Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 33 / Friday, February 17, 2012 / Notices 9635 

365, near the US 23/365 State Route 

(SR) 52 intersection. 

The proposed Glades Reservoir water 

supply project would be comprised of a 

new water supply reservoir, as well as 

pipelines and pumping stations for 

withdrawing water from the 

Chattahoochee River and for 

interconnecting with the existing Cedar 

Creek Reservoir. Water would be 

withdrawn from the Cedar Creek 

Reservoir for treatment and distribution 

to customers in Hall County. 

The total system (Glades ReservoirCedar Creek Reservoir system) safe yield 

is estimated to be 80 million gallons per 

day (mgd) (on an annual average daily 

basis), which includes 7.5 mgd of safe 

yield from the existing Cedar Creek 

Reservoir. The Glades Reservoir water 

supply project is proposed to meet an 

unmet projected water demand of 72.5 

mgd in 2060. 

When adequate flows are available in 

the Chattahoochee River, water would 

be withdrawn from the Chattahoochee 

River and delivered to the Hall County 

through the existing Cedar Creek 

Reservoir. 

When insufficient flow occurs, water 

would be released from the Glades 

Reservoir to meet water supply demand 

while maintaining the minimum instream flow in the Chattahoochee River. 

In May 2011, a Jurisdictional Waters 

of the U.S. Delineation was conducted 

by the Applicant on the reservoir site 

using sub-meter global positioning 

system (GPS). The delineation 

determined that the impacts at elevation 

1,180 feet msl would be 39.2 acres of 

wetlands and approximately 95,000 

linear feet of stream. 

2. Scoping and Public Involvement 

Process: The purpose of the public 

scoping process is to determine relevant 

issues that will affect the scope of the 

environmental analysis and EIS 

alternatives. Some areas of potential 

significant impact have been identified, 

but are not limited to the following: 

a. Loss of aquatic resources, including 

wetlands 

b. Water quality 

c. Water quantity, including 

downstream impacts 

d. Air quality 

e. Secondary and cumulative impacts 

f. Federal navigation 

g. Federal projects 

h. Socioeconomics, including 

environmental justice 

i. Cultural resources 

j. Threatened and endangered species. 

The EIS process is being implemented 

so that the application can be fully 

evaluated and a permit decision can be 

made. The purpose of the EIS scoping 

meetings is to gather information on the 

subjects to be studied in detail in the 

EIS. 

3. Purpose and Need. The purpose of 

the proposed action is to provide 

sufficient water supply to meet 

projected water demand in Hall County 

through the year 2060. 

4. Alternatives. An evaluation of 

alternatives to the Applicant’s preferred 

alternative initially being considered 

includes a No Action alternative, 

alternatives that would avoid, minimize 

and compensate for impacts to the 

aquatic environment, alternatives 

utilizing alternative practices, and other 

reasonable alternatives that will be 

developed through the project scoping 

process which may also meet the 

identified purpose and need. 

5. Additional Resources to be 

Evaluated. Resource areas to be 

evaluated that have been identified to 

date include the following: potential 

direct effects to waters of the U.S. 

including aquatic species; 

environmental justice; socioeconomic 

environment; archaeological and 

cultural resources; recreation and 

recreational resources; energy supply 

and natural resources; hazardous waste 

and materials; aesthetics; public health 

and safety; navigation; erosion and 

accretion; cumulative impacts; public 

benefit and needs of the people along 

with potential effects on the human 

environment. All parties who express 

interest will be given an opportunity to 

participate in the process. 

6. Public Scoping Meetings. Three 

public scoping meetings will be held at 

the following locations/dates: 

a. March 20, 2012, 4 to 8 p.m. at 

Gainesville State College, 3820 

Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood, GA 

30566 

b. March 21, 2012, 4 to 8 p.m. at 

Lexington Auburn University 

Convention Center, 1577 South 

College Street, Auburn, AL 36832; 

c. March 22, 2012, 4 to 8 p.m. at 

Apalachicola National Estuarine 

Research Reserve, 108 Island Drive, 

Eastpoint, FL 32328 

The USACE will announce the public 

scoping meetings through local news 

media and the Web page at least 15 days 

prior to the first meeting. Comments are 

encouraged from the public, federal, 

state, and local agencies and officials, 

Indian tribes, and other interested 

parties so that the scope of the EIS may 

be properly identified. 

