45748 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 6, 2008 / Notices 

SUMMARY: The purpose of the 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

is to address alternatives and 

environmental impacts associated with 

the conveyance of approximately 900 

acres of Federal land at Lake Texoma, 

Oklahoma and Texas, to the city of 

Denison, TX. 

ADDRESSES: Questions or comments 

concerning the proposed action should 

be addressed to Mr. Stephen L. Nolen, 

Chief, Environmental Analysis and 

Compliance Branch, Tulsa District, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, CESWT–PE–

E, 1645 S. 101st E. Ave., Tulsa, OK 

74128–4629. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Stephen L. Nolen, (918) 669–7660, fax: 

(918) 669–7546, e-mail: 

Stephen.L.Nolen@usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3182 of the Water Resources 

Development Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110–

114) directed the Secretary of the Army 

(Secretary) to offer to convey, at fair 

market value to the city of Denison, TX, 

all right, title and interest of the United 

States in and to approximately 900 acres 

of land located in Grayson County, TX. 

The exact acreage and description of the 

real property will be determined by a 

survey that is satisfactory to the 

Secretary and the property conveyed by 

quitclaim deed. The real property is 

currently held in fee by the U.S. 

Government and managed by the Tulsa 

District Corps of Engineers as a part of 

Lake Texoma, a multipurpose reservoir 

located along the Red River in 

Oklahoma and Texas. The lands subject 

to this action are located along the 

eastern shore of the Little Mineral Arm 

of Lake Texoma in Grayson County, TX. 

Upon receipt of title to the property, the 

City of Denison intends to develop the 

area, in conjunction with development 

of adjacent private lands, to include 

such features as single and multi-family 

residential housing, hotel and 

conference facilities, golf course(s), 

retail and commercial space, office and 

light industry, public boat ramp(s), 

beach and yacht clubs, and related 

commercial development facilities. 

Reasonable alternatives to be 

considered include varying amounts of 

acreages to be conveyed, alternative 

deed restrictions on conveyed lands, 

varying development features and 

locations, alternative locations and 

nature of shoreline development, and no 

action. 

Issues to be addressed in the EIS 

include but are not limited to: (1) 

Socioeconomic impacts associated with 

planned development, (2) matters 

pertaining to shoreline management and 

potential changes to the Lake Texoma 

shoreline management plan in the 

immediate area of the conveyance, (3) 

potential impacts to cultural and 

ecological resources, (4) public access 

and safety, (5) impacts to lake use and 

recreation, (6) aesthetics, (7) water and 

wastewater infrastructure, (8) lake water 

quality, (9) traffic patterns, (10) 

terrestrial and aquatic fish and wildlife 

habitat, (11) Federally-listed threatened 

and endangered species, and (12) 

cumulative impacts associated with 

past, current, and reasonably foreseeable 

future actions at Lake Texoma. 

A public scoping meeting for the 

action will be conducted in early fall, 

2008 in Denison, TX. News releases and 

notices informing the public and local, 

state, and Federal agencies of the 

proposed action and date of the public 

scoping meeting will be published in 

local newspapers. Comments received 

as a result of this notice, news releases, 

and the public scoping meeting will be 

used to assist the Tulsa District Corps of 

Engineers in identifying potential 

impacts to the quality of the human or 

natural environment. Affected Federal, 

state, or local agencies, affected Indian 

tribes, and other interested private 

organizations and parties are 

encouraged to participate in the scoping 

process by forwarding written 

comments to (see ADDRESSES) or 

attending the scoping meeting. 

The draft EIS will be available for 

public review and comment. While the 

specific date for release of the draft EIS 

has yet to be determined, all interested 

agencies, tribes, organizations and 

parties expressing an interest in this 

action will be placed on a mailing list 

for receipt of the draft EIS. In order to 

be considered, any comments and 

suggestions should be forwarded to (see 

ADDRESSES) in accordance with dates 

specified upon release of the draft EIS. 

Dated: July 28, 2008. 

Anthony C. Funkhouser, 

Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander. 

[FR Doc. E8–18017 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Notice of Availability Supplemental 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

for the White River Minimum Flow 

Reallocation Study, Arkansas 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DOD. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended), the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 

Little Rock District, has prepared a 

Supplemental Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the 

proposed implementation of the White 

River Minimum Flow, Arkansas. This 

SDEIS is being made available for a 45- 

day public comment period. 

DATES: Public meetings for receiving 

comments on the DEIS are tentatively 

scheduled for August 26, 2008, at 

Forsyth, MO; and August 27, 2008, at 

Mountain Home, AR. Specific times and 

locations will be announced at a later 

date. Written comments on the SDEIS 

should be submitted on or before 

September 22, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Questions or comments 

concerning the SDEIS should be 

addressed to Mike Biggs, Project 

Manager, Planning & Environmental 

Office, P.O. Box 867, Little Rock, 

Arkansas 72203–0867. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mike Biggs, telephone 501–324–7342, Email: 

mike.l.biggs@swl02.usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Setting: The White River and its 

tributaries drain a total area of 27,765 

square miles (10,620 square miles in 

Missouri and 17,145 square miles in 

Arkansas). The White River basin 

originates in the Boston Mountains of 

northwest Arkansas (AR), near the city 

of Fayetteville. Three forks, the White 

River, the Middle Fork, and the West 

Fork, come together in Washington 

County, AR, to form the mainstem of the 

White River. The White River is first 

impounded as Lake Sequoyah, a 500- 

acre impoundment at the junction of the 

Middle Fork and the White River, near 

Fayetteville. The White River flows 

south out of Lake Sequoyah and joins 

the West Fork before entering Beaver 

Lake just west of Eureka Springs, AR. 

The White flows out of Beaver Dam (the 

first in a series of four hydroelectric 

dams) northward into Missouri (MO) 

near the town of Eagle Rock, Barry 

County. The White then flows eastward 

where it has been impounded as Table 

Rock Lake, just below its confluence 

with the James River near Branson. The 

White River below Table Rock Lake is 

again impounded by Powersite Dam 

near Forsyth, MO, and forms Lake 

Taneycomo. The river flow takes a 

southerly turn and flows back into 

Arkansas where it has again been 

impounded by Bull Shoals Dam near 

Cotter, Marion County. The White River 

flows towards the southeast from Bull 

Shoals Dam. The White river exits the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 6, 2008 / Notices 45749 

Ozark Plateau and enters the 

Mississippi Alluvial Plain near 

Newport, AR. The White River 

continues to flow in a southerly 

direction from where it enters the delta 

until its confluence with the Mississippi 

River near Montgomery Point, AR, some 

720 miles from its origin. 

The original focus of the White River 

Minimum Flow Reallocation Study was 

to look at the five USACE reservoirs and 

associated tailwaters (TW). The TW 

below Beaver is considered as White 

River Mile (WRM) 609.0–604.5, Bull 

Shoals WRM 418.6–329.1, Table Rock 

WRM 528.7–506.0, below Norfork, 

North Fork River mile (NRM) 4.75 to 

0.0, and the Buffalo National River 

enters at WRM 387.8 and the Norfork 

enters at WRM 376.4. The Greers Ferry 

TW Little Red River mile (LRRM) 78.7–

48.7 is below Greers Ferry dam. 

Background: The Department of the 

Army, Corps of Engineers, published a 

Notice of Intent in the Federal Register 

(65 FR 51299), August 23, 2000, stating 

its intent to prepare an EIS for a 

proposed water storage reallocation for 

the 5 White River lakes. 

The Corps was directed to complete a 

study and report to determine if 

minimum flow reallocations adversely 

affect other authorized purposes under 

Section 374 of the Water Resources 

Development Act (WRDA) 1999 and 

Section 304 of WRDA 2000. 

Under the original authorization, 

water levels were managed primarily for 

flood control and hydroelectric power 

generation at four of the White River 

Reservoirs as well as water supply at 

Beaver Lake. WRDA 1999 and 2000 

provided minimum flows necessary to 

sustain tailwater trout fisheries by 

reallocating the following recommended 

amounts of project storage: Beaver Lake, 

1.5 feet; Table Rock Lake, 2 feet; Bull 

Shoals Lake, 5 feet; Norfork Lake, 3.5 

feet; and Greers Ferry Lake, 3 feet. The 

Act further stated that no funds may be 

obligated to carry out work on the 

modification under subsection (a) until 

the Chief of Engineers, through 

completion of a final report, determines 

that the work is technically sound, 

environmentally acceptable, and 

economically justified. 

Subsequent to the completion of the 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(DEIS), Section 132 of the FY 2006 

Energy and Water Resources 

Development Act (Pub. L. 109–103) 

authorized the implementation of plans 

BS–3 at Bull Shoals and NF–7 at 

Norfork lakes, as described in the 

Reallocation Report, at full Federal 

expense in accordance with section 

906(e) of WRDA 86. Section 132 did not 

authorize implementation of Minimum 

Flows at Beaver, Norfork, and Greers 

Ferry Lakes. Also, Section 132 repealed 

the previous project authorities in 

WRDA 99 and WRDA 00, resulting in a 

new project. 

