Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 17037 

is at risk from hurricanes and winter 

storms, which regularly erode the 

shoreline, causing damage to structures 

and environmental resources. The 

proposed Bogue Banks Coastal Storm 

Damage Reduction (CSDR) Feasibility 

Study will evaluate several alternatives. 

These alternatives may include 

restoration of berms and dunes, with 

stabilizing vegetation on dunes, removal 

and/or relocation of structures, and the 

no-action alternative. The potential 

project area may be up to 24 miles in 

length, from Beaufort to Bogue Inlets. 

The potential benefits from the 

proposed project include storm damage 

reduction to structures and their related 

infrastructure (i.e., roads, utility lines, 

etc.), improved aesthetic and recreation 

opportunities, and improved habitat 

conditions for endangered species. 

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 other applicable Federal and 

State Laws and Executive Orders. 

DATES: The earliest the DEIS will be 

available for public review would be 

October 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposed action 

and DEIS can be answered by Mr. Eric 

Gasch, Environmental Resources 

Section; U.S. Army Engineer District, 

Wilmington; 69 Darlington Avenue, 

Wilmington, North Carolina 28403; 

telephone: (910) 251–4553; email: 

eric.k.gasch@usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Previous Notice of Intent (NOI) 

publication. This notice is a revision of 

a previously published notice in the 

Federal Register on February 8, 2002, 

(67 FR 6015) to prepare a DEIS and is 

prepared in response to the significant 

amount of time which has passed since 

that NOI. 

2. Authority. Studies are being 

conducted pursuant to a congressional 

resolution concerning Bogue Banks. 

Primary study emphasis is directed 

toward CSDR measures for the beaches 

of Bogue Banks. The authorizing 

resolution states: 

Resolution Adopted July 23, 1998 by the 

United States House of Representatives: 

Resolved by the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

United States House of Representatives, that 

the Secretary of the Army is requested to 

review the report of the Chief of Engineers 

dated November 27, 1984, on Bogue Banks 

and Bogue Inlet, North Carolina, and other 

pertinent reports, to determine whether any 

modifications of the recommendations 

contained therein are advisable at the 

present time in the interest of shore 

protection and related purposes for Bogue 

Banks, North Carolina. 

3. Significant Issues. 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 

resources; and (9) Hazardous Toxic 

Radioactive Waste. 

4. Scoping. All private parties and 

Federal, State, and local agencies having 

an interest in the study are hereby 

notified of the study and are invited to 

comment at this time. A scoping letter 

requesting input to the study was sent 

to all known interested parties on 

December 29, 1999. Considering the 

duration of time that had past since the 

initial scoping effort, a second scoping 

letter will be prepared. 

Based on project comments received 

to date, a scoping meeting will not be 

needed. However, if significant 

comments are received in response to 

this updated NOI and Scoping letter, a 

scoping meeting will be scheduled. All 

comments received as a result of this 

NOI and the scoping letter will be 

considered in the preparation of the 

DEIS. 

5. Alternatives. The alternatives for 

this project will include the no action, 

and others currently being evaluated. 

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 

extend into the Outer Continental Shelf. 

Steven A. Baker, 

Colonel, U.S. Army District Commander. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7039 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA)— 

Louisiana, Mississippi River 

Hydrodynamic and Delta Management 

Study 

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) intends to prepare 

an environmental impact statement 

(EIS) for the Louisiana Coastal Area 

(LCA)—Louisiana, Mississippi River 

Hydrodynamic and Delta Management 

restoration study. This study will 

identify and evaluate a combination of 

large-scale management and restoration 

features to address the long-term 

sustainability of the lower Mississippi 

River Deltaic Plain. Hydrodynamic 

models and other forecast methods will 

be used to determine existing water and 

sediment resources in the Mississippi 

River available to restore and sustain 

delta growth in the Mississippi River 

Delta and assess benefits and impacts of 

large-scale strategies that balance the 

interests of ecosystem restoration, flood 

risk reduction, and navigation. This EIS 

will be tiered off of the November 2004, 

programmatic EIS for the Louisiana 

Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana, 

Ecosystem Restoration Study (LCA 

Study). The record of decision for the 

programmatic EIS was signed on 

November 18, 2005. This notice 

announces the USACE’s intent to host 

six (6) public scoping meetings. 

DATES: Comments on the scope of the 

EIS will be accepted until close of 

business on May 4, 2012. Please refer to 

the ‘‘Scoping’’ section below for 

instructions on how to submit public 

comments, the dates of the upcoming 

public scoping meetings and other 

meeting information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions concerning the draft EIS and 

scoping comments should be addressed 

to Dr. William P. Klein, Jr., CEMVN– 

PDN–CEP, P.O. Box 60267, New 

Orleans, LA 70160–0267; telephone: 

(504) 862–2540; fax: (504) 862–1583; or 

by email: 

william.p.klein.jr@usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Authority. The Mississippi River 

Hydrodynamic and Delta Management 

Study, identified as a large-scale, longterm restoration feature recommended 

for study in the 2004 LCA Study, is 

authorized to be studied under Section 

7003 of the Water Resource 

Development Act (WRDA) 2007 (Pub. L. 

110–114), as well as resolutions of the 

U.S. House of Representatives and 

Senate Committees on Public Works, 

dated April 19, 1967 and October 19, 

1967, respectively. 

2. Proposed Action. The Mississippi 

River Hydrodynamic and Delta 

Management Study is the first largescale, long-term restoration assessment 

investigated under the LCA Program. 

