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[Federal Register: April 16, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 73)]
[Notices]               
[Page 19948-19949]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16ap10-43]                         

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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: 
mark.c.harberg@usace.army.mil, or Lamar McKissack, Project Manager, by 
telephone (816) 389-3115, by mail: 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, 
Missouri 64106, or by e-mail: grady.l.mckissack@usace.army.mil. 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: paul.t.johnston@usace.army.mil.

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]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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