarding the
appropriate scope and preparation of the Draft PEIS. Participation in
the public meeting by federal, state, and local agencies and other
interested organizations and persons is encouraged.
The USACE will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act; with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Endangered
Species Act; and with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation
Office under the National Historic Preservation Act. The USACE will
also coordinate with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation
and Enforcement, formerly known as Minerals Management Service (MMS),
to ensure the plan complies with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(OCSLA). Additionally, the USACE will coordinate the PEIS with the
North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) to assess the
potential water quality impacts pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean
Water Act, and with the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management
(NCDCM) to determine the projects consistency with the Coastal Zone
Management Act. The USACE will closely work with NCDCM and NCDWQ in the
development of the PEIS to ensure the process complies with all State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requirements. It is the intention of
both the USACE and the State of North Carolina to consolidate the NEPA
and SEPA processes thereby eliminating duplication.
6. Availability of the Draft PEIS. The Draft PEIS is expected to be
published and circulated by August 2011. A public hearing may be held
after the publication of the Draft PEIS.
[[Page 56082]]
Dated: September 3, 2010.
S. Kenneth Jolly,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-22708 Filed 9-14-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P