Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 137 / Monday, July 20, 2009 / Notices 35167 

private organizations and parties are 

invited to participate. 

Potentially significant issues to be 

analyzed in the EIS include, but are not 

limited to: Hydrology, water supply, 

water quality, cultural resources, 

biological resources, traffic and 

transportation, and air quality. The 

Corps is the lead agency for preparation 

of the EIS under the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). The Corps has requested the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) serve as cooperating 

agencies on the EIS. The Corps will 

coordinate with other agencies, such as 

the City of Rancho Cordova, in 

preparation of the EIS. 

Other environmental review and 

consultation requirements for the 

proposed actions include water quality 

certification under Section 401 of the 

Clean Water Act from the California 

Regional Water Quality Control Board. 

All six of the Sunridge Specific Plans 

projects have received water quality 

certification. In addition, because the 

projects may affect federally-listed 

endangered species, the Corps was 

required to consult with the USFWS in 

accordance with Section 7 of the federal 

Endangered Species Act. Biological 

Opinions were issued by the USFWS for 

all six projects. 

Two public scoping meetings for the 

EIS will be held on July 30, 2009, with 

the first from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and the 

second from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The 

meetings will be held at the Rancho 

Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park 

Drive, American River Room—South, 

Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. Interested 

parties can provide oral and written 

comments at the meetings. Scoping 

comments should be submitted before 

August 31, 2009 but may be submitted 

at any time prior to publication of the 

Draft EIS. 

Interested parties may register for the 

Corps’ public notice email notification 

lists at: http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/ 

organizations/cespk-co/regulatory/ 

pnlist.html. 

Dated: July 9, 2009 

James A. Porter, 

Lt. Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Acting District 

Engineer. 

[FR Doc. E9–17159 Filed 7–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the C–111 Spreader Canal Western 

Project Located in Miami-Dade 

Counties, FL 

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) is issuing this notice 

to advise the public that a Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

has been completed and is available for 

review and comment. 

DATES: In accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we 

have filed the Final EIS with the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

for publication of their notice of 

availability in the Federal Register. The 

EPA notice officially starts the 30-day 

review period for this document. It is 

the goal of the USACE to have this 

notice published on the same date as the 

EPA notice. However, if that does not 

occur, the date of the EPA notice will 

determine the closing date for 

comments on the Final EIS. Comments 

on the Final EIS must be submitted to 

the address below under Further 

Contact Information and must be 

received no later than 5 p.m. Eastern 

Standard Time, Monday, August 17, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS can be viewed 

online at http:// 

www.saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/ 

Regulatory/InterestItems.htm. Copies of 

the Final EIS are also available for 

review at the following libraries: MiamiDade Public Library, Homestead Branch, 

700 N. Homestead Blvd., Homestead, FL 

33030. Miami-Dade Public Library, 

Main Branch, 101 West Flagler Street, 

Miami, FL 33130. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Alisa Zarbo, Project Manager, U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, 

4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm 

Beach Gardens, Florida 33410, 

Telephone: 561–472–3516, Fax: 561– 

626–6971. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South 

Florida Water Management District 

(SFWMD) proposes to construct the 

C–111 Spreader Canal Western Project 

in Miami-Dade County. The project 

addresses the need to restore ecosystem 

function in Taylor Slough and Florida 

Bay within the Everglades National 

Park, the adjacent Southern Glades, the 

Model Land, and other associated 

wetlands and estuarine systems. The 

SFWMD anticipates that this proposed 

project will become an authorized 

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration 

Plan (CERP) project, and that it will 

receive credit for the early construction 

of this proposed project as the local 

sponsor. This Final EIS builds upon the 

draft Project Implementation Report 

(PIR)/EIS that has already been released 

to the public under the CERP and the 

Regulatory program. As such, this EIS 

includes numerous discussions of 

compliance with CERP requirements. 

While not critical to the Department of 

the Army permit decision, this 

information provides more context than 

a typical EIS and also details about 

USACE planning policy. 

