[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39371-39372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-18940]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army


Corps of Engineers, Intent to Prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Proposed Wyoming Valley 
Inflatable Dam in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Baltimore District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is 
preparing a formulation/design report with an integrated Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the construction of an 
inflatable dam in the Wyoming Valley region of the Susquehanna River 
Basin. This study is being accomplished as part of the continuing 
project process. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document 
is intended to supplement previous NEPA work accomplished, a final EIS 
which was done in September 1981 and a SEIS done in January 1995, for 
both the Phase I and Phase II General Design Memorandums (GDM). The dam 
is a component of the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project mitigation 
plan. The formulation/design study will review the recommended plans 
identified in the Wyoming Valley Inflatable Dam, Luzerne County, 
Pennsylvania Reconnaissance Report, dated April 1991, formulate 
additional plans as necessary, evaluate the associated impacts, and 
then provide a detailed analysis of the selected plan. The selected 
plan will be the alternative that fulfills Federal economic, 
engineering and environmental criteria and is preferred by both the 
Federal and non-Federal parties. The study was authorized under Section 
102(w) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action and SEIS can be addressed to Ms. 
Susan B. Hughes, Project Management, Baltimore District, U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENAB-PP-C, P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, 
Maryland 21203-1715.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. The study area is located in northeastern 
Pennsylvania. The proposed inflatable dam would be constructed in an 
area known as the Wyoming Valley in Luzerne County, which extends along 
the Susquehanna River from the Borough of Pittston southwest 
approximately 15 miles to Nanticoke City. The Wyoming Valley is heavily 
developed, primarily by urban residential, commercial, and industrial 
facilities. There are also several abandoned and active coal mining 
operations in the valley.
    2. The study area was plagued with recurring floods from the 
Susquehanna River for many years until a series of Federally authorized 
flood protection measures were constructed in the 1930's, 1940's and 
1950's. The existing flood damage reduction system is composed of four 
projects, which are located in the Boroughs of Kingston and 
Edwardsville; the Boroughs of Swoyersville and Forty Fort; the Borough 
of Plymouth; and the Township of Hanover and the City of Wilkes-Barre.
    3. In June 1972, Tropical Storm Agnes, the largest flood of record, 
overtopped the existing flood protection system by four to five feet. 
In December of 1972, the Baltimore District completed a document titled 
``Wyoming Valley Flood Control, Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania'' which 
recommended that the existing flood protection system be modified to 
protect against an Agnes-level flood. In 1981, a more detailed Phase I 
General Design Memorandum (GDM)/Feasibility Report and Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) were completed which recommended 
that the existing flood protection system be raised to protect against 
an Agnes-level flood. Section 401(a) of the Water Resources Development 
Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-662) authorized the construction of the 
project recommended in the 1981 Phase I GDM.
    4. Section 102(w) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 
(Public Law 102-580) modified the previous authorization as follows: 
``to direct the Secretary to complete the final phase II design 
memorandum for the project (including the results of a review of 
nonstructural mitigation plans for the purpose of ameliorating damages 
from induced flooding)''. As such, the inflatable dam is being 
considered as a form of mitigation for the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising 
project.
    5. The Phase II GDM for the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising project, 
which was made available for public review in November 1994, included 
the inflatable dam as a measure to mitigate against adverse intangible 
social and economic impacts of the improved levee system. A SEIS was 
completed for the Phase II GDM. The proposed mitigation plan was 
addressed within the GDM/SEIS. However, detailed investigations of the 
proposed inflatable dam were not.
    6. The SEIS currently being prepared will build upon the previous 
environmental impact statements and address cumulative impacts related 
to the entire project. A range of alternatives will be analyzed and 
discussed. The formulation/design report will review the reconnaissance 
report and use it as the foundation for its analysis. Based on the 
reconnaissance report, preliminary formulation indicates that the dam 
would be located 220 feet upstream of the abandoned Delaware and Hudson 
railroad bridge crossing the Susquehanna River. The dam would consist 
of four inflatable rubber segments anchored to reinforce concrete 
piers, abutments and sill, spanning a total length of 850 feet across 
the Susquehanna River. Dam heights between 6.5 feet, 8 feet, and 10 
feet will be investigated. The boating pool created by the 6.5-foot dam 
would extend approximately 4.4 miles upstream to Forty Fort and would 
provide about 365 acres of boating area (total surface area=410 acres). 
The deepest portion of the lake would be 

[[Page 39372]]
near the activity centers at Kirby, Nesbitt, and River Commons Park. 
The higher alternatives would require larger foundations to support 
larger bags and the deeper impoundment provided by the dam. The boating 
pool created by the 10-foot dam would extend approximately 5.5 miles 
upstream near Monocanock Island and would provide about 495 acres of 
boating area (total surface area=520 acres).
    7. The Baltimore District is preparing a SEIS which will document 
the alternatives analysis and describe the impacts of the proposed 
projects on environmental and cultural resources in the study area and 
the overall public interest. If applicable, the SEIS will also apply 
guidelines issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, under 
authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-
217).
    8. A notice will be distributed to interested private individuals 
and organizations, as well as Federal, state, and local agencies, 
informing them of our intent to prepare a SEIS, and requesting their 
comments. The Baltimore District invites potentially affected Federal, 
state, and local agencies and other interested organizations and 
parties to participate in this study. Agencies that will be involved in 
the study and SEIS process include, but are not limited to the 
following: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service; U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Natural Resources Conservation 
Service; U.S. National Park Service; Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Resources; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; 
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission; Pennsylvania Game Commission; 
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; and the Susquehanna River Basin 
Commission. Additional study newsletters, notices and workshops may be 
included as part of the public involvement program, as needed.
    9. The draft SEIS is tentatively scheduled to be available for 
public review in early summer 1996.
Randall R. Inouye,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 95-18940 Filed 8-1-95; 8:45 am]
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