44700 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 154 / Friday, August 13, 2021 / Notices 

Commissary Agency 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

MR 3232—So Fabulous Monofiliment 

Brush 

MR 3235—Ponytailers Girls 

Designated Source of Supply: Association for 

Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, 

Inc., Binghamton, NY 

Contracting Activity: Military Resale-Defense 

Commissary Agency 

Service(s) 

Service Type: Medical Transcription 

Mandatory for: Veterans Affairs Medical 

Center, Alexandria, LA 

Designated Source of Supply: Lighthouse for 

the Blind of Houston, Houston, TX 

Contracting Activity: VETERANS AFFAIRS, 

DEPARTMENT OF, NAC 

Michael R. Jurkowski, 

Acting Director, Business Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17371 Filed 8–12–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6353–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement to the 2014 Final Integrated 

Feasibility Report and Environmental 

Impact Statement for the West Shore 

Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane and 

Storm Damage Risk Reduction Study, 

St. Charles, St. James, and St. John 

the Baptist Parishes 

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE), Mississippi Valley 

Division, New Orleans District 

(CEMVN), is announcing its intent to 

prepare a Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (SEIS) to reevaluate 

alternatives to compensate for 

unavoidable impacts to swamp habitat 

associated with the construction of the 

West Shore Lake Pontchartrain 

Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk 

Reduction Project (hereafter WSLP 

Project). Compensatory mitigation for 

impacts due to construction of the 

WSLP Project was described previously 

in the 2014 WSLP Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) and in 

Environmental Assessment (EA) 576, 

which addressed mitigation for habitat 

impacts associated with each of 

CEMVN’s Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) 

of 2018 funded risk reduction projects 

(i.e., the WSLP Project, Comite River 

Diversion Project, and the East Baton 

Rouge Parish Watershed Flood Risk 

Management Project). The Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) for EA 576 

was signed by the CEMVN District 

Commander on April 4, 2020. Public 

comment on EA 576 included requests 

by the Louisiana’s Coastal Protection 

Restoration Authority (CPRA) and 

others that the Mississippi River 

Diversion into Maurepas Swamp Project 

(hereafter MSP), a proposed ecological 

restoration project that shares 

construction features with the WSLP 

Project, be considered as a mitigation 

alternative for impacts to swamp habitat 

associated with the construction of the 

WSLP Project. Anticipated impacts to 

swamp habitat as a result of the 

construction of the MSP, estimated to be 

approximately 55 Average Annual 

Habitat Units (AAHU), would be selfmitigated by the operation of the 

diversion. Impacts to bottom land 

hardwood (BLH) habitat because of the 

MSP construction would be 

approximately 30 AAHU. These BLH 

impacts would be mitigated in 

accordance with EA 576. 

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, New Orleans District, Attn: 

CEMVN–PDC–C, 7400 Leake Avenue, 

New Orleans, Louisiana, 70118. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions and scoping comments 

regarding the proposed action should be 

directed to Mr. Landon Parr at U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans 

District, Attn: CEMVN–PDC–C, 7400 

Leake Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 

70118, by phone (504) 862–1908, or by 

email at Landon.Parr@usace.army.mil. 

For additional information, including 

but not limited to a copy of 2014 WSLP 

EIS, and other associated documents, 

please visit the WSLP Project website at: 

https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/ 

Missions/Environmental/NEPACompliance-Documents/BipartisanBudget-Act-2018-BBA-18/West-ShoreLake-Pontchartrain/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Project Details. The WSLP Project 

is located in southeast Louisiana on the 

east-bank of the Mississippi River in St. 

Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. 

James Parishes. Part of the Water 

Infrastructure Improvement for the 

Nation Act (WIIN Act, Pub. L. 114–322) 

in 2016 authorized construction of the 

WSLP Project. The BBA of 2018 (BBA 

2018, Pub. L. 115–123) funded 

construction of the WSLP Project. The 

WSLP Project is described in the 2014 

WSLP EIS; West Shore Lake 

Pontchartrain Hurricane and Storm 

Damage Risk Reduction Structural 

Alignment Surveys and Borings 

Investigations St. Charles and St. John 

the Baptist Parishes, Louisiana 

Supplemental Environmental 

Assessment (SEA) 570; and West Shore 

Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane and Storm 

Damage Risk Reduction Levee System, 

St. Charles and St. John the Baptist 

Parishes, Louisiana SEA 571. The WSLP 

Project is approximately 19 miles in 

length and includes approximately 18 

miles of levee, one mile of T-wall, six 

pumping stations with associated 

drainage structures, one gated road 

crossing, two gated railroad crossings, 

and approximately 35 utility 

relocations. 

The Record of Decision (ROD) for the 

2014 WSLP EIS was signed by the 

Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil 

Works on September 14, 2016. SEA 570 

investigated levee alignment shifts as 

well as the addition of five stockpile/ 

staging areas for construction related 

activities. The FONSI associated with 

SEA 570 was signed by the CEMVN 

District Commander on May 13, 2019. 

SEA 571 evaluated additional changes 

to the WSLP levee alignment, the 

addition of four borrow areas, widening 

of the levee alignment, minor 

modifications to previously assessed 

access roads, and the addition of three 

access roads. The FONSI associated 

with SEA 571 was signed by the 

CEMVN District Commander on June 

29, 2020. 

Based on the changes to date, the 

WSLP Project could impact 

approximately 10,895 acres of swamp 

and 4,880 acres of wetland bottomland 

hardwoods (BLH-Wet) in the Louisiana 

(LA) Coastal Zone (CZ). This equates to 

a compensatory mitigation need of 

approximately 1,010 AAHU of CZ 

swamp (if the MSP is selected) 

[including direct impacts to swamp 

associated with construction of the MSP 

(∼55 AAHU), and direct (∼600 AAHU) 

and indirect (∼355 AAHU) impacts to 

swamp associated with the construction 

of WSLP] and approximately 295 AAHU 

of CZ BLH-Wet (BLH habitat impacted 

by the construction of the WSLP Project 

would be mitigated in accordance with 

EA 576). 

This Supplemental EIS would provide 

an assessment of proposed alternative 

projects to compensate for the WSLP 

Project’s swamp impacts and it would 

identify the Tentatively Selected 

Alternative. When unavoidable impacts 

occur, the CEMVN is required to offset 

those impacts through compensatory 

mitigation by replacing the lost habitat’s 

functions and services equally and inkind. Compensatory mitigation is 

required by the Water Resources 

Development Act (WRDA) of 1986, 

Section 906, as amended, and by the 

Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) 

Guidelines. The MSP is a freshwater 

diversion that would reconnect the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 154 / Friday, August 13, 2021 / Notices 44701 

Mississippi River to the Maurepas 

Swamp, strategically delivering 

nutrient-laden river water to restore a 

degraded Cypress-Tupelo swamp. The 

proposed diversion has a 2,000 cubic 

foot per second (cfs) design flow. The 

freshwater intake structure and 

conveyance channel are located on the 

east bank of the Mississippi River in St. 

John the Baptist Parish, immediately 

west of Garyville, Louisiana, at River 

Mile 144 Above Head of Passes. The 

construction corridor for the 

conveyance channel extends from LA 44 

(River Road) northward for 51⁄2 miles, 

terminating at the outfall structure, 

which is approximately 1,000 ft north of 

Interstate 10. 

2. Scoping Process. The CEMVN 

invites all affected federal, state, and 

local agencies, affected Native American 

Tribes, other interested parties, and the 

general public to participate in the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) scoping process during 

development of the SEIS. The purpose 

of the public scoping process is to 

provide information to the public, 

narrow the scope of analysis to 

significant environmental issues, serve 

as a mechanism to solicit agency and 

public input on potential alternatives 

and issues of concern, and ensure full 

and open participation in scoping for 

the SEIS. CEMVN requests input from 

interested parties regarding potential 

WSLP mitigation alternatives and 

information and analyses relevant to the 

proposed MSP. To ensure that all the 

issues related to the proposed MSP are 

addressed, the CEMVN will conduct 

virtual and, if permissible, in-person 

public scoping meeting(s) to which 

agencies, organizations, and members of 

the general public are invited to present 

comments or suggestions with regard to 

the range of actions, alternatives, and 

potential impacts to be considered in 

the SEIS. Project and public scoping 

meeting information, including 

information as to where, when, and how 

to participate and submit scoping 

comments as well as other opportunities 

for public involvement, will be available 

on CEMVN’s website at: https://

www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/ 

Environmental/NEPA-ComplianceDocuments/Bipartisan-Budget-Act2018-BBA-18/West-Shore-LakePontchartrain/. 

Notification of public scoping 

meetings will also be available via press 

releases, special public notices, and on 

CEMVN’s social media platforms. 

3. Federal Authority. The SEIS will 

disclose the context and intensity of 

environmental impacts, including 

focusing the analysis on those effects 

that are reasonably foreseeable and that 

have a reasonably close causal 

relationship to the proposed action as 

required under the Council of 

Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) NEPA 

regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500–1508 

and the Department of the Army’s NEPA 

regulations at 33 CFR part 230. A 

reasonable range of alternatives will be 

determined, and significant issues 

related to the proposed action will be 

identified during public scoping. 

The following agencies are being 

invited to participate as Cooperating 

Agencies on the SEIS: United States 

Environmental Protection Agency; 

United States Department of the 

Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS); United States Department of 

Commerce, National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS); United States 

Department of Agriculture, Natural 

Resources Conservation Service; 

Advisory Council on Historic 

Preservation (ACHP); State of Louisiana, 

Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), 

State of Louisiana Department of 

Natural Resources (LDNR), State of 

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and 

Fisheries (LDWF), and State of 

Louisiana, Coastal Protection and 

Restoration Authority (CPRA). 

4. Alternatives. The SEIS will address 

a reasonable range of alternatives based 

on the proposed Project’s purpose and 

need. The SEIS will compare, at a 

minimum, the previously identified 

BBA Alternative for the WSLP Project in 

EA 576 to Alternative 1 (MSP–1: Public 

and Private Lands) and Alternative 2 

(MSP–2: Public Land Only) by using the 

Alternatives Evaluation and Comparison 

(AEC) process. The results of the AEC 

process would be presented in the SEIS. 

The BBA Alternative would compensate 

for the WSLP Project impacts of 955 

AAHU of CZ swamp. The MSP 

Alternative would compensate for 

WSLP Project impacts of approximately 

1,010 AAHU of CZ swamp. 

5. Potentially Significant Issues. The 

SEIS will analyze the potential impacts 

on the human and natural environment 

resulting from the Project. The scoping, 

public involvement, and interagency 

coordination processes will help 

identify and define the range of 

potential significant issues that will be 

considered. Important resources and 

issues to be evaluated in the SEIS could 

include, but are not limited to, the 

reasonably foreseeable effects on tidal 

wetlands and other waters of the U.S.; 

aquatic resources; commercial and 

recreational fisheries; wildlife resources; 

essential fish habitat; water quality; 

cultural resources; geology and soils; 

hydrology and hydraulics; air quality; 

marine mammals; threatened and 

endangered species and their critical 

habitats; navigation and navigable 

waters; induced flooding; employment 

and incomes; land use; property values; 

tax revenues; population and housing; 

community and regional growth; 

environmental justice; community 

cohesion; public services; recreation; 

transportation and traffic; utilities and 

community service systems. 

6. Environmental Consultation and 

Review and Authorizations. The 

proposed action is being coordinated 

with a number of federal, state, regional, 

and local agencies. In accordance with 

relevant environmental laws and 

regulations, CEMVN will consult with 

the following agencies: USFWS under 

the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; 

USFWS and NMFS under the 

Endangered Species Act; NMFS under 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act; 

LDNR for Coastal Zone Consistency 

determination concurrence; and LDEQ 

for Clean Water Act, Section 401 Water 

Quality Certification; and, the ACHP, 

Louisiana SHPO, and the appropriate 

Tribal Historic Preservation Officers 

under the National Historic Preservation 

Act using an integrated NHPA Section 

106/NEPA EIS process. 

7. Availability. The SEIS is presently 

scheduled to be available for public 

review and comment in October 2021. A 

Final SEIS is scheduled for release in 

January 2022. A decision regarding 

implementation of the MSP is expected 

in 2022. All comments received 

throughout the review process will 

become part of the project file for the 

proposed Project and will be subject to 

public release. 

Edward E. Belk, Jr., 

Programs Director, Mississippi Valley 

Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17313 Filed 8–12–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Certificate of Alternate Compliance for 

Block IV VIRGINIA Class Submarines 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of Certificate 

of Alternate Compliance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Navy hereby 

announces that a Certificate of Alternate 

Compliance has been issued for Block 

IV VIRGINIA Class Submarines. All 

Block IV VIRGINIA Class submarines 

are built to the same design. Due to the 

special construction and purpose of 

each submarine of this class, the Deputy 

Assistant Judge Advocate General 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES