43448 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2017 / Notices 

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY 

Rarity Pointe Commercial Recreation 

and Residential Development on 

Tellico Reservoir, Loudon and Monroe 

Counties, Tennessee 

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority. 

ACTION: Amended Record of Decision. 

SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley 

Authority (TVA) is amending its 

September 10, 2003, Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the Rarity Pointe Commercial 

Recreation and Residential 

Development on Tellico Reservoir, 

Loudon and Monroe Counties, 

Tennessee Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (2003 Rarity Pointe FEIS). In 

2012, WindRiver Management LLC 

(WindRiver) purchased the Rarity 

Pointe development and requested that 

TVA consider modifications to the 

original development plan. In July 2017, 

TVA completed a supplemental 

environmental assessment analyzing the 

potential impacts of the proposed 

modifications. This amended ROD 

incorporates TVA’s decisions relating to 

the modifications. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Henry, NEPA Program and Valley 

Projects, Tennessee Valley Authority, 

400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, 

Tennessee 37902; Telephone: 865–632– 

4045 or Email: abhenry@tva.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is provided in accordance with 

the Council on Environmental Quality’s 

regulations and the TVA procedures for 

implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). On 

September 10, 2003, TVA published in 

the Federal Register (68 FR 53421) its 

Record of Decision (ROD) for the Rarity 

Pointe Commercial Recreation and 

Residential Development on Tellico 

Reservoir, Loudon and Monroe 

Counties, Tennessee Final 

Environmental Impact Statement. In the 

ROD, TVA selected Alternative E of the 

FEIS, approving construction of a 

marina facility and par 3 golf course, 

changes to land use allocations in the 

Tellico Reservoir Land Management 

Plan, and acceptance of a transfer of 

properties for recreation and natural 

resources conservation use. 

In 2012, WindRiver Management LLC 

(WindRiver) purchased the Rarity 

Pointe development and requested 

approval under Section 26a of the TVA 

Act to install riprap shoreline 

stabilization, two irrigation water 

intakes, a stormwater outfall, and a park 

in replacement of the previously 

planned par 3 golf course. In July 2017, 

TVA completed the Brightwater Park at 

WindRiver Final Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment (Final SEA) 

analyzing the potential impacts of the 

proposed actions that modify the 

original development plan. TVA now 

amends the September 2003 ROD to 

incorporate the revised proposal. By this 

notice, TVA is providing notification of 

its decision and agency reasoning. 

To construct Brightwater Park and 

install rip-rap stabilization at locations 

around the WindRiver development, 

TVA approval is needed within TVA’s 

Section 26a jurisdiction. U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (USACE) approval is 

also needed under Section 10 of the 

Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 

of the Clean Water Act for the proposed 

stabilization and pier. Section 26a of the 

TVA Act of 1933, as amended, requires 

that TVA approval be obtained prior to 

the construction, operation, or 

maintenance of an obstruction affecting 

navigation, flood control, or public 

lands. Therefore, TVA’s action would be 

to make a decision on the Section 26a 

approval request for the proposed park, 

shoreline stabilization, water intakes 

and stormwater outfall. The USACE and 

TVA have a Memorandum of 

Understanding that designates TVA as 

the Lead Federal Agency for conducting 

environmental reviews under NEPA and 

other applicable federal laws and 

regulations for proposed work that may 

occur on property which is under TVA 

custody or control. 

The Final SEA analyzes two 

alternatives: Alternative A—the No 

Action Alternative, and Alternative B— 

Section 26a Permit Approval. Under 

Alternative A, TVA would not issue 

approval under Section 26a. The 

applicant would not be permitted to 

take any actions on TVA land below the 

820 foot contour elevation except those 

previously authorized by TVA under the 

2003 ROD. Under Alternative B, TVA 

would issue a Section 26a permit 

approval to install riprap shoreline 

stabilization, a park, two irrigation 

water intakes, and a stormwater outfall. 