The C–111 Spreader Canal Western 

Project is essential to achieving 

restoration of Taylor Slough and 

downstream areas within the affected 

areas in the Everglades National Park, 

the Model Land and the Southern 

Glades area, and plays an integral role 

in meeting the CERP system-wide 

ecosystem restoration goals and 

objectives. Structural and operational 

changes will be implemented to 

improve the quantity, timing, and 

distribution of water delivered to 

Florida Bay via Taylor Slough, as well 

as improve hydroperiods within the 

wetlands of the Southern Glades and 

Model Land. Hydroperiods and 

hydropatterns within the wetlands of 

the Southern Glades and Model Land 

will be improved by the construction of 

a new operable water control structure 

in the lower C–111 Canal, incremental 

operational changes at existing structure 

S–18C, changes in operations at the 

existing S–20 structure, construction of 

a plug at existing structure S–20A, and 

the installation of ten earthen plugs in 

the C–110 Canal. As a result of the 

construction and operation of the C–111 

Spreader Canal Western project, 

approximately 200.73 acres (in total) of 

wetlands and waters of the United 

States would be permanently impacted 

and 39.98 acres (in total) of wetlands 

and waters of the United States would 

be temporarily impacted as a result of 

the placement of fill material, 

excavation, and/or flooding. In addition, 

approximately 149.26 acres of atypical 

wetlands (agricultural) would be 

impacted by excavation, then inundated 

with water. The SFWMD would need to 

obtain a U.S. Department of the Army 

permit from the USACE pursuant to 

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This 

final Environmental Impact Statement 

evaluates the environmental effects of 

seven alternatives, including the 


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35168 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 137 / Monday, July 20, 2009 / Notices 

SFWMD’s preferred alternative and the 

No Action Alternative. 

Dated: July 10, 2009. 

David Hobbie, 

Chief, Regulatory Division. 

[FR Doc. E9–17167 Filed 7–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–AJ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Public Hearings for the U.S. 

Marine Corps Grow the Force at Marine 

Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune, 

Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New 

River, and MCAS Cherry Point, North 

Carolina Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 

(102)(2)(c) of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 

4321); the Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) regulations for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (Title 40 Code of Federal 

Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500–1508); 

Department of Navy Procedures for 

Implementing NEPA (32 CFR Part 775); 

and Marine Corps NEPA directives 

(Marine Corps Order P5090.2A), the 

Marine Corps has prepared and filed 

with the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) a Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) which evaluates 

the potential environmental 

consequences that may result from 

implementing the Grow the Force 

initiative in North Carolina in 

accordance with the President’s 

mandate and Congressional direction to 

increase end strength across the Marine 

Corps war-fighting organizations by the 

end of Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11). The 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

Wilmington district, is a cooperating 

agency for the EIS. A Notice of Intent for 

this EIS was published in the Federal 

Register on December 14, 2007 (Vol. 72, 

No. 240, p. 71128). 

The Marine Corps will conduct three 

public hearings to receive oral and 

written comments on the Draft EIS. 

Federal, State, and local agencies and 

interested individuals are invited to be 

present or represented at the public 

hearing meetings. This notice 

announces the dates and locations of the 

public hearings for this Draft EIS; 

supplementary information about the 

environmental planning effort is also 

included in this notice. 

DATES: An open house session will 

precede the public hearing at each of the 

locations listed below. Individuals will 

be allowed to review the information 

presented in the Draft EIS and Marine 

Corps representatives will be available 

during the open house sessions to 

clarify information related to the Draft 

EIS. For all meetings the open house 

will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and 

the public hearing will be held from 

6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Public hearings will 

be held on the following dates and at 

the following locations in North 

Carolina: 

(1) Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 

Havelock Tourist and Event Center, 201 

Tourist Center Drive, Havelock, NC. 

(2) Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 

Jacksonville High School, Auditorium, 

1021 Henderson Drive, Jacksonville, NC. 

(3) Thursday, August 20, 2009, Holly 

Ridge Community Center, 404 Sound 

Road, Holly Ridge, NC. 