Ecosystem restoration features that 

increase the deposition of Mississippi 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
17038 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 

River sediment in shallow coastal areas 

and restore delta growth and wetland 

sustainability will be identified and 

evaluated. A series of hydrodynamic 

models will be used to evaluate 

Mississippi River sediment and water 

resources including: Hydraulics and the 

relationship of flow conditions to 

sediment transport, salinity intrusion, 

the flux of key nutrients, deposition and 

erosion, and the net results of these 

processes in river channel and 

distributary morphology over more than 

300 miles of the river (Old River to the 

Gulf of Mexico). These models will be 

used for this study and future LCA 

Program studies and projects. Largescale river diversions and outfall 

management measures that optimize the 

river sediment and freshwater resources 

to provide long-term restoration and 

sustainability of the Delta Plain, 

including the sediment-starved barrier 

shorelines, will be considered. Possible 

navigation alternative scenarios could 

include consideration of new navigation 

channels to the east or west of the 

current Mississippi River alignment. 

Navigation channel analysis would be 

limited to preliminary screening as any 

navigation channel re-alignment 

scenarios would require, at a minimum, 

re-scoping the present study. 

The Mississippi River Hydrodynamic 

and Delta Management Study will 

evaluate potential benefits and impacts 

to both the natural and human 

environments. This study will provide 

methods for quantifying effects and 

developing large-scale management 

strategies and projects that balance the 

interests of ecosystem restoration, flood 

control, and navigation purposes for 

Louisiana and the Nation. 

3. Public Involvement. Public 

involvement, an essential part of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) process, is integral to assessing 

the environmental consequences of the 

proposed action and improving the 

quality of the environmental decision 

making. The public includes affected 

and interested Federal, state, and local 

agencies, Indian tribes, concerned 

citizens, stakeholders, and other 

interested parties. Public participation 

in the EIS process will be strongly 

encouraged, both formally and 

informally, to enhance the probability of 

a more technically accurate, 

economically feasible, and socially 

acceptable EIS. Public involvement will 

include, but is not limited to: 

Information dissemination; 

identification of problems, needs and 

opportunities; idea generation; public 

education; problem solving; providing 

feedback on proposals; evaluation of 

alternatives; public and scoping notices 

and meetings; public, stakeholder and 

advisory groups consultation and 

meetings; and making the EIS and 

supporting information readily available 

in conveniently located places, such as 

libraries and on the world wide web. 

4. Scoping. Scoping, an early and 

open process for identifying the scope of 

significant issues related to the 

proposed action to be addressed in the 

EIS, will be used to: (a) Identify the 

affected public and agency concerns; (b) 

facilitate an efficient EIS preparation 

process; (c) define the issues and 

alternatives that will be examined in 

detail in the EIS; and (d) save time in 

the overall process by helping to ensure 

that the draft EIS adequately addresses 

relevant issues. The USACE will host 

six (6) NEPA public scoping meetings at 

the following locations on the dates 

indicated between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.: 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012: Louisiana 

Department of Natural Resources, 

LaBelle Room-1st Floor, 617 North 3rd 

Street Baton Rouge, LA. 

Thursday, April 12, 2012: Port of New 

Orleans, Auditorium 1st Floor, 1350 

Port Of New Orleans Place New 

Orleans, LA. 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012: Larose Civic 

Center, 307 East 5th Street, Cuttoff, LA. 

Thursday, April 19, 2012: Boothville 

Elementary, #1 Oiler Drive Boothville, 

LA. 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012: Waveland 

Civic Center, 335 Coleman Avenue 

Waveland, MS. 

Thursday, April 26, 2012: St. Bernard 

Parish Council Chambers, 8201 W. 

Judge Perez Drive Chalmette, LA. 

A Scoping Meeting Notice 

announcing the specific locations, 

driving directions, dates and times for 

scoping meetings is anticipated to be 

mailed to interested parties in March 

2012. 

5. Coordination. The USACE and the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 

have formally committed to work 

together to conserve, protect, and restore 

fish and wildlife resources while 

ensuring environmental sustainability of 

our Nation’s water resources under the 

January 22, 2003, Partnership 

Agreement for Water Resources and 

Fish and Wildlife. The USFWS will 

provide a Fish and Wildlife 

Coordination Act Report. Coordination 

will be maintained with the USFWS and 

the National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) regarding threatened and 

endangered species under their 

respective jurisdictional 

responsibilities. Coordination will be 

maintained with the NMFS regarding 

essential fish habitat. Coordination will 

be maintained with the Natural 

Resources Conservation Service 

regarding prime and unique farmlands. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will 

be consulted regarding the 

‘‘Swampbuster’’ provisions of the Food 

Security Act. Coordination will be 

maintained with the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency concerning 

compliance with Executive Order 

12898, ‘‘Federal Action to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low-Income 

Populations.’’ Coordination will be 

maintained with the Advisory Counsel 

on Historic Preservation and the State 

Historic Preservation Officer. The 

Louisiana Department of Natural 

Resources will be consulted regarding 

consistency with the Coastal Zone 

Management Act. The Louisiana 

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 

will be consulted concerning potential 

impacts to Natural and Scenic Rivers. 

6. Availability of Draft EIS. The 

earliest that the draft EIS will be 

available for public review would be in 

2016. The draft EIS or a notice of 

availability will be distributed to 

affected Federal, state, and local 

agencies, Indian tribes, and other 

interested parties. 

Dated: March 13, 2012. 

Edward R. Fleming, 

Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7038 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Overseas Environmental Impact 

Statement for Military Readiness 

Activities in the Northwest Training 

and Testing Study Area and To 

Announce Public Scoping Meetings; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Department of Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice; correction. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy 

published a document in the Federal 

Register (77 FR 11497) on February 27, 

2012, concerning public scoping 

meetings to support the development of 

an Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Overseas Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Northwest Training 

and Testing Study Area. The document 

contained an incorrect comment period 

closing date. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Kimberly Kler, Naval Facilities 

Engineering Command, Northwest, 1101 

Tautog Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES