[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4268-4269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2135]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent to Prepare a Feasibility Study and Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Anacostia River and Tributaries Phase 2 
Feasibility Study in Montgomery County, Maryland

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is 
initiating the Anacostia River and Tributaries (Phase 2) Feasibility 
Study on the Montgomery County, Maryland portion of the Northwest 
Branch watershed. The riparian and aquatic environmental integrity of 
the Northwest Branch watershed has been severely degraded by 
urbanization, inadequate infrastructure and industrial encroachment. 
The Phase 2 study will

[[Page 4269]]

result in detailed designs for stream restoration, stormwater 
management, and stormwater retrofit projects. These projects are 
expected to restore stream habitat, provide wetland habitat, and 
improve water quality. A DEIS will be integrated into the feasibility 
study to document existing conditions, project actions, and project 
effects and products. Montgomery County and the Maryland National 
Capital Park and Planning Commission are the non-Federal sponsors for 
the project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and DEIS can be addressed to Ms. April Perry, Study Manager, Baltimore 
District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENAB-PL-P, P.O. Box 
1715, Baltimore Maryland 21203-1715, telephone (410) 962-0684. E-mail 
address: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    1. The U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Public Works and 
Transportation, authorized the Anacostia River and Tributaries 
Reconnaissance Study in a resolution dated September 8, 1988. It was 
further authorized in the June 25, 1990 Statement of New Environmental 
Approaches by the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), which 
gave fish and wildlife restoration the status of a priority project 
output.
    2. The Anacostia River and Tributaries Phase 1 Feasibility Study 
produced by the Corps in 1994 determined that previous Corps activity 
in the Anacostia Watershed has had a detrimental impact to the 
eocsystem of the Anacostia. The study recommended that additional 
feasibility studies focusing on environmental restoration be pursued. 
Following the completion of the 1994 Phase 1 feasibility report, the 
Baltimore District Corps of Engineers and Montgomery County Department 
of Environmental Protection identified the potential for additional 
environmental restoration opportunities within the Anacostia watershed.
    3. In September of this year, the Corps and Montgomery County 
executed a feasibility cost-sharing agreement for a Phase 2 Feasibility 
study. The area proposed for environmental restoration is known as the 
Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River and is located in the western 
portion of Montgomery County. The watershed has several environmental 
problems including channel instability, erosion, and sedimentation that 
adversely impact the existing habitat and threaten planned restoration 
measures. The Phase 2 study will identify areas with such problems and 
recommend projects for specific sites that will be selected. It is 
anticipated that the study will result in a combination of stream 
restoration and stormwater management projects.
    4. The planning goals of the Phase 2 study are to restore acquatic 
and riparian habitat, improve water quality, and contribute to the 
restoration of the Anacostia River ecosystem by stabilizing stream 
channels that make significant contributions to stream channel erosion 
and sedimentation and by reducing stormwater runoff rates, velocities, 
and pollutant loads. To achieve this goal, the Corps will further 
define the problems and opportunities in the Northwest Branch 
watershed; analyze and forecast environmental resource conditions; 
formulate, evaluate, and compare alternative plans for multiple sites; 
develop detailed designs and costs at selected sites; and recommend a 
cost-effective plan for the Montgomery County portion of the Northwest 
Branch watershed.
    5. The decision to implement these actions will be based on an 
evaluation of the probable impact of the proposed activities on the 
public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for 
both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefit 
which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal will be 
balanced against its reasonably foreseeable costs. The Baltimore 
District is preparing a DEIS which will describe the impacts of the 
proposed projects on environmental and cultural resources in the study 
area and the overall public interest. The DEIS will be in accordance 
with NEPA and will document all factors which may be relevant to the 
proposal, including the cumulative effects thereof. Among these factors 
are habitat restoration, channel and erosion control, improvements to 
water quality, and stormwater management. If applicable, the DEIS will 
also apply guidelines issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, 
under the authority of Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act of 1977 
(Pub. L. 95-217).
    6. The public involvement program will include workshops, meetings, 
and other coordination with interested private individuals and 
organizations, as well as with concerned Federal, state and local 
agencies. Coordination letters and newsletters have been sent to 
appropriate agencies, organizations, and individuals on an extensive 
mailing list. Additional public information will be provided through 
print media, mailings, radio and television announcements.
    7. In addition to the Corps, Montgomery County, the Maryland 
National Capital Park and Planning Commission, other participants that 
will be involved in the study and DEIS process include the following: 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 
U.S. Forest Service; U.S. Geological Survey; Natural Resource 
Conservation Service; and the U.S. National Park Service. The Baltimore 
District invites potentially affected Federal, state, and local 
agencies, and other organizations and entities to participate in this 
study.
    8. The Anacostia Phase 2 Feasibility Study and integrated DEIS are 
tentatively scheduled for public review in March 1999.
Harold L. Nelson,
Acting Chief, Planning Division.
[FR Doc. 97-2135 Filed 1-28-97; 8:45 am]
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