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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11085-11086]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4305]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers

Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
for the Installation of a Terminal Groin Structure at Lockwood Folly 
Inlet and to Conduct Supplemental Beach Nourishment Along the Eastern 
Oceanfront Shoreline of Holden Beach, in Brunswick County, NC

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), Wilmington District, 
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office 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 Harbor Act, from the 
Town of Holden Beach to develop and implement a shoreline protection 
plan that includes the installation of a terminal groin structure on 
the west side of Lockwood Folly Inlet (a federally maintained 
navigational channel) and the nourishment of the oceanfront shoreline 
along the eastern end of Holden Beach.

DATES: A public scoping meeting for the Draft EIS will be held at 
Holden Beach Town Hall, located at 110 Rothschild Street in Holden 
Beach, on March 8, 2012 at 6 p.m. Written comments will be received 
until March 26, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding scoping of the 
Draft EIS may be submitted to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington 
District, Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number 2011-01914, 69 
Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and Draft EIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Project Manager, 
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4811. 
Additional description of the Town's proposal can be found at the 
following link, http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/WETLANDS/Projects/index.html, under Holden Beach Terminal Groin and Nourishment Project.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project Description. Over the past 
decades, the eastern end of Holden Beach has experienced consistent and 
relatively severe erosional conditions along the oceanfront shoreline 
and primary dune system. As a result of chronic erosion, the Town has 
implemented, typically in coordination with the U.S. Corps of Engineers 
federal channel maintenance dredging, periodic beach nourishment 
activities within this eastern stretch and near the inlet. These 
measures have been short-term in nature; and it is the Town's desire to 
implement a long-term beach and dune stabilization strategy. As stated 
by the Town, this strategy would help protect public and private 
infrastructure from future storms. Their proposal includes constructing 
a terminal groin near the Lockwood Folly Inlet (western side) and 
conducting supplemental sand placement along the eastern end of the 
island. Final locations and placement of sand will be determined during 
the project design process. For the groin structure, final location and 
design has yet to be determined. No groin structure is proposed on the 
opposite, or eastern, side of Lockwood Folly Inlet.
    2. Issues. There are several potential environmental and public 
interest issues that will be addressed in the EIS. Additional issues 
may be identified during the scoping process. Issues initially 
identified as potentially significant include:

[[Page 11086]]

    a. Potential impacts to marine biological resources (benthic 
organisms, passageway for fish and other marine life) and Essential 
Fish Habitat.
    b. Potential impacts to threatened and endangered marine mammals, 
birds, fish, and plants.
    c. Potential impacts associated with using inlets as a sand source.
    d. Potential impacts to adjacent shoreline changes on the east side 
Lockwood Folly Inlet, or along the Town of Oak Island.
    e. Potential impacts to Navigation, commercial and recreational.
    f. Potential impacts to the long-term management of the inlet and 
oceanfront shorelines.
    g. Potential effects on regional sand sources and how it relates to 
sand management practices and North Carolina's Beach Inlet Management 
Practices.
    h. Potential effects of shoreline protection.
    i. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
    k. Potential impacts to recreational and commercial fishing.
    l. The compatibility of the material for nourishment.
    m. Potential impacts to cultural resources.
    n. Cumulative impacts of past, present, and foreseeable future 
dredging and nourishment activities.
    3. Alternatives. Several alternatives and sand sources are being 
considered for the development of the protection plan. These 
alternatives will be further formulated and developed during the 
scoping process and an appropriate range of alternatives, including the 
no federal action alternative, will be considered in the EIS.
    4. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting (see DATES) will be 
held to receive public comment and assess public concerns regarding the 
appropriate scope and preparation of the Draft EIS. Participation in 
the public meeting by federal, state, and local agencies and other 
interested organizations and persons is encouraged.
    The USACE will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination 
Act; with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Endangered 
Species Act; and with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation 
Office under the National Historic Preservation Act. Additionally, the 
USACE will coordinate the Draft EIS with the North Carolina Division of 
Water Quality (NCDWQ) to assess the potential water quality impacts 
pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, and with the North 
Carolina Division of Coastal Management (NCDCM) to determine the 
projects consistency with the Coastal Zone Management Act. The USACE 
will closely work with NCDCM and NCDWQ in the development of the EIS to 
ensure the process complies with all State Environmental Policy Act 
(SEPA) requirements. It is the intention of both the USACE and the 
State of North Carolina to consolidate the NEPA and SEPA processes 
thereby eliminating duplication.
    6. Availability of the Draft PEIS. The Draft EIS is expected to be 
published and circulated by early 2013. A public hearing will be held 
after the publication of the Draft EIS.

    Dated: February 14, 2012.
S. Kenneth Jolly,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-4305 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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