The SDEIS analyzed the impacts to 

the five White River Reservoirs, 

however; emphasis is placed on Bull 

Shoals and Norfork Lakes due to the 

changes made with the FY 2006 Energy 

and Water Resources Development Act 

(Pub. L. 109–103). Previous study efforts 

evaluating the other lakes are included 

in the interest of full disclosure. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives: 

WRDA 1999 and 2000 authorized the 

Little Rock District Corps of Engineers 

to reallocate specific ‘‘feet’’ of storage 

from each of the five White River 

reservoirs. WRDA did not specify which 

storage zone to take the ‘‘feet’’ of 

storage. Currently the lakes are divided 

into two zones, flood pool and 

conservation pool. The volume of 

storage provided by reallocating ‘‘feet’’

of storage from conservation pool is less 

than the volume of storage provided by 

the same ‘‘feet’’ of storage from the flood 

pool. 

The White River Reallocation Study 

completed in 2004 and the DEIS 

evaluated three reallocation plans at 

each reservoir, (1) Reallocation from the 

flood pool, (2) reallocation from the 

conservation pool and, (3) splitting the 

reallocation 50:50 from each pool. The 

study also looked at different methods 

of water release such as through existing 

station service units and siphons, new 

station service units, through the main 

turbines, or through siphons only. 

After the submittal of the 2004 

reallocation study, authorization was 

included in the FY 2006 Energy and 

Water Resources Development Act 

(EWRDA) that selected alternatives BS3 

(reallocation at Bull Shoals Lake from 

the flood pool released through an 

existing hydropower main turbine) and 

NF7 (reallocation from a 50:50 split 

between the flood pool and the 

conservation pool with releases through 

existing station service units and 

siphons). These alternatives were 

designated the ‘‘preferred alternative’’

and as such comply with Congressional 

directives and provide compensation to 

the hydropower users and affected 

facilities. 

SDEIS Availability: The SDEIS will be 

available for public review at the 

following locations: 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 700 West 

Capital Avenue, ATTN: CESWL–PE, 

Room 7500, Little Rock, AR 72203. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Beaver 

Lake Project Office, 2260 N. 2nd 

Street, Rogers, AR 72756. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Table 

Rock Lake Project Office, 3530 U.S. 

Highway 165, Branson, MO 65616. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

Mountain Home Project Office, 324 

W. 7th Street, Mountain Home, AR 

72653. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Greers 

Ferry Project Office, 700 Heber 

Springs Road North, Heber Springs, 

AR 72543. 

City of Forsyth Public Library, 162 Main 

St, Forsyth, MO 65653. 

Baxter County, Main Library, 424 West 

7th Street, Mountain Home, AR 

72653. 

Baxter County, Gassville Branch, 6469 

Highway 62 SW., Gassville, AR. 

Taney Hills Community Library, 200 S 

4th St, Branson, MO 65616. 

Central Arkansas Main Library, 100 

Rock Street, Little Rock, AR 72201. 

Central Arkansas Roosevelt Thompson 

Library, 38 Rahling Circle, Little Rock, 

AR 72223. 

Commenting: Comments received in 

response to this SDEIS, including names 

and addresses of those who comment 

will be considered part of the public 

record. Comments submitted 

anonymously will also be accepted and 

considered. Pursuant to Title 7 of the 

CFR 1.27(d), any person may request 

that the Corps withhold a submission 

from the public record if he or she can 

demonstrate that the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) permits such 

confidentiality. Persons requesting such 

confidentiality should be aware that, 

under FOIA, confidentiality may be 

granted in only very limited 

circumstances, such as to protect trade 

secrets. The Corps will inform the 

requester of the agency’s decision 

regarding the request for confidentiality. 

If the request is denied, the Corps will 

return the submission with notification 

that the comments may be resubmitted 

either with or without the commentor’s 

name and address. 

Affected local, State, or Federal 

agencies, affected American Indian 

tribes, and other interested private 

organizations and parties may 

participate in the review process by 

forwarding written comments to the 

address given previously or by attending 

the public meetings. 

Donald E. Jackson, Jr., 

Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander. 

[FR Doc. E8–18018 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am] 

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