[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20481-20482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10193]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for the Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and 
Other Purposes, Part V, Coastal Areas South of St. Lucie Canal, Design 
Memorandum, Canal 51--West End, Control Structure 155A, Pumping Station 
319 and Stormwater Treatment Area 1 East, Palm Beach County, Florida

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along 
with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) intends to 
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the 
feasibility of implementing under the State of Florida's Everglades 
Forever Act of 1994, the Canal 51--West End, Control Structure 155A, 
Pumping Station 319 and Stormwater Treatment Area 1 East, Palm Beach 
County, Florida.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action and draft EIS can be answered by: 
William Porter, U.S. Army Engineer District, PO Box 4970, Jacksonville, 
Florida 32232-0019; Telephone 904-232-2259.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: a. The scope of this study is to evaluate 
implementation of the C-51, West End flood control project. The West 
Palm Beach Canal (C-51) is a component of the Central and Southern 
Florida (C&SF) Flood Control Project. The C-51 basin is located in Palm 
Beach County and extends from the edge of Water Conservation Area (WCA-
1) on the West to Lake Worth on the east near the southerly limits of 
the city of West Palm Beach. The C-51 project will provide flood 
control for the lower 21 miles of the existing West Palm Beach Canal 
and 145 square miles of Palm Beach County. Project works for the east 
end of C-51 have been completed. All engineering and design work for 
the west end was previously discontinued at the request of the local 
sponsor pending the development of a mediated plan for resolution of 
the Everglades litigation. The Everglades Construction Project, a 
product of the Technical Mediated Plan (TMP), incorporates a 
substantially modified version of the Federal C-51 project. The TMP 
consists of modifications to the water management system in the 
Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) and includes construction of six 
large Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) to filter nutrients from 
agricultural runoff before discharges are made to the Everglades. The 
TMP also alters the C-51 West project to include a Stormwater Treatment 
Area.
    The locally preferred plan to be evaluated has many of the same 
physical features proposed in the 1992 Detail Design Memorandum (DDM) 
and are described below. The project will provide 10-year flood 
protection for the western basin of C-51. The major physical difference 
between the 1992 DDM plan and the recommended plan is the replacement 
of the 1,600-acre detention area with the 5,350-acre ``locally 
preferred'' STA 1 East. The most significant modification will be the 
reduction of discharges to Lake Worth, with C-51 West Basin runoff 
directed instead to Water Conservation Area 1 (The Arthur R. Marshall 
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge). Runoff from the C-51 West Basin 
will pass through STA 1E for water quality improvement prior to its 
discharge to Water Conservation Area 1. In addition to the flood damage 
reduction benefits provided by the 1992 plan, the modified plan will 
provide water quality improvement, reduction of damaging freshwater 
discharges to Lake Worth, and increased water supply for the Everglades 
and other users.
    Physical Data on Project Features is as follows: (1) Stormwater 
Treatment Area 1 East, with an effective treatment area of 5,350 acres, 
will be constructed in lieu of the 1,600-acre detention area provided 
for in the 1992 DDM. Inflows to this area will be delivered by Pump 
Station 319. Treated discharges will be lifted to WCA-1 by a new 
outflow pumping station built as part of the Stormwater Treatment Area, 
(2) Pump Station 319 will be relocated to a point about 1.7 miles east 
of the presently planned location. The capacity of the pump station 
will remain about the same, however, the static head differential 
across the pump station will be reduced as a result of the replacement 
of the 1,600-acre detention area with STA 1E, (3) Structure S-155A will 
be constructed in C-51 with a capacity of 1,000 cubic feet per second, 
(4) C-51 Canal enlargements will be required over a distance of about 
4.3 [[Page 20482]] miles between Structure 155A and Pump Station 319.
    Environmental Quality: The Technical Mediated Plan will preserve 
the same flood control benefits that justify the original Corps 
project. The recommended plan will serve other purposes as well: 
provide additional water supply for the Everglades (and other urban and 
environmental users) and provide a filtering area to remove excessive 
nutrients from agricultural runoff before it is discharged into the 
Everglades. As an incidental, but important benefit, the plan will also 
reduce harmful freshwater discharges into Lake Worth at the eastern 
terminus of C-51.
    b. Scoping: The scoping process as outlined by the Council on 
Environmental Quality will be utilized to involve Federal, State, and 
local agencies; and other interested persons and organizations. A 
scoping letter will be sent to interested Federal, State, and local 
agencies requesting their comments and concerns regarding issues they 
feel should be addressed in the EIS. Interested persons and 
organizations wishing to participate in the scoping process should 
contact the Corps of Engineers at the address above. Significant issues 
anticipated include concern for: local groundwater recharge, water 
quality, water supply, recreation, wetlands, fish and wildlife, and 
land use. Public scoping meetings will be held in the near future, the 
exact location, dates, and times will be announced in public notices 
and local newspapers.
    c. It is estimated that the DEIS will be available to the public in 
March 1996.
Gregory D. Showalter,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-10193 Filed 4-25-95; 8:45 am]
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