[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 73 (Friday, April 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19948-19949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8729]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study, Missouri River Basin,
United States
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Division C, Title I, Section 108 of the Omnibus
Appropriations Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-8), and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the U.S Army Corps
of Engineers (USACE) Omaha and Kansas City Districts intend to conduct
the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS). The study is
anticipated to produce a comprehensive feasibility-type report with an
integrated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Public Law 111-8 authorizes the USACE to review the original
project purposes within the Missouri River Basin based on the Flood
Control Act of 1944, as amended, and other-subsequent relevant
legislation and judicial rulings to determine if changes to the
authorized project purposes and existing federal water resource
infrastructure may be warranted. The authorized Missouri River project
purposes are: fish and wildlife, flood control, irrigation, navigation,
power, recreation, water quality, and water supply.
Public scoping for the MRAPS will begin in late May 2010. Future
public notices will identify how written comments and suggestions
concerning the study may be submitted. Please see http://www.mraps.org
and the Scoping and Public Involvement section below for additional
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or
questions about the MRAPS, please contact Mr. Mark Harberg, Project
Manager, by telephone: (402) 995-2554, by mail: 1616 Capitol Avenue,
Omaha, Nebraska 68102-4901, or by e-mail:
[email protected], or Lamar McKissack, Project Manager, by
telephone (816) 389-3115, by mail: 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City,
Missouri 64106, or by e-mail: [email protected]. For
inquiries from the media, please contact the USACE Omaha District
Public Affairs Officer (PAO), Mr. Paul Johnston by telephone: (402)
995-2416, by mail: 1616 Capitol Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska 68102, or by e-
mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Description of Proposed Study. Encompassing an area of
approximately 530,000 square miles and a number of governing entities
including ten states, two Canadian provinces, and 28 Native American
tribes, the Missouri River Basin is the second largest river basin in
the United States. From its source at Three Forks, Montana, the
Missouri River flows east and southeast for a total of 2,341 miles
before emptying into the Mississippi River, just north of St. Louis,
Missouri, making it the longest river in the United States. The
Missouri River passes through a variety of physiographic provinces,
provides habitat to diverse populations of flora and fauna, contains
important cultural resources, and supports a variety of human uses. Due
to its geographic scale and diversity, the management of the
[[Page 19949]]
Missouri River falls under a variety of USACE authorities and programs
as well as programs and authorities of other agencies.
Major human alterations to the Missouri River began as early as the
late 1800s with the removal of snags to improve navigation. River
alterations continued into the twentieth century. At the direction of
Congress, the USACE enhanced navigation, built dams, and regulated
river flows. Simultaneously, land use changes affecting the River's
floodplain occurred creating a system very different from its pre-
alteration condition. Managing today's altered Missouri River is a
complex task due to competing demands from a variety of different uses.
The past two decades have produced a great deal of debate among Basin
stakeholders on how to best manage the River's resources.
The 1944 Flood Control Act, as amended, and subsequent legislation
have directed the USACE to allocate the River's resources among the
authorized Missouri River project purposes; which are: Fish and
wildlife, flood control, irrigation, navigation, power, recreation,
water quality, and water supply. Section 108 of the Energy and Water
Development Section of the FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Act provides the
USACE authorization to study the Missouri River projects located within
the Missouri River Basin to review the original authorized project
purposes to determine if changes to the project purposes and existing
Federal water resource infrastructure may be warranted. The study
authorized by Section 108 will be referred to as the Missouri River
Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS). The MRAPS is a broad-based multi-
purpose study that is anticipated to culminate in a comprehensive
feasibility-type report with an integrated EIS. The MRAPS will be
conducted in accordance with NEPA and with the ``Principles and
Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resource Implementation Studies''
(Water Resource Council, 1983).
The scope of the MRAPS will be limited to review of the original
authorized project purposes within the Missouri River Basin and will
include a review of other Federal water resource infrastructure related
thereto, such as those projects that are dependent on USACE operations
or are covered by an operational agreement with the USACE. The MRAPS
will evaluate the study area as a comprehensive system of projects,
infrastructure, and natural resources providing a detailed review of
the existing project purposes and conditions, evaluation of the current
needs and problems within the study area, and could lead to
consideration of operational and/or infrastructure alternatives.
2. Scoping and Public Involvement Process. The MRAPS will include
multiple phases of public, agency, and tribal government involvement.
The first official phase of public scoping will be conducted throughout
the Basin from late May 2010 through late August 2010, and will seek
input on problems, opportunities, and constraints related to the
existing authorized purposes and gather general concerns, issues, and
needs related to the study. This scoping period plans for 29 public
scoping meetings and 11 tribal focused public scoping meetings.
Specific locations and dates of these meetings will be officially
announced through electronic media, news releases, and mailings.
Additional public meetings and involvement will take place throughout
the study. For more information on scoping phases, dates, meeting
locations, and general information, please visit http://www.mraps.org.
3. Significant Issues. Issues associated with the proposed study
are likely to include, but will not be limited to: existing
infrastructure and resource conditions; statutory and legal
responsibilities including relevant court decisions; effects of
potential alternatives on uses including, but not necessarily limited
to: flood control, navigation, fish and wildlife, irrigation, power,
recreation, water supply, and water quality control; defining the
relationship with current USACE programs including the Missouri River
Recovery Program (MRRP), Missouri River Ecosystem Restoration Plan
(MRERP), and the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project (BSNP); and
analysis of effects to the Mississippi River from potential actions or
alternatives that are examined in the Missouri River Basin.
4. Additional Review and Consultation. Additional public,
scientific, and statutory review and consultation could include, but
will not be limited to: The Clean Water Act, the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the
Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Air Act.
5. Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Availability of the Draft EIS is contingent upon allocation of funding
as the study progresses. Draft EIS availability will be announced to
the public in the Federal Register in compliance with 40 CFR 1506.9 and
1506.10.
Dated: April 6, 2010.
Kayla Eckert Uptmor,
Chief Planning Branch, Omaha District.
Dated: April 7, 2010.
David L. Combs,
Chief Planning Branch, Kansas City District.
[FR Doc. 2010-8729 Filed 4-15-10; 8:45 am]
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