[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5754-5755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3276]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Corps of Engineers

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Corpus Christi Bay to 
Port Isabel, TX
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of intent with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides a summary of the Corps of Engineers 
ongoing and planned study activities to prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway 
(GIWW)--Corpus Christi Bay to Port Isabel, Texas. The purpose of the 
study is to develop a long-term plan for the placement of dredged 
material from continued maintenance dredging of the GIWW. The Corps of 
Engineers is soliciting public input as to the problems that need to be 
addressed and other study efforts that may be needed. Additionally, a 
series of public workshops to solicit input and concerns on this study 
are planned within the next several months.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have information or questions 
concerning this notice or the study, or if you wish to be on the 
mailing list for this study, please contact Mr. Rick Medina at (409) 
766-3044 or Mr. Neil McLellan at (409) 766-3963, or you may write to: 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, Texas 77553-
1229.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    This notice provides a summary of the ongoing and planned study 
activities to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)--Corpus Christi Bay to 
Port Isabel, Texas. The purpose of the study is to develop a long-term 
plan for the placement of dredged material from continued maintenance 
dredging of the GIWW. Because of the public interest and concerns 
related to dredging and dredged material, the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers has decided to issue this notice and solicit public input 
regarding the study. This in no way prejudges the significance of new 
information and circumstances since 1975 nor predetermines the results 
of the ongoing studies.

Study Background

    This section of the GIWW is a 12-foot deep by 125-foot wide channel 
which extends 117 miles from Corpus Christi Bay to Port Isabel through 
the Laguna Madre. This reach of the GIWW serves the Ports of Port 
Mansfield, Harlingen, Port Isabel, and Brownsville, transporting 2 
million tons of commerce annually. This vital artery transports over 
350 million gallons of gasoline to the Rio Grande Valley. Over 2 
million cubic yards of material are dredged annually from this reach at 
an average annual cost of $1.2 million dollars. Within this reach there 
are 71 placement areas totaling over 9,000 acres.
    The Laguna Madre is one of only three hypesaline lagoons in the 
world. This shallow, productive estuary produces over 50% of the 
State's coastal finfish harvest and serves as nursery grounds for the 
important Gulf shrimp fishery. Seagrasses are a significant resource in 
the Laguna and cover over 65 percent of the bay bottom. The seagrasses 
also provide feeding grounds for the largest population of redhead 
ducks in the world.

Interagency Coordination Team

    To address the dredging and placement practices along the GIWW 
within the Laguna Madre, the Corps of Engineers began efforts in 
September 1994 to form an Interagency Coordination Team (ICT). Over the 
next several months, extensive coordination and consultation occurred 
to obtain the commitment of a broadbased Federal and State agency 
involvement. The ICT first met in February 1995 and has met nine times 
as of January 1996. In addition, the ICT has formed a Modelling Task 
Force which has met three times. The ICT is comprised of found Federal 
agencies and six State agencies. They include:
     U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
     National Marine Fisheries Service
     Environmental Protection Agency
     Texas General Land Office
     Texas Water Development Board
     Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
     Texas Department of Transportation
     Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
     Corpus Christi Bay National Estuary Program (Advisory)

Study Process

    The study process for developing a long-term dredged material 
management plan for the Laguna Madre is reflected in the goals 
established by the ICT.

[[Page 5755]]

These goals are, in paraphrase, to (1) identify environmental concerns 
associated with the GIWW in the Laguna Madre, (2) develop scopes of 
work needed to address environmental concerns, (3) ensure effective 
team work among state and federal agencies, and (4) contribute to and 
expedite completion of the dredged material management plan and 
environmental study for the GIWW.

Study Status

    To address these goals, the ICT has identified a problem list of 
concerns in the Laguna Madre associated with dredging and dredged 
material placement. Some of these concerns include:
     Impacts on the benthic community
     Effects of turbidity
     Impacts on seagrass populations
     Effects on circulation and hydrodynamics
     Effects on fishery productivity
     Contaminant concerns
     Viability of alternate placement areas
     Potential for beneficial uses of dredged material
    The ICT has developed and approved several scopes of work to 
perform the necessary scientific studies to address these concerns. A 
variety of expertise is being utilized. The approved studies, the 
contractors, date of study initiation, and the estimated costs are 
shown below.
     Environmental Monitoring of Dredging and Processes in the 
Lower Laguna Madre. Texas A&M University, Conrad Blucher Institute--
August 1994--$300,000
     Environmental Monitoring of Dredging and Processes in the 
Vicinity of Baffin Bay. Texas A&M University, Conrad Blucher 
Institute--October 1994--$328,769
     Hydrographic Characterization and Bottom Characterization, 
Laguna Madre, Texas. U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station--February 
1995--$586,550
     Temporal and Spatial Effects of Open Water Dredge Material 
Disposal on Habitat Utilization by Fishery Species in Laguna Madre, 
Texas. National Marine Fisheries Service--July 1995--$581,800
     Review of Available Water and Sediment Quality Data in the 
Laguna Madre. Espey, Huston, and Associates--July 1995--$22,722
    Several other studies are currently under consideration by the ICT. 
The anticipated contractor and estimated costs include:
     Extension of the Monitoring in the Lower Laguna Madre.
Texas A&M University, Conrad Blucher Institute--$190,000
     Extension of the Monitoring in the Upper Laguna Madre. 
Texas A&M University, Conrad Blucher Institute--$140,000
     Sediment Characteristics, History, and Recent Transport, 
Laguna Madre, Texas. University of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology--
$310,000
     Laguna Madre Fluid Mud Survey. U.S. Army Waterways 
Experiment Station--$125,000
     Laguna Madre Open Water Dredged Material Disposal Study. 
U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station--$165,000
     Predictive Model of Seagrass Impact. Texas A&M University, 
University of Texas Marine Science Institute, and Texas Parks and 
Wildlife Department--$400,000
     Hydrodynamic Circulation of the Upper and Lower Laguna 
Madre. Contractor and cost are as yet undetermined
    The total cost of both approved and proposed studies is 
approximately $3,150,000, not including the Hydrodynamic Model.

Schedule

    The efforts to date are considered to be the first year of a four-
year effort. The ICT has tentatively established this time frame to 
complete the studies, develop the long-term management plan, and 
prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. Should the study 
results indicate, and the ICT agree, that the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) process as described above should be modified, a 
separate notice will be published describing how the Corps will achieve 
NEPA compliance. In the interim, maintenance dredging of the GIWW will 
continue only when necessary, although changes to the placement plan 
will be made as study results warrant.

Public Participation

    The ICT is soliciting public input as to the problems that need to 
be addressed and other study efforts that may be needed. Every effort 
will be made to address concerns identified. Additionally, a series of 
public workshops to solicit input and concerns on this study are 
planned within the next several months.

    Dated: February 6, 1996.
Robert B. Gatlin,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 96-3276 Filed 2-13-96; 8:45 am]
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