7622 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 32 / Friday, February 16, 2007 / Notices 

Helena, and St. John Parishes. The 

Amite River and its tributaries flow 

southward from the state of Mississippi 

through the western ‘‘Florida’’ parishes 

of southeast Louisiana into Lake 

Maurepas, an oligohaline lake that 

drains into Lake Pontchartrain. The 

Amite River is used for recreation, 

propagation of fish and wildlife, and to 

a lesser extent, for water supply, 

navigation, and waste disposal. The 

Amite River has a large drainage area 

and an average flow of about 2,000 

cubic feet per second (CFS) at Denham 

Springs. A section of the Amite River in 

East Feliciana Parish, from the 

Louisiana/Mississippi state line to 

Louisiana Highway 37 (LA 37) is 

included in Louisiana’s Natural and 

Scenic Rivers System. The major urban 

areas in this watershed are Baton Rouge, 

Denham Springs, and Gonzales, which 

are situated along the lower third of the 

river. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions concerning the 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

should be addressed to Ms. Bonnie S. 

Obiol at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

PM–RS, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, 

LA 70160–0267, phone (504) 862–2280, 

fax number (504) 862–2088 or by E-mail 

at bonnie.s.obiol@mvn02.usace.

army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Proposed Action. An ecological 

restoration project will be designed to 

maximize environmental benefits 

within the study area. The proposed 

action includes all or portions of several 

alternatives, identified below, that 

would improve the ecosystem and 

possibly reduce storm water flood stages 

as an ancillary benefit. Design features 

will be fully evaluated with respect to 

the latest engineering, economic, and 

environmental regulations for 

acceptability under current Federal laws 

and regulations. The results of the 

feasibility study will determine the 

preferred alternative. 

2. Alternatives. The Amite River and 

Tributaries Ecosystem Restoration 

reconnaissance study considered several 

alternative plans for restoring the 

ecosystem in the study area. Four plans 

were determined to be economically 

justified and environmentally 

acceptable. The plans include: (1) Recontouring and re-vegetating sterile and 

unstable abandoned tailing piles and 

un-vegetated abandoned mined areas in 

the immediate vicinity of the stream 

corridor, (2) as an increment to 

Alternative 1, including an additional 

4,500 to 6,000 acres not immediately 

adjacent to the river by re-contouring 

and re-vegetating a total area of 

approximately 6,000 to 7,500 acres, (3) 

re-meandering abandoned bendways 

and loops of the Amite River in 

appropriate areas to recreate some of the 

historical meander loops or create new 

loops that would serve the same 

purpose, and (4) investigate 

recommendations of Best Management 

Practices (BMPs) for the sand and gravel 

industry, as well as other affected 

industries and urban areas in the study 

area for more stewardship for future 

habitat areas. The objective of the 

enactment of the BMPs would be to 

protect the restoration efforts 

undertaken by this project and other 

restorative measures by others and 

prevent reoccurrence of the degradation. 

3. Scoping. Scoping is the process for 

determining the scope of alternatives 

and significant issues to be addressed in 

the EIS. For this analysis, a letter will 

be sent to all parties believed to have an 

interest in the analysis, requesting their 

input on alternatives and issues to be 

evaluated. The letter will also notify 

interested parties of public scoping 

meetings that will be held in the local 

area. Notices will also be sent to local 

news media. All interested parties are 

invited to comment at this time, and 

anyone interested in this study should 

request to be included in the study 

mailing list. 

A public scoping meeting will be held 

in the spring of 2007. The meeting will 

be held in the vicinity of Baton Rouge, 

LA. Additional meetings could be held, 

depending upon interest and if it is 

determined that further public 

coordination is warranted. 

4. Significant Issues. The tentative list 

of resources and issues to be evaluated 

in the EIS includes wetlands (marshes 

and swamps), aquatic resources, 

commercial and recreational fisheries, 

wildlife resources, essential fish habitat, 

water quality, air quality, threatened 

and endangered species, recreation and 

aesthetic resources, and cultural 

resources. Socioeconomic items to be 

evaluated in the EIS include navigation, 

flood protection, business and industrial 

activity, employment, land use, 

property values, public/community 

facilities and services, tax revenues, 

population, community and regional 

growth, transportation, housing, 

community cohesion, and noise. 

