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[Federal Register: September 24, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 185)]
[Notices]               
[Page 58369-58370]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24se10-54]                         

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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 florence.k.bissell@usace.army.mil.

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
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