7. Coordination. The proposed action 

is being coordinated with a number of 

Federal, state, regional and local 

agencies including, but not limited to, 

the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, and the Georgia Department of 

Natural Resources Environmental 

Protection Division. These agencies 

were requested by the USACE Savannah 

District to be cooperating agencies for 

this EIS per Council on Environmental 

Quality regulations at 40 CFR 1501.6. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency and the Georgia Environmental 

Protection Division have agreed to 

participate in the EIS process as 

cooperating agencies. Other agencies, 

including the state resource protection 

agencies of the States of Alabama and 

Florida and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service may also comment during the 

scoping process. 

8. Availability of the Draft EIS. The 

USACE currently expects the Draft EIS 

to be made available to the public by 

December 30, 2012. 

Russell L. Kaiser, 

Chief, Regulatory Division. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3359 Filed 2–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement in 

Cooperation With the North Carolina 

Department of Transportation for the 

Improvement of a 27.3 Mile Segment of 

US Highway 64 in Tyrrell and Dare 

Counties, NC 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, 

Wilmington Regulatory Division is 

issuing this notice to advise the public 

that a State of North Carolina funded 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(DEIS) has been prepared for the 

improvement of US 64 to a multilane 

facility, and replacement of the Lindsay 

C. Warren bridge, in Tyrrell and Dare 

Counties, North Carolina (TIP Projects 

R–2544 and R–2545). 

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS 

will be received until April 2, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Bill Biddlecome, U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, Washington 

Regulatory Field Office, 2407 West 5th 

Street, Washington, NC 27889 or 

Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Project 

Development and Environmental 

Analysis Unit, North Carolina 

Department of Transportation, 1548 

Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North 

Carolina 27699–1548. 

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9636 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 33 / Friday, February 17, 2012 / Notices 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposed action 

and the DEIS can be directed to Mr. Bill 

Biddlecome, COE—Regulatory Project 

Manager, telephone: (910) 251–4558 or 

Mr. Ted Devens, Project Development 

Engineer, telephone: (919) 707–6018. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The COE 

in cooperation with the North Carolina 

Department of Transportation (NCDOT) 

has prepared a Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (DEIS) on a proposal 

to make transportation improvements to 

a 27.3 mile segment of existing US 

Highway 64 in Tyrrell (TIP No. R–2545) 

and Dare (TIP No. R–2544) Counties, 

North Carolina, from a two-lane to a 

multiple-lane roadway, including 

replacement of the Lindsay C. Warren 

Bridge over the Alligator River. 

The purpose of the proposed project 

is to reduce US 64 hurricane evacuation 

time to better meet state clearance goals 

in the project study area, to insure 

consistency with North Carolina’s 

Strategic Highway Corridor Plan (which 

seeks long-term interconnectivity of 

consistent transportation corridors in 

North Carolina) and the Intrastate 

Highway System, and to maintain a 

bridge across the Alligator River that 

meets the needs of highway users. 

This project is being reviewed 

through a Merger 01 process that is 

designed to streamline the project 

development and permitting processes; 

the process was mutually developed by 

NCDOT, COE, the North Carolina 

Department of Environment and Natural 

Resources (Division of Water Quality 

and Division of Coastal Management), 

the Federal Highway Administration 

(not applicable for this project), and 

supported by other stakeholder agencies 

and local units of government. Other 

partnering agencies on this project’s 

Merger 01 team include the: U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service; National 

Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast 

Guard, N.C. Wildlife Resources 

Commission; N.C. Department of 

Cultural Resources, N.C. Division of 

Marine Fisheries, and the Alligator 

River National Wildlife Refuge. During 

the NEPA/SEPA decision-making phase 

of transportation projects, the Merger 

process provides a forum for 

appropriate agency representatives to 

discuss and reach consensus on the 

identification and selection of project 

alternatives that meet project purpose 

and need requirements, as well as the 

regulatory requirements of Section 404 

of the Clean Water Act. 

In 1989, US 64 was designated as part 

of the State’s Intrastate System under 

Chapter 136 of the North Carolina 

General Statutes. In January 1999, 

NCDOT initiated a study to improve US 

64 to a multi-lane facility from 

Columbia in Tyrrell County east to US 

64/US 264 in Dare County. A series of 

meetings were held with local officials 

and residents of East Lake and Manns 

Harbor. There was general support for 

the project from local officials and 

residents. 

In 2002, the project was presented to 

Federal and State Resource and 

Regulatory Agencies to gain 

concurrence on the purpose and need 

for the project. Following the meeting, 

it was agreed that further work on the 

US 64 project would be postponed 

pending completion of a revised 

Hurricane Evacuation study. The 

hurricane model revisions were 

completed in 2005. Model development 

was accomplished in conjunction with 

an Oversight Committee consisting of 

representatives from NCDOT, FHWA, 

numerous state and federal 

environmental resource and regulatory 

agencies, and Emergency Management 

officials from North Carolina’s coastal 

counties. It was agreed that an 18-hour 

standard for clearance times would be 

applied to a Category 3 storm with 75 

percent tourist occupancy of the Outer 

Banks. The 18-hour goal was adopted by 

the North Carolina Legislature in 2005. 

Following the completion of the new 

Hurricane Evacuation Study, the project 

was reinitiated as a State funded 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

A scoping meeting was conducted on 

February 6, 2007 followed by a Public 

Officials Meeting and Citizens 

Informational Workshop on March 14, 

2007. Public officials from Tyrrell and 

Dare Counties and the Towns of 

Columbia and Manteo attended the 

public officials meeting. There was 

unanimous support for the project from 

all local officials. A NEPA/404 Merger 

01 Purpose and Need meeting was 

conducted on June 14, 2007. The Merger 

Team agreed that a suitable Purpose and 

Need exists for the project. 

NEPA/404 Merger 01 meetings to 

determine Alternatives to be Studied 

were held on June 19 and August 21, 

2008. Concurrence was not reached by 

the Merger Team. The Team provided 

issue briefs to the next-level Merger 

Management Team, which includes 

representatives from COE, North 

Carolina Department of Environment 

and Natural Resources Division of Water 

Quality, Federal Highway 

Administration, and NCDOT. At a 

meeting on October 16, 2008, the Merger 

Management Team agreed on the 

alternatives to be studied in detail in the 

DEIS, including lane, shoulder, and 

median widths; bridge navigation 

height, and corridor locations. On 

October 20, 2008, the full Merger Team 

concurred on typical sections in Tyrrell 

County and Tyrrell and Dare county 

corridor locations. They further 

concurred that additional 

environmental analysis would be 

conducted to determine alignments to 

be evaluated in detail in the DEIS 

within the selected corridors. 

Upon completion of the DEIS, NCDOT 

submitted a request to COE to solicit 

comment from the public in order to 

identify the Least Environmentally 

Damaging Practicable Alternative 

(LEDPA) for the project. The Merger 

Team will meet again during late 2012 

to select a LEDPA; however multiple 

meetings are anticipated which results 

in a concurrence expectation of late 

2012 or early 2013. 

Citizen public hearings are being 

scheduled by NCDOT for early spring 

2012, at which time citizens will be able 

to voice their opinions on the current 

alternatives under study. Citizen input 

will be considered during LEDPA 

deliberations by the Merger Team. After 

a LEDPA decision is made, the 

recommended alternative(s) will be 

reported in a Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (FEIS), along with any 

supplementary studies or additional 

information that is collected after the 

DEIS. 

The DEIS is electronically available 

on the COE’s Web site at: http:// 

www.saw.usace.army.mil/Wetlands/ 

Projects/US 64Improvements and also 

available on the NCDOT Web site at: 

http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/ 

us64improvements/. Any person having 

difficulty viewing the document online 

can contact the COE project manager or 

the NCDOT project manager for a CD 

copy of the document. Hardcopies of the 

DEIS are available at the NCDOT’s 

Resident Engineer’s Office in Manteo, 

public libraries in Manteo and 

Columbia, and county offices in Manteo 

and Columbia. 

After distribution and review of the 

DEIS and Final Environmental Impact 

Statement, the Applicant (NCDOT) 

understands that COE, in coordination 

with NCDOT, will issue a Record of 

Decision (ROD) for the project. The ROD 

will document the completion of the EIS 

process and will serve as a basis for 

permitting decisions by federal and state 

agencies. 

To ensure that the full range of issues 

related to this proposed action is 

addressed and all significant issues are 

identified, comments and suggestions 

are invited from all interested parties. 

Comments or questions concerning this 

proposed action and the EIS should be 

directed to COE at the address provided. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 33 / Friday, February 17, 2012 / Notices 9637 

The Wilmington District will 

periodically issue Public Notices 

soliciting public and agency comment 

on the proposed action and alternatives 

to the proposed action as they are 

developed. 

Dated: February 8, 2012. 

Henry M. Wicker, 

Acting Chief, Wilmington Regulatory District. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3751 Filed 2–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Process for Requesting a Variance 

From Vegetation Standards for Levees 

and Floodwalls; Additional Filings 

AGENCY: United States Army Corps of 

Engineers, Department of Defense. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) is updating the 

process for requesting a variance from 

vegetation standards for levees and 

floodwalls to reflect organizational 

changes and incorporate current agencywide review processes. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before April 17, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number COE– 

2010–0007 by any of the following 

methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Email: 

tammy.conforti@usace.army.mil. 

Include the docket number, COE–2010– 

0007 in the subject line of the message. 

Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

Attn: CECW–CE, Tammy Conforti, 441 

G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314– 

1000. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to 

security requirements, we cannot 

receive comments by hand delivery or 

courier. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

docket number COE–2010–0007. All 

comments received will be included in 

the public docket without change and 

may be made available on-line at 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided, 

unless the commenter indicates that the 

comment includes information that is 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Do not submit 

information that you consider to be CBI, 

or otherwise protected, through 

regulations.gov or email. The 

regulations.gov web site is an 

anonymous access system, therefore, if 

you wish to provide your identity or 

contact information it must be included 

in the text of your comment. If you send 

an email directly to USACE, your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, we 

recommend that you include your name 

and other contact information in the 

body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If we 

cannot read your comment because of 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, we may not be able 

to consider your comment. Electronic 

comments should avoid the use of any 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to 

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed. Although listed in 

the index, some information is not 

publicly available, such as CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

is not placed on the Internet and will be 

publicly available only in hard copy 

form. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Conforti, Levee Safety Program 

Manager, Headquarters, USACE, 

Washington, DC at 202–761–4649. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

variance request process was developed 

to implement Section 202(g) of the 

Water Resources Development Act 

(WRDA) of 1996. Consistent with our 

regulations for implementing NEPA for 

our Civil Works programs, we have 

included a Finding of No Significant 

Impact (FONSI) for review. 

To comply with the requirements of 

the National Environmental Policy Act, 

a draft environmental assessment (EA) 

has been prepared. A copy of the draft 

EA is available at www.regulations.gov 

in docket number COE–2010–0007. If 

you would like to submit comments on 

the draft EA, you must do so before the 

end of the comment period specified in 

the DATES section above. 

The current commenting period is the 

second solicitation for comments on the 

revised Process for Requesting a 

Variance from Vegetation Standards for 

Levees and Floodwalls. The first 

comment period was open from 9 

February 2010 to 26 April 2010. USACE 

reviewed and considered 561 comments 

from 110 separate organizations and 

individuals. The USACE response to 

these comments received can be found 

at http://www.nfrmp.us/guidance.cfm. 

Authority: We are proposing to issue this 

Policy Guidance Letter under the authority of 

33 U.S.C. 701n. 

Dated: February 7, 2012. 

James C. Dalton, 

Chief, Engineering and Construction, 

Directorate of Civil Works. 

Policy Guidance Letter (PGL)—Process 

for Requesting a Variance From 

Vegetation Standards for Levees and 

Floodwalls 

1. Purpose. This policy guidance 

letter (PGL) revises the procedures for 

obtaining a variance from U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (USACE) mandatory 

vegetation-management standards 

contained in Engineer Technical Letter 

(ETL) 1110–2–571—‘‘Guidelines for 

Landscape Planting and Vegetation 

Management at Levees, Floodwalls, 

Embankment Dams, and Appurtenant 

Structures’’ pursuant to Section 202(g) 

of the Water Resources Development 

Act (WRDA) of 1996. This PGL also 

includes timeframes and options for 

existing variances. These procedures 

align with the USACE Levee Safety 

Program goals of ensuring life safety as 

a top priority and applying consistent 

processes to make well-informed 

decisions. This PGL supersedes the 

existing regional variance policy and 

process contained in Engineer 

Regulation (ER) 500–1–1 and Engineer 

Pamphlet (EP) 500–1–1 (including 

Appendix E), dated 30 September 2001, 

and will serve as the applicable 

guidance until this process is 

incorporated into a USACE engineer 

publication. 

2. Applicability. This PGL applies to 

all Headquarters USACE (HQUSACE) 

elements, Major Subordinate Commands 

(MSCs), districts, and field operating 

activities having responsibility for Civil 

Works projects. This policy applies to 

levees within the USACE Levee Safety 

Program, including those (1) USACE 

operated and/or maintained; (2) 

federally authorized, typically USACE 

constructed, and locally operated and 

maintained; and (3) locally constructed 

and locally operated and maintained, 

but associated with the USACE 

Rehabilitation and Inspection Program 

(RIP) (also known as the Pub. L. 84–99 

program). 

3. References. 

a. Engineer Regulation (ER) 500–1–1, 

Emergency Employment of Army and 

Other Resources, Civil Emergency 

Management Program, 30 September 

2001. 

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