5. Environmental Consultation and 

Review. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) will be assisting in the 

documentation of existing conditions 

and assessment of effects of project 

alternatives through Fish and Wildlife 

Coordination Act consultation 

procedures. The USFWS will provide a 

Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

report. Consultation will be 

accomplished with the USFWS and the 

National marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) concerning threatened and 

endangered species and their critical 

habitat. The NMFS will be consulted on 

the effects of this proposed action on 

Essential Fish Habitat. The draft EIS 

(DEIS) or a notice of its availability will 

be distributed to all interested agencies, 

organizations, and individuals. 

6. Estimated Date of Availability. 

Funding levels will dictate the date 

when the DEIS is available. The earliest 

that the DEIS is expected to be available 

is in the summer of 2009. 

Brenda S. Bowen, 

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 07–719 Filed 2–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–84–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplement 

No. 1 to the Final Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Upper Trinity 

River, Central City Project, Fort Worth, 

TX 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: Section 116 of Pub. L. 108–

447, dated December 8, 2004, 

authorized the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers’ (Corps) participation in 

construction of the Central City project. 

A Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (FEIS) was completed for the 

Central City Project in Janauary 2006. A 

Record of Decision (ROD) 

recommending the Community-Based 

Alternative and determining it was 

technically sound and environmentally 

acceptable was signed by the Assistant 

Secretary of the Army for Civil Works 

(ASA (CW)) on April 7, 2006. An 

Interim Feasibility Report with 

Integrated Environmental Assessment 

(with signed Finding of No Significant 

Impact) for the Riverside Oxbow Project 

was approved by the Chief of Engineers 

on May 29, 2003. An addendum, dated 

April 2005, was prepared to address 

comments from the ASA (CW); 

however, neither construction funding 

nor authority for implementation of this 

project has been provided by Congress 

to date. 

By letter dated June 22, 2006, the City 

of Fort Worth requested the Corps to 

evaluate the potential benefits of 

merging the Central City Project with 

the Riverside Oxbow project. They 

identified potential benefits including 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 32 / Friday, February 16, 2007 / Notices 7623 

greater opportunity for valley storage 

requirements, increased restoration 

opportunities, and cost savings. After an 

initial evaluation, the Corps determined 

that alternative areas along the West 

Fork of the Trinity River including areas 

within the Riverside Oxbow project had 

the potential to provide the required 

hydraulic mitigation, provide 

comparable ecosystem restoration 

outputs, reduce habitat mitigation 

requirements, and lower overall project 

costs. 

These potential modifications to the 

projects may be substantial and a 

supplement to the Central City 

environmental impact statement should 

be prepared concurrently with a more 

detailed analysis. Therefore, this Notice 

of Intent to prepare Supplement No. 1 

to the FEIS for the Central City project 

is being issued in accordance with the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

NEPA implementing regulations at 40 

CFR Parts 1500–1508. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions and scoping comments 

pertaining to this analysis and Draft 

Supplement to the EIS should be 

directed to Mr. Saji Puthenpurayel, 

Project Manager, CESWF–EC–D, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth 

District, P.O. Box 17300, Fort Worth, TX 

76102–0300, (817) 886–1764. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Central City project as authorized 

includes a flood bypass channel and 

flood gates to divert flood flows around 

a segment of the existing Trinity River 

channel adjacent to downtown Fort 

Worth, Samuels Avenue Dam to create 

an interior water feature, and hydraulic 

and ecological mitigation areas. The 

bypass channel is approximately 8,400 

feet long, 300–400 feet wide, and would 

be approximately 30 feet below the 

existing grade. The bypass channel 

would begin at the Clear Fork 

downstream of West Seventh Street, 

interest the West Fork approximately 

2,600 feet upstream of the existing 

confluence with the Clear Fork, and 

continue to the northeast terminating at 

the West Fork about 8,500 feet 

downstream of the existing confluence. 

The Corps component of the Central 

City Project was authorized for 

construction by Section 116 of Public 

Law 108–447, dated December 8, 2004. 

Under that authority, Corps 

participation is limited to $110 million 

with a total project cost $220 million for 

that portion of the infrastructure plan in 

which the Corps can participate. 

