Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 8047 

detailed Environmental Impact 

Statement is not required. The draft 

guidance clarifies that the 

environmental impacts of a proposed 

action may be mitigated to the point 

when the agency may make a FONSI 

determination, and thereby ease the 

NEPA review requirements. When the 

FONSI depends on successful 

mitigation, however, such mitigation 

requirements should be made public 

and be accompanied by monitoring and 

reporting. The draft guidance reinforces 

and also applies to monitoring and 

reporting of mitigation commitments 

agencies make in an EIS and the Record 

of Decision that follows. CEQ has issued 

this draft guidance for 90 days of public 

comment. Draft guidance documents are 

now available at the Council on 

Environmental Quality Web site at 

http://www.nepa.gov. 

Public comments are requested on or 

before May 24, 2010. 

February 18, 2010. 

Nancy Sutley, 

Chair, Council on Environmental Quality. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3535 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3125–W0–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Army Corps 

of Engineers 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Environmental Impact Report for the 

Lower Walnut Creek General 

Reevaluation Report 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers; DOD. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA), the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Sacramento District (USACE) 

intends to prepare a joint environmental 

impact statement/environmental impact 

report (EIS/EIR) for the Lower Walnut 

Creek General Reevaluation Report 

(LWCGRR). USACE will serve as lead 

agency for compliance with NEPA, and 

the Contra Costa County Flood Control 

and Water Conservation District 

(CCCFCWCD) will serve as lead agency 

for compliance with CEQA. The 

LWCGRR will evaluate alternatives, 

including a locally preferred plan, for 

providing flood risk management and 

ecosystem restoration along the 

northern portion of the Walnut Creek 

watershed in the Central Coast of 

California. The approximate drainage 

area of the proposed action and analysis 

is 180 square miles. 

DATES: Written comments regarding the 

scope of the environmental analysis 

should be received by March 23, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

concerning this study and requests to be 

included on the LWCGRR mailing list 

should be submitted to Ms. Jamie 

LeFevre, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

Sacramento District, Attn: Planning 

Division (CESPK–PD–R), 1325 J Street, 

Sacramento, CA 95814. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Jamie LeFevre via telephone at (916) 

557–6693, e-mail at 

Jamie.M.Lefevre@usace.army.mil, or 

mail at (see ADDRESSES). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Proposed Action. USACE is 

preparing an EIS/EIR to analyze the 

environmental impacts associated with 

a range of alternatives for providing 

flood damage reduction and ecosystem 

restoration along the northern portion of 

the Walnut Creek watershed (Figure 1). 

2. Alternatives. The EIS/EIR will 

address an array of alternatives for 

providing flood risk management within 

the project area. Alternatives analyzed 

during the investigation may include, 

but are not limited to, a combination of 

one or more of the following flood risk 

management measures: modifying the 

channel cross section and building 

setback levees along the lower reaches 

of the creek to recreate a larger 

floodplain; increasing conveyance by 

raising levees; widening channels and 

floodway areas; dredging; and various 

floodplain management measures. 

Ecosystem restoration measures may 

include, but are not limited to: restoring 

riparian, wetland, and floodplain 

habitats for habitat restoration and/or 

providing fish passage. 

3. Scoping Process. 

a. A public scoping meeting will be 

held to present an overview of the 

LWCGRR and the EIS/EIR process, and 

to afford all interested parties with an 

opportunity to provide comments 

regarding the scope of analysis and 

potential alternatives. The public 

scoping meeting will be held at the 

Contra Costa County Public Works 

Department at 255 Glacier Drive in 

Martinez, CA on February 22, 2010, 

from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

b. Potentially significant issues to be 

analyzed in depth in the EIS/EIR 

include project specific and cumulative 

effects on hydraulics, wetlands and 

other waters of the U.S., vegetation and 

wildlife resources, special-status 

species, esthetics, cultural resources, 

recreation, land use, fisheries, water 

quality, air quality, and transportation. 

c. USACE will consult with the State 

Historic Preservation Officer to comply 

with the National Historic Preservation 

Act and with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service and National Marine Fisheries 

Service to comply with the Endangered 

Species Act. USACE is also coordinating 

with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

to comply with the Fish and Wildlife 

Coordination Act. In addition, USACE 

or CCCFCWCD will need to obtain 

permits from the California Department 

of Fish and Game and the San Francisco 

Bay Regional Water Quality Control 

Board. 

d. A 45-day public review period will 

be provided for all interested parties 

individuals and agencies to review and 

comment on the draft EIS/EIR. All 

interested parties are encouraged to 

respond to this notice and provide a 

current address if they wish to be 

notified of the draft EIS/EIR circulation. 

4. Availability. The draft EIS/EIR is 

currently scheduled to be available for 

public review and comment in 2016. 

Dated: February 8, 2010. 

Thomas Chapman, 

COL, EN, Commanding. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3493 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Proposed Duke Energy Carolinas, 

LLC, Offshore Wind Demonstration 

Project Within the Pamlico Sound, 

Dare 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, Regulatory Division 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 Harbors Act, from 

Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, to 

construct up to three (3) power 

generating wind turbines within the 

Pamlico Sound and to conduct research 

relating to the development of future 

offshore wind energy projects. This 

project is located within a 3-mile square 

area located approximately 7.3 miles 

west of Avon and 9.1 miles north of 

Frisco within the Pamlico Sound, NC. In 

order to maximize exposure to 

prevailing winds, the turbines will be 

oriented in a northwest to southeast 

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