Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 206 / Thursday, October 26, 2017 / Notices 49601 

of an EA in accordance with Corps 

regulations at 33 CFR part 230, 

Appendix C(2). 

We are advising the public that a draft 

integrated FR/EA for the Feasibility 

Study has been prepared and is 

available for public review and 

comment. The FR/EA considers the 

effects of, and alternatives to, the TSP. 

Dated: October 12, 2017. 

Terry J. Birkenstock, 

Deputy Chief, Regional Planning and 

Environment Division North. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23318 Filed 10–25–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Integrated General Reevaluation 

Report and Environmental Assessment 

and Draft Finding of No Significant 

Impact for the Proposed Lower Pajaro 

River Flood Risk Management Project, 

Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, CA 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE), San Francisco 

District, announces the availability for 

review and comment of the draft 

integrated General Reevaluation Report 

and Environmental Assessment (GRR/ 

EA) and the draft Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 

proposed Pajaro River Flood Risk 

Management Project, Monterey and 

Santa Cruz Counties, CA., USACE 

Procedures for Implementing [the 

National Environmental Policy Act] 

NEPA, notice of the availability of this 

draft GRR/EA and draft FONSI for 

review and comment is being provided 

to agencies, organizations, and the 

interested public. 

DATES: Comments on the draft GRR/EA 

and draft FONSI may be submitted 

starting October 31, 2017, through 

November 30, 2017. If comments are 

provided by mail, they must be received 

at the address below no later than 

November 30, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: The draft GRR/EA can be 

viewed online starting October 31, 2017, 

at: http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/ 

Missions/Projects-and-Programs/ 

Projects-by-Category/Projects-for-FloodRisk-Management/Pajaro-RiverWatsonville/. Comments may be 

submitted on the draft GRR/EA using 

any of the following methods: 

• Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

San Francisco District, ATTN: CESPN– 

ET–PB-Pajaro River, 1455 Market Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94103–1398. 

• Email: CESPN-ET-PB@

usace.army.mil. 

• Comment letters should include the 

commenter’s physical mailing address 

and include ‘‘Pajaro River’’ in the 

subject line. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Christopher Eng, U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, San Francisco District, 1455 

Market Street, San Francisco, CA 

94103–1398. Telephone: (415) 503– 

6868. Email: CESPN-ET-PB@

usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Proposed Action. USACE and the 

non-Federal study partners, Monterey 

and Santa Cruz Counties, propose to 

reduce flood risk to the City of 

Watsonville and the town of Pajaro by 

implementing a combination of 

structural measures along the lower 

Pajaro River, Salsipuedes Creek, and 

Corralitos Creek. These measures 

include: Improving existing levees; 

constructing new levees, including 

setback levees; and constructing new 

floodwalls. The draft GRR/EA presents 

the draft findings of the General 

Reevaluation Study and identifies and 

describes the benefits, costs, and 

environmental effects of alternatives 

plans to reduce flood risk to the city of 

Watsonville, town of Pajaro, and 

surrounding area. Based on the 

evaluation, USACE has identified a 

Federal interest in at least one 

alternative plan, the Tentatively 

Selected Plan (TSP), to reduce the risk 

of flooding while minimizing adverse 

environmental effects. The TSP is the 

National Economic Development Plan 

(NED). The environmental review 

conducted as part of this study has 

initially concluded that, with 

mitigation, the proposed alternatives 

would not result in any significant 

environmental effects. This review and 

its findings are documented in the draft 

GRR/EA. 

2. Alternatives. Ten project 

alternatives, including the no action 

alternative, have been evaluated in 

detail in the draft GRR/EA in 

accordance with NEPA (33 CFR part 230 

(USACE NEPA Regulations) and 33 CFR 

part 325, Appendix B (NEPA 

Implementation Procedures for USACE 

Regulatory Projects). 

3. Changes Since Publication of the 

Notice of Intent (NOI). An NOI was 

published in the Federal Register on 

June 8, 2001, (66 FR 30894) to advise 

the interested public and agencies that 

USACE planned to prepare a combined 

EIS/EIR for the Pajaro River Flood Risk 

Management Study. Since publication 

of the NOI, USACE and Monterey and 

Santa Cruz Counties have worked with 

stakeholders to identify and incorporate 

measures to avoid, minimize, and 

compensate for adverse environmental 

effects. As a result, the environmental 

review conducted as part of this study 

has initially concluded that, with 

mitigation, the proposed alternatives 

would not result in any significant 

environmental effects. Therefore, an EA 

has been prepared instead of an EIS. 

Also, USACE now requires water 

resources planning and NEPA 

documents to be integrated into a single 

document, in this case, an integrated 

GRR/EA. The California Environmental 

Quality Act (CEQA) document for the 

study is being prepared separately by 

Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties as 

the CEQA lead agencies. 

c. USACE is consulting with the State 

Historic Preservation Officer and with 

Native American Tribes to comply with 

the National Historic Preservation Act, 

and with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service and National Marine Fisheries 

Service to comply with the Endangered 

Species Act. USACE is also coordinating 

with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

to comply with the Fish and Wildlife 

Coordination Act. 

4. Availability of the Draft EA. The 

draft GRR/EA and draft FONSI are 

available for public review and 

comment 30 days beginning October 31, 

2017 and ending November 30, 2017. 

5. A public meeting to discuss the 

status of the study, present the draft 

results of the GRR/EA, and receive 

questions and comments will be held on 

November 8, 2017, from 6:00 p.m. to 

8:00 p.m. at the Watsonville Civic Plaza 

Community Room, 275 Main Street, 4th 

Floor, Watsonville, California 95076– 

5133. 

Dated: October 18, 2017. 

Travis J. Rayfield, 

Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, District 

Commander. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23276 Filed 10–25–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 


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