The Final SEA identified Alternative 

B—Section 26a Permit Approval as the 

preferred alternative. Riprap 

stabilization under Alternative B 

includes approximately 6,360 linear feet 

of rip-rap along steeper portions of the 

shoreline of Tellico Reservoir which are 

actively eroding resulting in 

undermining of banks and loss of 

riparian vegetation. The proposed 

Brightwater Park includes a gravel and 

asphalt parking area, two fire pits, a 

retaining wall, an irrigation water intake 

and pump installed under one canoe/ 

kayak floating dock (attached to a fixed 

pier), lighting, electrical service, a 

community garden, a shuffleboard 

court, two pavilions, a fenced play area, 

a dog park, a picnic shelter, sidewalk 

and walkways, picnic tables, 

playground structures, and signage. The 

majority of the park would be located on 

TVA property below the 820 foot 

contour elevation. 

Environmental Consequences 

In the Final SEA, TVA adopted the 

analysis in the 2003 Rarity Pointe FEIS 

and provided supplemental analysis of 

the potential impacts of both Alternative 

A and B on aesthetics, recreation, 

floodplains, wetlands, aquatic ecology, 

terrestrial ecology, water quality, noise, 

and historic and archaeological 

resources. The potential environmental 

impacts of each alternative are 

summarized for comparison in Section 

2.2 of the Final SEA. 

The proposed Alternative B would 

have no additional impact on most 

environmental resources evaluated in 

the 2003 Rarity Pointe FEIS. There 

would be no impacts to wetlands and 

historic and archaeological resources 

under Alternative B. Minor and 

temporary impacts associated with 

Alternative B were identified to aquatic 

ecology, water quality, and noise 

primarily in association with short-term 

construction activities. These impacts 

would be similar to the short-term 

construction impacts for those same 

resources in the 2003 Rarity Pointe 

FEIS. Additionally, TVA has 

determined that there would be new 

minor impacts to aesthetics, floodplains, 

and terrestrial ecology as a result of the 

permanent changes resulting from 

implementation of Alternative B beyond 

those previously evaluated in the 2003 

Rarity Pointe FEIS. Alternative B would 

result in minor beneficial impacts to 

recreation due to the increased 

recreation opportunities in the area. 

Environmentally Preferable Alternative 

TVA has concluded that Alternative 

A, the No Action Alternative, is the 

environmentally preferred alternative, 

as it would result in fewer 

environmental impacts than Alternative 

B. The No Action Alternative would 

result in no additional or different 

environmental impacts beyond those 

previously evaluated in the 2003 Rarity 

Pointe FEIS. These additional impacts 

would be primarily associated with the 

installation of the riprap stabilization. 

Although Alternative B would have 

slightly greater impacts than the No 

Action Alternative, most of those 

impacts would be minor. The 

predominant adverse impact associated 

with Alternative B would be a minor 

change in the visual appearance of the 

shoreline from various viewpoints 

around the reservoir. This change would 

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2017 / Notices 43449 

be consistent, however, with the 

shoreline appearance in other locations 

and therefore would not be significant. 

Alternative B would, however, provide 

some environmental benefits. These 

benefits include reducing shoreline 

erosion at locations where the riprap 

stabilization measures are placed and 

completion of Brightwater Park 

providing accessible public land and 

recreation resources as was originally 

intended with the 2003 decision. 

Amended Decision 

TVA has decided to amend the 

September 2003 ROD to incorporate the 

approval of Alternative B—Section 26a 

Permit Approval. The rationale for 

approving Alternative B is consistent 

with the rationale provided in the 

September 2003 ROD. The changes to 

the original proposal described in 

Alternative B achieves both WindRiver’s 

objectives for development of the 

residential and recreational community 

and TVA’s overall goals for providing 

recreational opportunities in the 

Tennessee Valley. Environmental 

impacts associated with Alternative B 

would be minor and slightly greater 

than impacts associated with 

Alternative A. 

Mitigation Measures 

The September 2003 ROD lists 

mitigation measures associated with the 

2003 Rarity Pointe FEIS. These 

mitigation measures remain in effect 

across the development. TVA has 

identified the following 2003 mitigation 

measures to be specifically applicable to 

the current proposed actions related to 

the stabilization measures and 

Brightwater Park: 

• Fully shielded light fixtures or 

those with internal low-glare optics (so 

no light is emitted from the fixture at 

angles above the horizon) will be used 

in the development. This commitment 

would also apply to the actions at 

Brightwater Park. 

• Any future facilities or equipment 

subject to flood damage will be located 

at or above elevation of 820 feet. 

• Any future development proposed 

within the limits of the 100-year 

floodplain, elevation 816.7 feet MSL, 

will be consistent with the requirements 

of EO 11988. 

• All future development will be 

consistent with the requirements of 

TVA’s Flood Control Storage Loss 

Guideline. 

• WindRiver will continue to mitigate 

impacts to wetlands (W4 and W5) in the 

vicinity of Brightwater Park by 

implementing the wetland mitigation 

plan in Appendix C of the 2003 Rarity 

Pointe FEIS. 

TVA has identified the following new 

mitigation measures associated with the 

implementation of the Brightwater Park 

SEA Alternative B—Section 26a Permit 

Approval. 

• No flood-damageable facilities or 

equipment would be located within the 

Brightwater Park grand lawn. The lawn 

would be kept as a grassy area which 

would not be expected to incur damage 

during a flood. 

• The switch on the irrigation pump 

would be located at or above an 

elevation of 820 feet. 

• The minimum amount of rip-rap 

would be used while still meeting 

project objectives. 

• The Brightwater Park sun shelter 

will remain open to the elements and 

may never be enclosed in the future. 

Any flood-damageable equipment stored 

in the sun shelter will be elevated to or 

above elevation 820 feet. 

• For purposes of shoreline bank 

stabilization, all portions will be 

constructed or placed, on average, no 

more than two feet from the existing 

shoreline at normal summer pool 

elevation. 

• For all electrical services permitted, 

including the electrical plug, a 

disconnect must be located at or above 

elevation 818.1 that is accessible during 

flooding. 

• The floor elevation of the fixed 

courtesy pier will be a minimum of 2.0 

feet above the normal summer pool 

elevation 813.0. 

• The applicant should contact the 

local government official(s) to ensure 

that this facility complies with all 

applicable local floodplain regulations. 

• Any excess excavated material not 

needed to grade Edgewater Road and the 

parking lot will be disposed of and 

contained on land lying and being above 

the 816.7-foot contour. Every precaution 

will be taken to prevent the reentry of 

the spoil material into the reservoir. 

• In the stabilization areas, the only 

trees that would be removed are those 

already undermined and actively falling 

into the adjacent water. No trees greater 

than 3 inches in diameter at breast 

height would be removed. 

• A vegetated buffer zone of at least 

50 feet will be retained by TVA and 

maintained along the shoreline from the 

summer pool level in order to maintain 

continuity on the site, and reduce 

possible impacts to water quality and 

wetlands. 

• If the reservoir falls below the 

elevation of the intake, the applicant 

will be responsible for finding another 

source of raw water. 

• Cultural resource site 40LD29 

would be avoided for all construction 

activities. TVA would place a 

commitment within the permit that 

states that in the vicinity of cultural 

resource site 40LD346, rip-rap would be 

placed from the beach with no 

equipment allowed on top of the site 

and no bank shaping would be done. In 

addition, TVA would require that an 

archaeological monitor be present while 

work is being conducted in that area. 

David Bowling, 

Vice President, Land and Resource 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19657 Filed 9–14–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2010–0073] 

Portland & Western Railroad’s Request 

for Positive Train Control Safety Plan 

Approval and System Certification 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This document notifies the 

public that Portland & Western Railroad 

(PNWR) submitted to FRA its Positive 

Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP) 

(Version 1.5, dated July 21, 2017) for its 

Westside Express Service and a copy of 

that PTCSP is available for public 

review and comment. PNWR asks FRA 

to approve its PTCSP and issue a 

Positive Train Control System 

Certification for PNWR’s Enhanced 

Automatic Train Control (E–ATC), 

under the appropriate regulations. 

DATES: FRA will consider comments 

received by October 16, 2017, before 

taking final action on the PTCSP. FRA 

may consider comments received after 

that date if practicable. 

ADDRESSES: All communications 

concerning this proceeding should 

identify Docket Number FRA–2010– 

0073 and may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

• Web site: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

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