11086 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 2012 / Notices 

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 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Revised Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

for the Brunswick County Beaches, 

NC, Coastal Storm Damage Reduction 

Project 

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 

(Corps) is currently conducting a 

General Reevaluation Report (GRR) for 

the Brunswick County Beaches, NC, 

Coastal Storm Damage Reduction 

(CSDR) Project. The Corps intends to 

prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the 

impacts of the proposed CSDR 

alternatives to reduce coastal storm 

damages from beach erosion in the 

towns of Holden Beach, Oak Island, and 

Caswell Beach, North Carolina. An array 

of structural, non-structural, and no 

action alternatives are being evaluated. 

Current analyses suggest that the dune 

and berm beach fill alternative 

maximizes net CSDR benefits for the 

project area beaches and provides 

additional environmental and recreation 

benefits. An offshore borrow area has 

been identified within the Southwestern 

portion of Frying Pan Shoals (FPS) 

(located off the coast of Cape Fear, 

North Carolina) to provide beach 

compatible sediment for the 50-year life 

of the project. 

The DEIS is being prepared in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and will 

address the relationship of the proposed 

action to all other applicable Federal 

and State Laws and Executive Orders. 

DATES: The earliest the DEIS will be 

available for public review would be 

August 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposed action 

and DEIS can be answered by Mr. Doug 

Piatkowski, Environmental Resources 

Section; U.S. Army Engineer District, 

Wilmington; 69 Darlington Avenue, 

Wilmington, North Carolina 28403; 

telephone: (910) 251–4908; email: 

douglas.piatkowski@usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Previous Notice of Intent (NOI) 

publication. This notice is a revision of 

an August 26, 2003, NOI (68 FR 51257) 

to prepare a DEIS and is prepared in 

response to changes in the proposed 

action, availability of new information 

relative to the proposal and associated 

impacts, and the significant amount of 

time which has passed since the last 

NOI. 

2. Authority. Federal improvements 

for CSDR along a segment of the ocean 

shoreline in Brunswick County, North 

Carolina, were authorized by the Flood 

Control Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89–789). 

The most applicable text is copied 

below. 

The project for hurricane-flood control 

protection from Cape Fear to the North 

Carolina—South Carolina State line, North 

Carolina, is hereby authorized substantially 

in accordance with the recommendations of 

the Chief of Engineers in House Document 

Numbered 511, Eighty-ninth Congress. 

3. Project Purpose. The project 

purpose is reduction of damages from 

beach erosion for the towns of Caswell 

Beach, Oak Island (the former towns of 

Long Beach and Yaupon Beach have 

been incorporated as the Town of Oak 

Island), and Holden Beach, North 

Carolina. If implemented, the project 

would also enhance the beach area 

available for recreation use and provide 

habitat for a variety of plants and 

animals. 

Significant environmental resources 

to be addressed in the DEIS include, but 

are not limited to: (1) Endangered and 

threatened species; (2) Marine and 

estuarine resources; (3) Upland beach 

and dune resources; (4) Fish and 

wildlife and their habitats; (5) Essential 

Fish Habitat (EFH) and Cape Fear Sandy 

Shoals; (6) Water and air quality; (7) 

Socioeconomic resources; (8) Cultural 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 2012 / Notices 11087 

resources; and (9) Hazardous Toxic 

Radioactive Waste. 

4. Alternatives. Project alternatives 

being evaluated consist of an array of 

structural and non-structural 

alternatives and no action. Structural 

alternatives include ‘‘soft’’ structures 

such as beach fill (i.e., beach 

nourishment) and ‘‘hard’’ structures 

such as breakwaters, seawalls, and 

groins. An array of ‘‘soft’’ structure 

beach fill alternatives are being 

evaluated, including berm only and 

multiple dune elevation and berm width 

combinations. The use of ‘‘hard’’ 

structures will be addressed within the 

updated planning paradigm in the state 

of North Carolina and relative to 

compliance with the Federal Coastal 

Zone Management Act. Non-structural 

alternatives considered include 

relocation of structures and acquisition 

and demolition of structures. Based 

upon analyses completed to date, the 

proposed action consists of a dune and 

berm beach fill alternative. The 

currently proposed beach fill alternative 

for Oak Island and Caswell Beach is a 

14-foot-dune and 75-foot-berm 

extending along approximately 4.5 

miles of total shoreline. The proposed 

beach fill alternative for Holden Beach 

is a 14-foot-dune and 50-foot-berm 

extending along approximately 4.2 

miles of shoreline. The estimated total 

volume of beach compatible sediment 

needed for the 50-year project life, 

including initial construction and 

nourishment intervals, is approximately 

42 million cubic yards. 

Several inshore, offshore, and upland 

borrow sites were initially investigated 

for quantity and quality of beach 

compatible sediment to support the 

project. The currently proposed borrow 

site for initial construction and 

nourishment intervals is located along 

the southwestern portion of FPS, the 

cape associated shoals located southeast 

of Bald Head Island, North Carolina. 

The limits of the borrow area extend 

between 1–5 miles offshore and at depth 

contours between ¥10 and ¥30 feet. 

5. Scoping. On January 24, 2000, in 

accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7, a 

scoping letter was sent to agencies, 

interest groups, and the public 

requesting identification of significant 

resources and issues of concern with 

respect to the proposed project. 

Considering the duration of time that 

had past and the decision to prepare an 

EIS based on comments received during 

the initial scoping effort, a second 

scoping letter was sent on 6 December 

2004. All scoping comments received to 

date have been documented in the 

report and have been considered in the 

formulation of project alternatives. 

Additional scoping meetings have not 

been requested and are not anticipated 

at this time. 

All affected federal, state, and local 

agencies, affected Indian tribes, and 

other interested private organizations 

and parties having an interest in the 

study are, hereby, notified of this 

revised NOI to prepare a DEIS. 

6. Cooperating Agencies. The Corps is 

the lead agency for this project. 

Cooperating agency status has been 

initiated with the Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management since the offshore 

limits of the proposed borrow area at 

FPS extend into the Outer Continental 

Shelf. 

Steven A. Baker, 

Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4307 Filed 2–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; 

Investing in Innovation Fund, 

Development Grants 

AGENCY: Office of Innovation and 

Improvement, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Overview Information: Investing in 

Innovation Fund, Development grants 

Notice inviting applications for new 

awards for fiscal year (FY) 2012. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.411P (Development 

grants Pre-Application). 84.411C 

(Development grants Full Application). 

Note: In order to receive an Investing in 

Innovation Fund (i3) Development grant, an 

entity must submit a pre-application. The 

pre-application is intended to reduce the 

burden of submitting a full i3 application. 

Pre-applications will be reviewed and scored 

by peer reviewers using selection criteria 

designated in this notice. Only entities that 

have submitted a top-rated pre-application 

will be eligible to submit a full i3 

application. 

DATES: 

Pre-Applications Available: February 

27, 2012. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to 

Submit Pre-Application: March 15, 

2012. 

Deadline for Transmittal of Preapplications: April 9, 2012. 

Full Applications Available: If you are 

selected to submit a full application, we 

will transmit the full application 

package and instructions to you. 

Deadline for Transmittal of Full 

Applications: Only entities that 

submitted a top-rated pre-application as 

scored by the peer reviewers and as 

identified by the Department will be 

eligible to submit a full i3 application. 

The Department will announce on its 

Web site the deadline date for 

transmission of full applications. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: 60 calendar days after the 

deadline date for transmittal of full 

applications. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The Investing in 

Innovation Fund, established under 

section 14007 of the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), 

provides funding to support (1) local 

educational agencies (LEAs), and (2) 

nonprofit organizations in partnership 

with (a) one or more LEAs or (b) a 

consortium of schools. The purpose of 

this program is to provide competitive 

grants to applicants with a record of 

improving student achievement and 

attainment in order to expand the 

implementation of, and investment in, 

innovative practices that are 

demonstrated to have an impact on 

improving student achievement or 

student growth (as defined in this 

notice), closing achievement gaps, 

decreasing dropout rates, increasing 

high school graduation rates, or 

increasing college enrollment and 

completion rates. 

These grants will (1) allow eligible 

entities to expand and develop 

innovative practices that can serve as 

models of best practices, (2) support 

partnerships between eligible entities 

and the private sector and philanthropic 

community, and (3) support eligible 

entities in identifying and documenting 

best practices that can be shared and 

taken to scale based on demonstrated 

success. 

Under this program, the Department 

awards three types of grants: ‘‘Scale-up’’ 

grants, ‘‘Validation’’ grants, and 

‘‘Development’’ grants. The three grant 

types differ in the evidence that an 

applicant is required to submit in 

support of its proposed project; the 

expectations for ‘‘scaling up’’ successful 

projects during or after the grant period, 

either directly or through partners; and 

the funding that a successful applicant 

is eligible to receive. This notice invites 

applications for Development grants. 

The Department anticipates publishing 

notices inviting applications for the 

other types of i3 grants (i.e., Validation 

and Scale-up grants) in the spring of 

2012. 

Development grants provide funding 

to support high-potential and relatively 

untested practices, strategies, or 

programs whose efficacy should be 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES