Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 208 / Friday, October 28, 2005 / Notices 62101 

systems with fourteen drainage 

structures, and nine closure structures, 

six of which incorporate limited road 

raisings. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jeff Trulick, Study Manager, (410) 962–

6715 or (800) 295–1610 or via e-mail at 

jeff.trulick@usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Town 

of Bloomsburg, PA, is located in 

Columbia County within the Middle 

Susquehanna River sub-basin. The 

Susquehanna River forms the Town’s 

southern boundary, and Fishing Creek 

forms the northern and western 

boundary. 

The primary water resources problem 

along the Susquehanna River at 

Bloomsburg is recurrent flooding. 

Recurrent flooding that occurs in the 

Bloomsburg study area is a result of the 

morphology of the Susquehanna River 

and the regional topography. When the 

Susquehanna River and a local 

tributary, Fishing Creek, simultaneously 

rise above flood stage, overbank 

flooding can cover up to 33 percent of 

the landmass within the Town of 

Bloomsburg’s boundaries. 

Flood damages are attributable to 

overbank flooding from the 

Susquehanna River and to flooding 

along Fishing Creek. Past flood events 

have resulted in extensive damages to 

structures and their contents and have 

threatened public safety. The 

Bloomsburg study area includes 

approximately 525 residential structures 

and 75 businesses. 

The recommended flood damage 

reduction plan is the National Economic 

Development (NED) Plan with a 

Tropical Storm Agnes (440-year) level of 

protection from Susquehanna River 

flooding, and 100-year level of 

protection from Fishing Creek flooding. 

The alignment of the line of protection 

was refined based on physical, 

environmental, and economic criteria. 

The project consists of a system of 

earthen levees, mechanically stabilized 

earth (MSE) floodwalls, concrete 

floodwalls, railroad and road closure 

structures and roadway relocations to 

provide ramps over the line of 

protection. Earthen levees are proposed 

for the majority of the line of protection, 

though MSE walls will be required 

along portions of Fishing Creek in both 

Bloomsburg and Fernville and a 

concrete floodwall (H-Pile wall) will be 

required along portions of Fishing Creek 

in Bloomsburg. Limited riprap will be 

used to protect the steep banks of 

Fishing Creek from bank crest to below 

the stream invert along the lower project 

reaches along Fishing Creek. 

Permanent environmental impacts 

will include restricted views by the 

levee/floodwall system of Fishing Creek 

from Bloomsburg and Fernville, 

excavation and off-site disposal of 

approximately 4,500 cubic yards of 

hazardous, toxic and radioactive waste 

materials, conversion of approximately 

11.5 acres of farmland designated as 

Prime Farmland or Additional Farmland 

of Statewide Importance to nonagricultural use, long-term loss of nearly 

3,000 linear feet of riparian habitat 

along Fishing Creek, the loss of less than 

one acre of wetlands, and taking of 

residential homes and business 

structures within the levee/floodwall 

footprint. 

USACE has distributed copies of the 

Final Integrated Feasibility Report and 

EIS to appropriate members of Congress, 

State and local government officials, 

Federal agencies, and other interested 

parties. Copies are available for public 

review at the following locations: 

(1) Bloomsburg Public Library, 225 

Market Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815 

(2) Bloomsburg University Library, 

400 E. Second Street, Bloomsburg, PA 

17815 

You may also view the Final 

Integrated Feasibility Report and EIS in 

addition to related information on our 

Web page at http:// 

www.nab.usace.army.mil/publications/ 

non-reg_pub.htm. 

The Final Integrated Feasibility 

Report and EIS has been prepared in 

accordance with (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), and 

(3) USACE regulations implementing 

NEPA (ER–200–2–2). 

Jeff Trulick, 

Study Manager, Civil Project Development 

Branch, Planning Division. 

[FR Doc. 05–21522 Filed 10–27–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–41–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Public Scoping Meeting and 

Preparation of Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement for Widening of the 

Freeport Ship Channel in Freeport, 

Brazoria County, TX 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DOD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Galveston District intends to 

prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (DEIS) to assess the social, 

economic and environmental effects of 

the proposed widening of portions of 

the Freeport Harbor Entrance and Jetty 

Channels. The DEIS will assess 

potential impacts of a range of 

alternatives, including the No Action 

and preferred alternatives. The Federal 

action is consideration of a Department 

of Army Permit application for work 

under section 10 of the Rivers and 

Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), 

section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 

U.S.C. 1344) and section 103 of the 

Marine Protection Research and 

Sanctuary Act (33 U.S.C. 1413). 

DATES: A public scoping meeting will be 

held on November 29, 2005 at 7 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Freeport Community House, 1300 

W. 2nd, Freeport, TX 77541. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Bryan Herczeg, Project Manager, by 

letter at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, Texas 77553, 

by telephone at (409) 766–6389, or by email at 

bryan.a.herczeg@usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Galveston District intends to prepare a 

DEIS on the proposed channel widening 

of portions of the Freeport Harbor 

Channel, which leads to Freeport 

Harbor, Freeport, Brazoria County, TX. 

The Brazos River Harbor Navigation 

District (Port of Freeport) proposes this 

project. 

1. Description of the Proposed Project: 

The Port of Freeport is proposing to 

widen the Freeport Harbor Channel as 

follows: 

a. From Channel Station 63+35, near 

the U.S. Coast Guard Station, to Channel 

Station 45+00, the channel will be 

widened gradually an additional 0 to 

150 feet; 

b. From Channel Station 45+00 to 

Channel Station 40+00, the Channel 

will be widened an additional 150 to 

200 feet; 

c. From 40+00, in the Jetty Channel to 

the end of the existing Entrance 

Channel, the channel will be widened 

by 200 feet, from the existing channel 

width of 400 feet to 600 feet; 

d. The depth of the channel will be 

as at present, 47 feet in the Jetty 

Channel (45 feet project depth plus 2 

feet advanced maintenance) and 49 feet 

in the Entrance Channel (45 feet project 

depth plus 2 feet advanced maintenance 

plus 2 feet allowable overdraft); 

e. Approximately 3.2 million cubic 

yards (mcy) of dredged material will be 

62102 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 208 / Friday, October 28, 2005 / Notices 

generated from the widening project; 

and 

f. Approximately 300,000 cubic yards 

of dredged material will be used 

beneficially for beach nourishment on 

Quintana Beach and the remainder of 

the dredged material will be placed 

offshore approximately 2.5 miles off 

Quintana in approximately 40 feet of 

water. 

2. Scoping and Public Involvement 

Process: A scoping meeting to gather 

information on the subjects to be 

studied in detail in the DEIS will be 

conducted on (see DATES). An informal 

open house, allowing for review of the 

proposed project and questions and 

answers, will be conducted between 5 

and 7 p.m., prior to the scoping meeting. 

3. Significant Issues: Issues associated 

with the proposed project to be given 

significant analysis in the DEIS are 

likely to include, but may not be limited 

to, the potential impacts of the proposed 

dredging, dredged material placement, 

the beneficial uses of dredged material, 

water quality, fish and wildlife values 

including threatened and endangered 

species; air quality; environmental 

justice; socioeconomic environment; 

archaeological and cultural resources; 

recreation and recreational resources; 

energy supply and natural resources; 

hazardous waste and materials; 

aesthetics; public health and safety; 

navigation; shoreline erosion and 

accretion; cumulative impacts, and the 

needs and welfare of the people. 

4. Technical Review and 

Consultation: Several State and Federal 

Agencies will be invited to provide 

technical review of the DEIS. Those 

agencies include: The Environmental 

Protection Agency, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, United States Fish 

and Wildlife Service, the United States 

Coast Guard, Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality, Texas General 

Land Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife 

Department and the Texas Department 

of Transportation. 

5. Additional Review and 

Consultation: Additional review and 

consultation that will be incorporated 

into the preparation of this DEIS will 

include: Compliance with the Texas 

Coastal Management Program; 

protection of cultural resources under 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act; protection of 

navigation under the Rivers and Harbors 

Act of 1899; protection of water quality 

under section 401 of the Clean Water 

Act; protection of air quality under the 

Clean Air Act; and protection of 

endangered and threatened species 

under section 7 of the Endangered 

Species Act. 

6. Availability of the DEIS: The Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

projected to be available in September 

2006. At this time the Galveston District 

plans to conduct a Public Hearing 

following the release of the DEIS. 

Brenda S. Bowen, 

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 05–21521 Filed 10–27–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–52–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement for Mountaintop 

Mining and Valley Fills 

AGENCIES: U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Department of the Army, 

DOD; Environmental Protection Agency; 

Office of Surface Mining and Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Interior; and West 

Virginia Department of Environmental 

Protection. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (FPEIS). 

SUMMARY: The above agencies announce 

the availability of the FPEIS that 

considers developing policies, guidance, 

and coordinated agency decisionmaking processes to minimize, to the 

maximum extent practicable, the 

adverse environmental effects to waters 

of the United States and to fish and 

wildlife resources affected by 

mountaintop mining operations, and to 

environmental resources that could be 

affected by the size and location of 

excess spoil-disposal sites in valley fills 

within the Appalachian study area in 

West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and 

Tennessee. This FPEIS was prepared as 

part of a settlement agreement that 

resolved the Federal claims brought in 

Bragg v. Robertson, Civ. No. 2:98–0636 

(S.D.W.Va.). 

This FPEIS was prepared consistent 

with the provision set forth in 40 CFR 

1503.4(c) of the Council on 

Environmental Quality regulations 

implementing NEPA, which allow the 

agencies to attach an errata sheet to the 

statement instead of rewriting the draft 

statement and to circulate the errata, 

comments, responses, and the changes, 

rather than the entire document. The 

agencies are filing the entire statement 

with a new cover sheet as the FPEIS. 

The FPEIS is being made available by 

mail and can be viewed on the Internet 

at http://www.epa.gov/region3/mtntop/ 

index.htm. The FPEIS can also be 

viewed at local offices of the above 

agencies and at selected local libraries. 

Copies of the FPEIS may be obtained by 

writing to the address listed below. 

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for 

copies of the FPEIS to John Forren, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(3EA30), 1650 Arch Street, 

Philadelphia, PA 19103. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Forren, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, at (215) 814–2705; Katherine 

Trott, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at 

(202) 761–5542; Mike Robinson, U.S. 

Office of Surface Mining, at (412) 937–

2882; Cindy Tibbott, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, at (814) 234–4090; or 

Russell Hunter, West Virginia 

Department of Environmental 

Protection, at (304) 926–0499. 

Dated: October 20, 2005. 

Gerald W. Barnes, 

Chief, Operations, Directorate of Civil Works. 

David Evans, 

Director, Wetlands Division, Environmental 

Protection Agency. 

Glenda H. Owens, 

Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining. 

Marshall P. Jones, Jr. 

Deputy Director, Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–21474 Filed 10–27–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–92–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Public Hearings for a Draft 

Overseas Environmental Impact 

Statement/Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Undersea Warfare 

Training Range 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Executive Order 

12114, Environmental Effects Abroad of 

Major Federal Actions, and Section 

102(2) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as 

implemented by the Council on 

Environmental Quality regulations (40 

CFR Parts 1500–1508), the Department 

of the Navy (Navy) has prepared and 

filed with the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency a Draft Overseas 

Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Environmental Impact Statement (Draft