[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58369-58370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23934]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
North Branch Ecorse Creek, Flood Risk Management General Reevaluation
Study, Wayne County, MI
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District, is
issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for flood risk management measures along the
North Branch Ecorse Creek (NBEC) in Wayne County, MI. The Draft EIS is
being prepared in conjunction with a General Reevaluation Report (GRR)
of the NBEC to reevaluate the feasibility of providing flood risk
management measures. The GRR/EIS is being completed in partnership with
Wayne County, MI. The Draft EIS will address potential environmental
impacts of the construction, operation, and maintenance of a number of
structural and non-structural alternatives that will be evaluated as
part of the GRR study.
DATES: A public meeting on the study will be held on October 28, 2010
at 7 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Canfield Community Center,
1801 N. Beech Daly Road, Dearborn Heights, MI.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information or questions
concerning the Draft EIS please contact Ms. Florence Bissell,
Environmental Analysis Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit
District, 477 Michigan Avenue, P.O. Box 1027, Detroit, MI 48231-1027,
at (313) 226-3510 or at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: The NBEC has experienced severe flooding over the last
40 years, resulting in property damage, sewage back-ups, road closures
and other impacts that have threatened or resulted in lost property,
environmental and health degradation, and lost economic value. Severe
flooding in 2000 and 2004 negatively impacted over 9,000 individual
[[Page 58370]]
properties. USACE Detroit District, and Wayne County, MI acting as the
non-federal sponsor, have formed a partnership to reevaluate the
flooding issues along the NBEC. The GRR/EIS, will update a feasibility
study and EIS completed by USACE in 1988. The purpose of this GRR/EIS
is reanalysis of the federal interest in developing flood risk
management measures on the NBEC. The analysis will include
reformulation of the authorized plan from the 1988 study for
applicability. The GRR/EIS will incorporate a review of developments in
the floodplain during the last 22 years, consideration of changing
needs of the local communities, and current environmental conditions.
When complete, the GRR/EIS will recommend if flood mitigation measures
should occur with federal assistance. Federal funding for the GRR/EIS
phase originates from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds,
which requires the GRR/EIS to be developed on an accelerated schedule.
Project Authority: The GRR/EIS is being completed based on
authorization by Section 102 of the River and Harbor Act of 1966 (Pub.
L. 89-789). The original study Feasibility Report and Environmental
Impact Statement for Flood Protection in the Ecorse Creek Drainage
Basin, Wayne County, Michigan, 1987 (Revised 1988) recommended the
development of a retention basin as the selected plan. Construction of
the selected plan from the 1988 feasibility study was further
authorized by Section 101(a) (14) of the Water Resources Development
Act (WRDA) of 1990. Construction never occurred. Project authorization
was extended in Section 3179 of the WRDA of 2007 to conduct the GRR.
Project Alternatives: A number of flood risk management
alternatives will be evaluated as part of the GRR/EIS including
retention basins, stream widening and restoration, flood walls and
levees, along with non-structural measures such as management plans,
warning systems and property acquisition.
Draft EIS Scoping Process: The scoping process for public input
will involve Federal, State, and local agencies, along with affected
Indian tribes, other interested parties and entities. Coordination with
natural resources and environmental agencies will be conducted under
the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean
Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. A
public meeting will be held (see DATES) to include discussion of
environmental issues associated with potential flood risk management
alternatives.
Issues to be considered during the development of the Draft EIS and
public review and input process include: aesthetics, dredged material
disposal, water quality, air and noise quality, hazardous, toxic and
radiological waste, threatened and endangered species, environmental
justice, wetlands, historic properties, recreation, cumulative impacts,
natural resource mitigation and other issues that may affect public
health and welfare. It is estimated the Draft EIS will be available for
public review and comment in late 2011.
John M. Niemiec,
Project Manager.
[FR Doc. 2010-23934 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P