[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 29, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44859-44860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21324]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Corps of Engineers
Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
for Flood Damage Control on the Upper Des Plaines River, IL
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Chicago District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is
investigating the feasibility of various methods to reduce flood damage
along portions of the Upper Des Plaines River (UDPR) in Lake and Cook
Counties, Illinois.
A feasibility study of the proposed action is being conducted under
Congressional authority known as the Chicago-South End of Lake Michigan
(C-SELM) Urban Water Damage Study Authority. This authority is
contained in Section 206 of the 1958 Flood Control Act (Public Law 85-
500), two resolutions by the Senate Committee on Public Works adopted
22 July 1969, and 29 March 1973, and a resolution by the House
Committee on Public Works adopted 11 April 1974. The feasibility study
was undertaken as a result of a formal request for a reconnaissance
study by the Illinois Division of Water Resources in October 1986. The
reconnaissance study was completed by the Chicago District in 1989.
This study supported further Federal involvement at the feasibility
stage for flood protection on the Upper Des Plaines River. The State of
Illinois, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago,
and Lake County Stormwater Management Commission have agreed to share
the cost of the feasibility study with the Chicago District. The
purpose of this feasibility study is to (1) describe and evaluate the
scope of the flooding problems on the UDPR basin, (2) describe and
evaluate alternative plans to resolve the flooding problems, and (3)
select a recommended plan. The focus of this investigation is overbank
flooding along the mainstem of the UDPR in Lake and Cook Counties,
Illinois.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions or comments about the
proposed action and DEIS should be addressed to Dr. Ken Derickson,
Planning Division, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, 111
North Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60606-7206, ATTN: CENCC-PD-S,
telephone (312) 353-6475. An issues-scoping meeting is tentatively
planned during the Fall of 1995.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Upper Des Plaines River, located in Lake
and Cook Counties of Northeastern Illinois, is subject to severe
overbank flooding due to inadequate channel carrying capacity to carry
peak flows during major storm events. Damaging floods, in the mostly
urban watershed, have occurred several times over the past 50 years.
The most recent floods, in 1986 and 1987, caused damages exceeding $100
million. Homes, commercial/industrial facilities, public/municipal
sites, streets, golf courses, cemeteries, and recreational/open space
areas were adversely impacted by these latter two floods in many
communities along the Upper Des Plaines River. Due to the projected
high rate of development along the UDPR in Lake County, damages due to
flooding are expected to increase by about 50 percent over the next 50
years, if no action is taken. At the request of the State of Illinois
in October 1986, the Chicago District conducted a reconnaissance study
of these flooding problems along the UDPR.
[[Page 44860]]
During the problem identification phase of the reconnaissance
study, 67 flood prone areas were identified along the mainstem of the
Des Plaines River as well as 40 areas of flood prone roads/streets. Of
the 67 identified flood prone areas, 17 were recommended for plan
formulation, based on preliminary economic, engineering, environmental,
and institutional screening criteria. Actions to be considered in the
feasibility study and DEIS for these 17 flood prone areas are (1) no
Federal action, (2) using exiting gravel pits for flood water storage,
(3) expanding existing reservoirs, (4) excavating new reservoirs and/or
wetland detention areas, (5) constructing levees, and (6) implementing
non-structural alternatives (e.g., floodplain management and flood-
proofing). These actions will be studied to determine those, or
combinations thereof, which best meet the following objectives:
reduction of flood damages to the UDPR Basin; protection and
enhancement of natural, cultural and ecological resources; mitigation
of project-induced impacts on these resources; maintenance or
enhancement of the social well-being of the community to the maximum
extent possible; minimization of any adverse impacts to existing and
future development plans for the UDPR Basin; and minimization of
project impacts to surrounding communities.
The DEIS is tentatively scheduled to be available for public review
in April 1996.
Gregory D. Showalter,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-21324 Filed 8-28-95; 8:45 am]
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