The Draft EIS was distributed to 

Federal, State, and local agencies, 

elected officials, and other interested 

parties and organizations on July 17, 

2009. The public comment period will 

end on September 1, 2009. Copies of the 

Draft EIS are available for public review 

at the following libraries: Onslow 

County Public Library, 58 Doris Ave. 

East, Jacksonville, NC 28540; Richlands 

Branch Library, 299 S. Wilmington St., 

Richlands, NC 28574; Sneads Ferry 

Branch Library, 242 Sneads Ferry Rd., 

Sneads Ferry, NC 28460; Law Library 

Branch, 109 Old Bridge St., Jacksonville, 

NC 28540; and Havelock-Craven County 

Public Library, 301 Cunningham 

Boulevard, Havelock, NC 28532. The 

Draft EIS is also available for electronic 

public viewing at: http:// 

www.GrowTheForceNC.com. 

A paper copy of the Draft EIS will be 

made available upon written request by 

contacting Naval Facilities Engineering 

Command Mid-Atlantic, Marine Corps 

Grow the Force in NC, EIS Project 

Manager, 6506 Hampton Boulevard, 

Norfolk, VA 23508. 

Comments: Federal, State, and local 

agencies and interested parties are 

invited to be present or be represented 

at the public hearings. Written 

comments can be submitted during the 

open house sessions preceding the 

public hearings. 

Oral statements will be heard and 

transcribed by a stenographer; however, 

to ensure the accuracy of the record, all 

statements should be submitted in 

writing. All statements, both oral and 

written, will become part of the public 

record on the Draft EIS and will be 

responded to in the Final EIS. Equal 

weight will be given to both oral and 

written statements. In the interest of 

available time, and to ensure all who 

wish to give an oral statement have the 

opportunity to do so, each speaker’s 

comments will be limited to three (3) 

minutes. If a long statement is to be 

presented, it should be summarized at 

the public hearing with the full text 

submitted in writing at the hearing, or 

mailed to Naval Facilities Engineering 

Command Mid-Atlantic, Marine Corps 

Grow the Force in NC, EIS Project 

Manager, 6506 Hampton Boulevard, 

Norfolk, VA 23508. In addition, 

comments may be submitted on-line at 

http://www.GrowTheForceNC.com 

during the 45-day comment period. All 

written comments must be postmarked 

by September 8, 2009, to ensure they 

become part of the official record. All 

comments will be addressed in the Final 

EIS. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael H. Jones, telephone: (757) 322– 

4942. Please submit requests for special 

assistance, sign language interpretation 

for the hearing impaired or other 

auxiliary aids at the public meetings to 

Mr. Jones by August 4, 2009. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

proposed action and subject of the Draft 

EIS covers the permanent, incremental 

increase of active duty and civilian 

personnel and their dependents at three 

North Carolina Marine Corps 

Installations: MCB Camp Lejeune, 

MCAS New River, and MCAS Cherry 

Point. The increase in personnel is part 

of a nationwide Presidential mandate 

for the Marine Corps to grow its force 

size from 186,000 to 202,000 Marines by 

the end of FY11. Three action 

alternatives and a No Action Alternative 

were carried forward for analysis in the 

Draft EIS. 

The No Action Alternative 

(Alternative 1) was examined in the 

Draft EIS. Under this alternative, the 

permanent, incremental increase of 

Marine Corps personnel at North 

Carolina Installations would not occur. 

This alternative is included to provide 

a baseline from which to gauge potential 

impacts of the action alternatives, even 

though it would not meet the purpose 

and need to permanently increase 

Marine Corps personnel at North 

Carolina bases. In addition, it is 

incompatible with the President’s 

mandate to increase Marine Corps 

personnel. 

The Preferred Alternative (Alternative 

2) includes the addition of 

approximately 7,700 personnel at MCB 

Camp Lejeune, 1,400 at MCAS New 

River, and close to 800 at MCAS Cherry 

Point (total of 9,900 active duty and 

civilian personnel), as well as 

approximately 9,450 dependents. 


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