### 63911 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 199 / Friday, October 14, 2011 / Notices

threatened and/or endangered species. The proposed project would involve the discharge of fill material into approximately 28.77 acres of waters of the United States, and the preservation
of 11.04 acres of waters of the U.S. The proposed project would also involve the placement of fill material into 13.61 acres of isolated waters. The proposed project may also have indirect impacts
on other waters of the U.S.

**DATES :**  The Corps will conduct a public scoping meeting that will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 from
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

**ADDRESSES :**  The scoping meeting will be held at Rancho Cordova City Hall, located at 2729 Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Ms. Lisa Gibson, (916) 557–5288, e-mail: lisa.m.gibson2@usace.army.mil

.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Interested parties are invited to submit written comments on the permit application on or before December 13, 2011. Scoping
comments should be submitted within the next 60 days, but may be submitted at any time prior to publication of the
Draft EIS. To submit comments on this notice or for questions about the proposed action and the Draft EIS, please contact: Lisa M. Gibson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5–200, Sacramento, CA 95814–4708. Parties interested in beingadded to the Corps’ electronic mail (email) notification list for the proposed project can e-mail a request to spkregulatory-info@usace.army.mil and indicate which list you would like your
e-mail address to be added. Please refer
to Identification Number SPK–2004– 00790 in any correspondence.

The proposed Excelsior Estates Project site is located in unincorporated eastern Sacramento County. The site is bordered on the north by Keifer Boulevard, on the south by Jackson Highway and on the west by Excelsior Road. The proposed project site is located within portions of Sections 23, 24, 25 and 26, Township 8 North, Range 6 East, Latitude 38.52393 ° North, Longitude 121.27833 ° West, Mount
Diablo Meridian.

Approximately 39.81 acres of waters of the United States are present within the proposed project area. These waters include 21.99 acres of vernal pools, 5.27 acres of seasonal wetlands, 11.08 acres of perennial marsh, 1.19 acres of intermittent drainage, including Morrison Creek, and 0.28 acres of ditches. These areas are subject to the Corps’ jurisdiction. The site also contains 13.61 acres of isolated aquatic habitat, which are not subject to Corps jurisdiction but will be evaluated in the EIS, including 5.80 acres of vernal pools, 2.51 acres of seasonal wetlands, 0.23 acres of ephemeral drainage, a 5.04 acre stock pond and 0.03 acres of ditches. Approximately 630 acres of the 862 acre project site has been designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as critical habitat for the Federally listed vernal pool fairy shrimp ( Branchinecta lynchi), vernal pool tadpole shrimp ( Lepidurus packardi), Sacramento Orcutt grass ( Orcuttia
viscida ) and slender Orcutt grass ( Orcuttia tenuis).

The EIS will include alternatives to the Proposed Action that will meet NEPA requirements for a reasonable range of alternatives, and will also meet the requirements of CWA Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. The alternatives to be evaluated within the EIS have not yet been developed, but will, at a minimum, include the No Action Alternative, the Proposed Project Alternative, additional on-site alternatives, and off-site
alternatives.

Sacramento County will be the lead agency responsible for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and will prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The Corps is anticipating that Sacramento County will agree to develop a joint EIS/ EIR with the Corps.

The Corps’ public involvement program includes several opportunities to provide verbal and written comments on the proposed Excelsior Estates Project through the EIS process. Affected federal, state, and local agencies, Native American tribes, and other interested private organizations and parties are invited to participate. Potentially significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the EIS include
loss of waters of the United States (including wetlands), and impacts related to cultural resources, biological resources, including Federally listed threatened and/or endangered species, air quality, hydrology and water quality, noise, traffic, aesthetics, utilities and service systems, and socioeconomic
effects.

The Corps will initiate formal
consultation with the USFWS under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act for impacts to listed species that may result from the proposed project. The Corps will also consult with the State
Historic Preservation Office under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for properties listed or potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, as appropriate. The Draft EIS is expected to be made available to the public in the summer of

2012.

September 16, 2011.
William J. Leady,
Colonel, U.S. Army District Engineer.

[FR Doc. 2011–26587 Filed 10–13–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3720–58–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE**

**Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers** 

**Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/**  **Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/ DEIR) for a Permit Application for a**  **Proposed Aggregate Terminal Project on Pier D in the Port of Long Beach,**  **Los Angeles County, CA**

**AGENCY :**  Department of the Army—U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

**ACTION :**  Notice of Intent.

**SUMMARY :**  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is considering a permit application from Eagle Rock Aggregates, Inc., a division of Polaris Minerals Corporation, to develop an aggregate receiving and storage terminal on privately held land within the Port of Long Beach (Port). The Proposed Action would be subject to the Corps permitting authority under Section 10 of
the River and Harbors Act and include the following in-water and land-based elements: dredging, wharf improvements, installation of truck scales and conveyor system for
aggregate.

The primary Federal concerns are the dredging and wharf improvements
within waters of the United States and the potential impacts to the natural and human environment. Therefore, in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Corps is requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to consideration of any permit action. The Corps may ultimately make a determination to permit or deny the Proposed Action, or permit or deny alternatives to the Proposed Action.

Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Port will serve as the lead agency for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for its consideration of development approvals within its jurisdiction. The Corps and the Port have agreed to jointly prepare a DEIS/ DEIR in order to optimize efficiency and avoid duplication. The DEIS/DEIR is intended to be sufficient in scope to address the Federal, state, and local


### 63912 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 199 / Friday, October 14, 2011 / Notices

requirements and environmental issues concerning the proposed activities and permit approvals.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Questions about the Proposed Action
and DEIS/DEIS should be directed to Antal Szijj, Corps of Engineers, at (805) 585–2147. Comments regarding the scope of the DEIS/DEIR should be addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Ventura Field Office, ATTN: Antal Szijj, 2151 Allesandro Drive, Suite 110, Ventura, CA 93001. Alternatively, comments can
be e-mailed to antal.j.szijj@usace.army.mil. Comments
should also be sent to Richard D. Cameron, Director of Environmental Planning, Port of Long Beach, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 

1. Project Site and Background Information. The Proposed Project site
is located at Berth D–44 on Pier D in the Port of the Beach (Port). The site is currently owned by L.G. Everist, Inc. and would be leased to Eagle Rock Aggregates for terminal development and operation. The site, located at 1925 Pier D Street, is bounded by Channel 3 to and SSA Matson to the north, G.P. Gypsum to the east, berths D–41, D–42, and D–43 to the west, and Pier D Street to the south. The site was previously used as an aggregate import terminal by Connolly-Pacific Company who operated the terminal from 2000 until 2009. The terminal received pre-sortedaggregate that was barged by dieselpowered tugs boats, where it was offloaded and stockpiled by conveyor
systems.

2. Proposed Action. The Project applicant, Eagle Rock Aggregates, proposes to construct a sand, gravel and granite aggregate receiving, storage, and distribution terminal. The Project site is 8.3 acres in size, of which the Project footprint would occupy 7.25 acres. The proposed dredging and wharf modifications would prepare the site to accept Panamax-class vessels which would deliver aggregate material to the site. The Proposed Project would be dredged to -44 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) over the majority of the dredge footprint. In addition, Eagle Rock Aggregates would conduct advanced maintenance dredging of an additional 2 feet (to -46 MLLW) to mitigate future accumulation of sediments, which are likely to accrete once the facility is operational. The total proposed dredge volume is approximately 6,000 cubic yards. Eagle Rock Aggregates has coordinated with the Dredge Material Management Team/Contaminated Sediments Task Force on disposal options. The dredge material is scheduled for disposal in the Port’s confined disposal facility associated with the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project, which has been approved by the Corps under a separate permit (Corps File No. SPL–2004–01053–AOA).

Wharf improvements would include the construction of a berthing system consisting of 28 steel piles driven into the adjacent uplands to provide anchor points for two V-shaped stiff-legs that would extend overwater to support the Panamax-class vessels, followed by concrete forming and the installation of additional steel legs and land-based conveyor system. These improvements, along with the land-based installation of scales and conveyor equipment would prepare the site to receive aggregate via vessel and transport via trucks from the site. No discharge of fill material into waters of the U.S. is proposed.

3. Issues. There are several potential
issue that will be addressed in the DEIS/ DEIR. Additional issues may be identified during the scoping process. Issues initially identified as potentially significant include:

1. Air pollutant emissions from construction and operation, including a health risk analysis.

2. Marine water resources, including potential impacts on marine biological

resources.

3. Traffic, including navigational issues, and transportation related impacts.

4. Cumulative impacts. In addition, the DEIS/DEIR will address other issues relating to the Corps’ permit action including, but not limited to greenhouse gas emissions, aesthetics, water quality, noise and
cumulative effects.

4. Alternatives. Alternatives initially being considered for the Proposed Project include the following:

(1) Aggregate receiving and storage terminal utilizing Panamax-class vessels, with dredging and wharf modifications (Preferred Alternative);

(2) Aggregate receiving and storage terminal where vessel discharges aggregate material to barges prior to reaching the project site, without dredging or wharf improvements (No Federal Action).

Additional alternatives are currently being considered for the Proposed Project. These alternatives with be further formulated and developed during the scoping process and an appropriate range of alternatives will be
included in the DEIS/DEIR.

5. Scoping Process. The Corps and the Port will jointly conduct a scoping meeting for the Proposed Project. English and Spanish translation, as well as sign language translation services, will be provided at the meeting. The public scoping meeting will be held to receive public comment and assess public concerns regarding the appropriate scope of the DEIS/DEIR. Participation in the public meeting by Federal, state, and local agencies and other interested organizations and persons is encouraged. The Corps will also be coordinating with the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife under the Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act and Endangered Species Act, and with the National
Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act. Additionally the DEIS/DEIR will assess the consistency of the proposed Action with the Coastal Zone Management Act and potential water quality impacts pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The public scoping meeting
for the DEIS/DEIR will be held at the Long Beach City Council Chambers, 333 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, California on November 2, 2011, and will start at 6 pm. Written comments will be accepted until November 16,

2011.

6. Availability of the DEIS/DEIR. The joint lead agencies expect the DEIS/ DEIR to be published and circulated in early 2012. A Public Hearing will also be held during the public comment period for the DEIS/DEIR.

Dated: October 5, 2011.
David J. Castanon, Chief, Regulatory Division, Los Angeles

District.

[FR Doc. 2011–26660 Filed 10–13–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3720–58–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY**

**Proposed Agency Information**
**Collection**

**AGENCY :**  U.S. Department of Energy.

**ACTION :**  Notice and Request for

Comments.

**SUMMARY :**  The Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a proposed collection of information that DOE is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c)