Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 184 / Friday, September 21, 2012 / Notices 58531 

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 EIS. The 

Draft EIS is expected to be published 

and circulated by mid 2013. A public 

hearing will be held after the 

publication of the Draft EIS. 

Dated: September 14, 2012. 

Jean B. Gibby, 

Acting Chief, Regulatory Division. 

[FR Doc. 2012–23300 Filed 9–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; United States 

Corps of Engineers 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Gateway Pacific Terminals Bulk 

Dry Goods Shipping Facility and the 

Custer Spur Rail Expansion Projects 

AGENCY: Department of the Army (DA), 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), 

DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The Corps, Seattle District, 

received permit applications for Pacific 

International Terminal, Inc.’s Gateway 

Pacific Terminal (GPT) and Burlington 

Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway’s 

Custer Spur Rail Expansion projects. DA 

permits are required for both projects 

pursuant to either Section 10 of the 

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 

United States Code (U.S.C.) 403) and/or 

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 

U.S.C. 1344). The Corps has determined 

the proposed projects are interrelated 

and may have significant individual 

and/or cumulative impacts on the 

human environment. An EIS will be 

prepared in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 

4232(2)(c), and the Washington State 

Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). 

Preparation of the EIS will support the 

Corps’ eventual decision to either issue, 

issue with modification or deny DA 

permits for the proposed actions. The 

EIS will assess the potential social, 

economic, and environmental impacts 

of the projects and is intended to be 

sufficient in scope to address Federal, 

State, and local requirements, 

environmental and socio-economic 

issues concerning the proposed action, 

and permit reviews. The EIS process 

begins with the publication of this 

Notice of Intent. The EIS will be 

prepared according to the Corps’ 

procedures for implementing NEPA, 33 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 

325, Appendix B, 53 Federal 

Regulations 3120 (February 3, 1988), 

and consistent with the Corps’ policy to 

facilitate public understanding and 

review of agency proposals. 

DATES: The scoping period will start on 

September 24, 2012. Written comments 

regarding the scope of the EIS— 

including the environmental analysis, 

range of alternatives, and potential 

mitigation actions—should be received 

at the address below or submitted by 

email to: 

comments@eisgatewaypacificwa.gov by 

January 21, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

concerning the project and requests to 

be included on the EIS notification 

mailing list should be submitted to: Mr. 

Randel Perry, U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Seattle District, Care of: GPT/ 

BNSF Custer Spur EIS Co-Lead 

Agencies, 1100 112th Avenue Northeast, 

Suite 400, Bellevue, Washington 98004. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Randel Perry via email at: 

randel.j.perry@usace.army.mil, by 

regular mail at (see ADDRESSES), or at 

(360) 734–3156. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Proposed Action. The construction 

of a new pier in marine waters and 

associated rail and cargo handling 

facilities in adjacent wetlands and 

uplands and the expansion of an 

existing rail spur line into wetlands and 

across streams. The Corps is preparing 

an EIS to analyze the potential social, 

economic, and environmental impacts 

associated with authorizing the actions. 

2. Project Description. The project 

sites are located in Whatcom County, 

Washington, northwest of Ferndale and 

south of Birch Bay in an area called 

Cherry Point. 

Pacific International Terminals, Inc., 

is proposing the GPT project to be 

developed on approximately 350 acres 

and would include a three-berth, deepwater wharf. The proposed wharf would 

be 3,000 feet long and 105 feet wide, 

with access to suitably deep water 

provided by an approximately 1,100 

foot-long by 50 foot-wide trestle. Upland 

facilities will include open air and 

covered commodity storage, each 

serviced by an on-site rail loop. A 

system of conveyors would connect the 

commodity storage areas to the trestle 

and wharf. The upland facilities would 

also contain rail unloading facilities, 

roadways, service buildings, storm 

water treatment facilities, and utility 

infrastructure. Development of these 

facilities will result in impacts to 

approximately 145 acres of wetlands 

and numerous drainage features 

(ditches). Mitigation for proposed 

unavoidable impacts to waters of the 

U.S. will be required to comply with the 

Corps’ 2008 mitigation rule (33 CFR 

322.1). Commodities would be delivered 

to the GPT by rail via the existing BNSF 

Railway’s Custer Spur line from the 

Bellingham subdivision main line. 

BNSF Railway is proposing to upgrade 

its existing Custer Spur line with 

additional tracks and sidings, which 

will impact approximately 17 acres of 

wetlands and involve modifications to 

two creek crossings and several ditches. 

Mitigation for proposed unavoidable 

impacts to waters of the U.S. will be 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
58532 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 184 / Friday, September 21, 2012 / Notices 

required to comply with applicable 

Corps requirements. 

3. Alternatives. The EIS will address 

an array of alternatives for providing 

facilities suitable for the shipping and 

receiving of dry bulk goods (grains, ore, 

coal, etc.) and for handling rail traffic to 

the new facility. Alternatives analyzed 

during the investigation may include 

but are not limited to no-action, 

alternative sites, alternative methods for 

shipping and handling bulk goods, 

alternative facility designs, and 

alternatives for the railroad spur 

upgrades. Mitigation measures may 

include but are not limited to avoidance 

of sensitive areas, creation or 

enhancement of marine macroalgae 

beds, and creation, restoration, or 

enhancement of wetlands. 

4. Scoping Process. The scoping 

period will continue for 120 days after 

publication of this Notice of Intent and 

will close on January 21, 2013. During 

the scoping period, the Corps invites 

Federal agencies, State and local 

governments, Native American Tribes, 

and the public to participate in the 

scoping process either by providing 

written comments or by attending the 

public scoping meetings scheduled at 

the time and location indicated below. 

Written comments will be considered in 

the preparation of the Draft EIS. 

Comments postmarked or received by 

email after the specified date will be 

considered to the extent feasible. 

The purpose of scoping is to assist the 

Corps in defining issues, public 

concerns, and alternatives and the depth 

to which they will be evaluated in the 

EIS. The Corps has prepared project 

information documents to familiarize 

agencies, Tribes, the public, and 

interested organizations with the 

proposed projects and potential 

environmental issues. Copies of the 

documents will be available at the 

public meeting and at the Web site 

www.eisgatewaypacificwa.gov or can be 

requested by contacting the Corps, 

Seattle District, as described above. 

Corps’ representatives will answer 

scope-related questions and accept 

comments at public scoping meetings. 

a. Public scoping meetings will be 

held to present an overview of the GPT 

and Custer Spur projects and to afford 

all parties an opportunity to provide 

comments regarding the range of 

actions, alternatives, and potential 

impacts. The public scoping meetings 

will be held as follows: 

At Squalicum High School, 3773 East 

McLeod Road, Bellingham, 

Washington 98226–7728 on Saturday, 

October 27, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 3 

p.m. 

At Friday Harbor High School, 45 Blair 

Avenue, Friday Harbor, Washington 

98250 on Saturday, November 3, 

2012, from 12 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

At McIntyre Hall, 2501 East College 

Way, Mount Vernon, Washington 

98273 on Monday, November 5, 2012, 

from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

At North Seattle Community College, 

9600 College Way North, Seattle, 

Washington 98103 on Tuesday, 

November 13, 2012, from 4 p.m. to 7 

p.m. 

At Ferndale Events Center, 5715 Barrett 

Road, Ferndale, Washington 98248 on 

Thursday, November 29, 2012, from 3 

p.m. to 7 p.m. 

At Spokane County Fairgrounds, 404 

North Havana Street, Spokane Valley, 

Washington 99202 on Tuesday, 

December 4, 2012, from 4 p.m. to 7 

p.m. 

At Clark College, Graiser Student 

Center, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, 

Vancouver, Washington 98663 on 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012, from 

4 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

During the scoping period, a 

continuous ‘‘on-line scoping meeting’’ 

will be hosted on the EIS Web site at 

www.eisgatewaypacificwa.gov. 

b. Potentially significant issues to be 

analyzed in the EIS include but are not 

limited to project-specific and 

cumulative effects on navigation (e.g., 

vessel traffic and navigational safety); 

marine aquatic habitats, including Statedesignated aquatic reserves; marine 

aquatic species, including Endangered 

Species Act listed species and 

Washington State species of concern; 

Tribal treaty rights; wetland and 

riparian habitat and wildlife; railroad 

and vehicle traffic; cultural, historic, 

and archeological resources; air and 

water quality; noise; recreation; land 

use; and aesthetics. 

c. The Corps will serve as the lead 

agency for compliance with NEPA, and 

Whatcom County Planning and 

Development Services (the County) and 

the Washington State Department of 

Ecology (Ecology) will serve as the lead 

agencies for compliance with SEPA. The 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

and U.S. Coast Guard will serve as 

cooperating agencies under NEPA. The 

Corps will consult with the Washington 

State Historic Preservation Officer and 

applicable Tribes to comply with the 

National Historic Preservation Act; the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 

National Marine Fisheries Service to 

comply with the Endangered Species 

Act; the National Marine Fisheries 

Service to comply with the Essential 

Fish Habitat provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act; and 

applicable Tribes to comply with treaty 

provisions on fishing rights. 

d. Development of the draft EIS will 

begin after the close of the scoping 

period. The draft EIS is currently 

scheduled to be available for public 

review and comment in January 2014. 

e. A 120-day public review period 

will be provided for all interested 

parties, individuals, and agencies to 

review and comment on the draft EIS. 

All interested parties are encouraged to 

respond to this notice and provide a 

current address if they wish to be 

notified when the draft EIS is issued. 

f. All comments received will become 

part of the administrative record and are 

subject to public release, as appropriate, 

in their entirety, including any 

personally identifiable information such 

as names, phone numbers, and 

addresses if included in the comment. 

Dated: September 4, 2012. 

Bruce A. Estok, 

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–23301 Filed 9–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

RIN 0710–AA71 

Reissuance of Nationwide Permits 

AGENCY: Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Final notice; correction. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers published a document in the 

Federal Register of February 21, 2012, 

a final notice concerning the reissuance 

of nationwide permits. On March 19, 

2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

published a correction to that final 

notice. This document contains 

additional corrections to the February 

21, 2012, final notice. 

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Attn: CECW–CO–R, 441 G 

Street NW., Washington, DC 20314– 

1000. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Olson at 202–761–4922 or by 

email at david.b.olson@usace.army.mil 

or access the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers Regulatory Home Page at 

http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/ 

CivilWorks/ 

RegulatoryProgramandPermits.aspx. 

Corrections 

In the Federal Register of February 

21, 2012, in FR Doc. 2012–3687, the 

following corrections are made: 


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