Without hydraulic mitigation, the 

Central City project would result in a 

loss of valley storage due to the bypass 

channel being shorter and more efficient 

than the existing river channel. Valley 

storage sites are included in the existing 

authorized plan to compensate for this 

potential loss of storage. Four areas 

would provide the required valley 

storage; along the West Fork of the 

Trinity River upstream of the bypass 

channel (Riverbend/Rockwood), 

adjacent to University Drive, in the 

vicinity of the Samuels Avenue Dam, 

and slightly downstream of the 

proposed dam site in proximity to 

Riverside Park. Construction of the 

bypass channel and associated valley 

storage sites would not increase 

downstream water surface elevations or 

downstream flow. 

Reestablishment of vegetation and 

habitat at the Riverbend/Rockwood site 

following construction activities were 

included in the authorized plan, 

partially for mitigation of project 

impacts to wetland, riparian, and 

terrestrial resources and partially for 

ecosystem restoration. Additional 

habitat mitigation measures were 

included along Ham Branch, a tributary 

of the West Fork of the Trinity River, 

which enters the system a short distance 

downstream of Highway 121. 

Approximately 305 feet of the existing 

channel would be relocated to provide 

adequate width for riparian forest 

development and existing riparian 

habitat would be improved along the 

remainder of the channel. 

The Riverside Oxbow project area is 

adjacent to and immediately 

downstream of the Central City Project. 

The focus of the project is to restore the 

ecological integrity of aquatic and 

riparian systems along a portion of the 

natural Trinity River channel that was 

severed by construction of a realignment 

and enlargement of the West Fork of the 

Trinity River channel by non-Federal 

interests. The Interim Feasibility Report 

recommends implementation of the 

Locally Preferred Plan, which consists 

of the National Ecosystem Restoration 

(NER) Plan along with additional local 

features. The NER plan for the Riverside 

Oxbow will restore the biological 

integrity of the wetland and bottomland 

hardwood communities through a 

combination of measures directed at 

either specific habitat types or specific 

problems within the existing ecosystem. 

The City’s request to merge these 

projects recognized that each project is 

moving forward independently but they 

are located adjacent to one another. The 

City and the Tarrant Regional Water 

District expressed their opinion that 

based on their adjacency, there might be 

merit in combining the two projects. In 

their letter, the City of Forth Worth 

identified potential benefits of 

combining the two projects that would 

not be achieved if they proceed 

independently. These potential benefits 

included greater flexibility in selecting 

sites for the required valley storage 

mitigation, opportunity to increase 

restoration benefits, and cost savings. 

In addition, during detailed design 

investigations it was determined that 

alternative locations of the proposed 

Samuel Avenue Dam should be 

evaluated due to geotechnical 

considerations. The amount of aquatic 

habitat impacted in marine and Lebow 

Creeks is affected by the location of 

Samuels Avenue Dam and will be 

considered during further site analysis. 

In response to the City’s letter request, 

the corps performed an initial 

evaluation and determined that 

alternative areas along the West Fork of 

the Trinity River including areas within 

the Riverside Oxbow project had the 

potential to provide the required 

hydraulic mitigation, provide 

comparable ecosystem restoration 

outputs, reduce habitat mitigation 

requirements, and lower project costs. 

Following review of this initial 

evaluation, Corps Headquarters directed 

that a detailed analysis be undertaken 

that evaluates the total hydraulic system 

including the Central City and Riveside 

Oxbow project areas. The Corps’

approving offices acknowledged that to 

determine if and how either project 

should be modified, additional study, 

reporting, and environmental 

compliance would be required. 

All affected Federal, State, and local 

agencies, affected Indian tribes, and 

other interested private local 

organizations and parties are hereby 

invited to participate in the 

development of the Draft SEIS. No 

Public Meetings have been scheduled at 

this time, however all agencies and 

other known interested entities will be 

informed by public notice to request 

their comments regarding the potential 

modifications. Coordination will 

continue with the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and 

Wildlife Department in accordance with 

the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. 

The Texas State Historic Preservation 

Office will be consulted as required by 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act. Potential 

modifications to the project will also be 

coordinated with the Texas Council on 

Environmental Quality to ensure any 

changes are in compliance with Section 

401 of the Clean Water Act. 

Dated: February 7, 2007. 

Christopher W. Martin, 

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer. 

[FR Doc. 07–724 Filed 2–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–20–M 


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