[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17393-17394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7720]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
``Flood Control, Mississippi River & Tributaries, St. Johns Bayou and
New Madrid Floodway, Missouri, First Phase'' (SJNM) Project
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a DEIS.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is announcing its intent to
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the
Mississippi River and Tributaries, St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid
Floodway, MO Project. The DEIS is being prepared to address and
evaluate the environmental, economic and social impacts of alternative
plans to provide flood control and develop and discuss locations and
methodologies of potential compensatory mitigation. This DEIS will
address previous project history, independent external peer reviews,
State/Federal agency concerns and will formulate alternatives that
manage flood risks in the project area.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Gregg Williams, telephone (901)
544-3852, CEMVM-PB-E, 167 North Main Street B-202, Memphis, TN 38103-
1894, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The St. Johns Bayou Basin and New Madrid
Floodway are located in the Bootheel region of southeast Missouri and
include all or portions of the New Madrid, Scott and Mississippi
Counties. The basin and floodway are adjacent to the Mississippi River,
extending from the vicinity of Commerce, Missouri to New Madrid,
Missouri. The basin and floodway are subject to both backwater and
interior headwater flooding. Congress authorized the Mississippi River
and Tributaries (MR&T) Project to construct the mainline Mississippi
River levees. The Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway was part of the 1928
Flood Control Act. A levee closure and outlet structure at New Madrid,
Missouri were authorized in the Flood Control Act of 1954 (Pub. L. 780-
83) but not constructed. The St. Johns Bayou Basin levee closure, with
drainage structure, was authorized in the Flood Control Act of 1946,
and subsequently constructed. An EIS for the MR&T and Channel
Improvement was filed with the Council on Environmental Quality in July
1976, which addressed the New Madrid Floodway levee closure. The St.
Johns Bayou/New Madrid Floodway Project Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) was filed with the EPA in July
1982. The current project was authorized for construction by the Water
Resources Development Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-662), section 401(a). The
authorized project is based on the Report of the Chief of Engineers,
dated January 4, 1983, which is part of the Phase I General Design
Memorandum (GDM) documents prepared in response to section 101(a) of
the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-587). A Revised
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (RSEIS) was filed in June
2002. The Revised Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 2
(RSEIS2) was prepared to clarify the record and address concerns
related to the calculation of compensatory mitigation for mid-season
fishery impacts, hypoxia, cost-benefit analysis, Swampbuster and the
applicable discount rate in the economics analysis. The RSEIS2 was
filed in March 2006.
The Corps has determined that a new EIS is required to incorporate
additional scientific and engineering data; include the results of
intensive independent external peer review of the previous project
document, plans and studies; clarify project objectives and plans; and
address points raised in the course of legal action.
1. Proposed Action: The authorized project for the St. Johns Bayou
and New Madrid Floodway Project consists of channel enlargement and
improvement in the St. Johns Bayou Basin along the lower 4.5 miles of
the St. Johns Bayou, beginning at New Madrid, Missouri, then continuing
8.1 miles along the Birds Point-New Madrid Setback Levee Ditch and
ending with 10.8 miles along the St. James Ditch. The first item of
work, consisting of selective clearing and snagging, has already been
completed along a 4.3-mile reach of the Setback Levee Ditch beginning
at the confluence with the St. James Ditch.
The authorized project also includes a 1,000-cubic-foot-per-second
(CFS) pumping station for the St. Johns Bayou Basin area, a 1,500-CFS
pumping station for the New Madrid Floodway area and a 1,500-foot-
closure levee at the southern end of the New Madrid Floodway. The
channel enlargement work and both pumping stations are features of the
St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway Project and the levee closure
is a feature of the Mississippi River Levee Project.
2. Alternatives: Alternatives to manage flood risks in the project
area will be considered. Comparisons will be made among the alternative
plans, including the ``no action'' alternative.
3. Scoping Process: An intensive public involvement program has
been set up to (1) solicit input from individuals and interested
parties so that problems, needs and opportunities within the project
area can be properly identified and addressed and (2) provide status
updates to concerned organizations and the public. Significant issues
being analyzed include potential project impacts (negative and
positive) to fisheries, water quality, wetlands, waterfowl, shorebirds,
endangered species and cultural resources.
Meetings with the local sponsor, public coordination meetings,
interagency environmental meetings and public project briefings/
presentations will be conducted throughout this process. This notice is
being circulated to Federal, State and local environmental resource and
regulatory agencies; Indian Tribes; non-governmental organizations; and
the general public. This notice of intent (NOI) will serve as a request
for scoping input. All interested parties are encouraged to participate
in the scoping process. A public scoping meeting will be held on May
11, 2010, at 7 p.m. in the East Prairie Church of God, 322 N.
Washington St., East Prairie, MO 63845. It is anticipated that the DEIS
will be available for public review during spring 2012. A public
meeting will be held during the review period to receive
[[Page 17394]]
comments and address questions concerning the draft report.
Thomas P. Smith,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Commander.
[FR Doc. 2010-7720 Filed 4-5-10; 8:45 am]
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