[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9213-9215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4673]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for the East Waterway Channel Deepening Project, Seattle Harbor, 
Seattle, Washington

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers has been directed by Section 356 of the 
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1996 to (1) study the 
feasibility of deepening of a 750-foot-wide segment of existing federal 
channel in the East Waterway (Duwamish River) from Elliott Bay to 
Terminal 25 to a depth of up to 51 feet, and (2) if feasible, to 
implement deepening as routine maintenance. Section 356 of WRDA 96 
further directs the Corps to coordinate with the Port of Seattle 
regarding use of Slip 27 as a nearshore confined dredged material 
disposal site. Plans call for the dredging and disposal of 
approximately 850,000 cubic yards of sediment from an approximately 112 
acre area in East Waterway. Of this total, approximately 253,000 cubic 
yards are known to be contaminated to the extent that they would not 
qualify for disposal at the Elliott Bay Puget Sound Dredge Disposal 
Analysis (PSDDA) open water site. Based on sediment sampling conducted 
by the Port of Seattle, an additional 200,000 cubic yards may be 
similarly contaminated. Dredged material suitable for openwater 
disposal will either be placed at the PSDDA site in Elliott Bay, or at 
a beneficial use site, should such a need be identified.
    A range of alternatives will be examined for placement of the 
contaminated dredged material, including: (1) a nearshore confined 
facility, (2) an offshore contained aquatic disposal (CAD) facility, 
(3) an upland confined disposal facility, and (4) disposal in a solid 
waste landfill. Key environmental issues in the DEIS will include: (1) 
impacts on an important juvenile salmon migration and feeding route; 
(2) potential loss of 12 acres of productive benthic habitat at Slip 27 
or Terminal 90/91; (3) impacts on kelp beds and shorebird/waterfowl 
habitat; (4) dredging and disposal of up to 450,000 cubic yards of 
contaminated sediments with short-term adverse impacts in the water 
column at the dredging and disposal site; (4) beneficial impacts in 
that the dredging would

[[Page 9214]]

remove contaminated sediments from the waterway, and (5) Native 
American concerns, related to impacts on Tribal fishing access and 
operations in a usual and accustomed fishing area, and on salmon 
habitat. In addition, it is anticipated that Chinook salmon will be 
proposed for listing as threatened in Puget Sound in early 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions regarding the scoping process or preparation of the DEIS may 
be directed to Dr. Stephen Martin, Technical Services Branch, U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 3755, 4735 East Marginal Way S., Seattle, 
Washington, 98134-3755, (206) 764-3631.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Proposed Action

    The East Waterway, located in Puget Sound's Elliott Bay at Seattle, 
Washington, is part of the federally authorized East, West and Duwamish 
Waterways navigation channel. The East Waterway is approximately 5,800 
feet long and has an authorized width of 750 feet and depth of 39 feet 
Mean Lower Low Water. The waterway is deeper than the federally 
authorized depth throughout most of its reach and is not currently 
maintained by the federal government. The East Waterway provides access 
to the Port of Seattle's container terminals 18, 25, and 30. The 
container fleet is rapidly changing with ships becoming larger and 
having greater capacity. The most recent additions to the post-Panamax 
fleet are ships which are in excess of 900 feet long, 130 feet wide, 
have a design operating draft of 46 feet, and a capacity in excess of 
5,000 twenty foot equivalent units. As a result, the Port of Seattle is 
concerned that current and potential tenants may elect not to use the 
Port's facilities due to depth limitations in East Waterway. The Port 
has stated that a deeper channel, specifically the area that allows 
access to berths 1 through 5 of Terminal 18, needs to be constructed by 
calendar year 2001. The deep water access to berths 1 through 5 in the 
East Waterway requires dredging in the federal channel.
    As directed by Section 356 of the Water Resources Development Act 
of 1996, the Corps of Engineers is conducting an Evaluation Study with 
the following project features: dredging in the East Waterway (Seattle 
Harbor) to a depth of up to 51 feet of the 750-foot wide segment of the 
federal channel, construction of a disposal site for dredged material 
that is unsuitable for open water disposal at the Elliott Bay PSDDA 
disposal site, and construction of all mitigation features. If this is 
determined to be feasible, the channel would be deepened as part of the 
Federal project maintenance. The Port of Seattle would provide the 
dredged material disposal site(s). Major project features are as 
follows: (1) channel improvement dredging by the Corps to a depth of up 
to 51 feet plus 1 foot allowable overdepth of a 750-foot-wide segment 
of existing federal channel of the Duwamish River East Waterway; (2) 
construction of a disposal site(s) for dredge materials not acceptable 
for disposal at Elliott Bay PSDDA disposal site; (3) construction of 
mitigation features required for the project, and any required 
monitoring of mitigation improvements; (4) dredging and disposal of 
about 850,000 cubic yards of sediment from East Waterway. Of this 
total, approximately 253,000 cubic yards are known to be contaminated 
to the extent that they would not qualify for disposal at the Elliott 
Bay PSDDA open water site; and (5) total dredging acreage for the 
project is approximately 112 acres.

2. Alternatives

    In addition to the ``No Action'' alternative, the draft EIS will 
evaluate a suite of commonly used disposal alternatives for the 
placement of dredged material that will not qualify for disposal at the 
PSDDA open water site. Included in the evaluation will be a 
comprehensive discussion of the environmental impacts of each 
alternative. The final EIS will identify the environmentally preferred 
disposal alternative. Disposal alternatives to be evaluated will 
include: (1) construction and operation of a Nearshore Confined 
Disposal Facility including Slip 27 in the East Waterway, and Terminal 
91 in Elliott Bay; (2) construction and operation of an Upland Confined 
Disposal Facility; (3) construction and operation of a deep water 
Contained Aquatic Disposal Facility; (4) disposal in a Solid Waste 
Landfill; (5) a combination of the above alternatives; and (6) 
alternative fill designs at the proposed fill location. Dredging 
alternatives to be evaluated include established mechanical and 
hydraulic methods.

3. Scoping and Public Involvement

    Public involvement will be sought during the scoping and conduct of 
the study in accordance with NEPA and SEPA procedures. A public meeting 
will be held during public review of the draft EIS. Further meetings 
will be scheduled as needed. A public scoping process will be initiated 
to clarify issues of major concern, identify studies that might be 
needed in order to analyze and evaluate impacts, and obtain public 
input on the range and acceptability of alternatives. This Notice of 
Intent formally commences the joint scoping process under NEPA. As part 
of the scoping process, all affected Federal, state, and local 
agencies, Indian Tribes, and other interested private organizations, 
including environmental interest groups, are invited to comment on the 
scope of the EIS. Comments are requested concerning project 
alternatives, mitigation measures, probable significant environmental 
impacts, and permits or other approvals that may be required. To date, 
the following areas have been identified to be analyzed in depth in the 
draft EIS: (1) extent and degree of sediment contamination in East 
Waterway; (2) dredging and disposal impacts on water quality; (3) 
impacts on juvenile salmon, as East Waterway is a major migration and 
feeding route for juvenile salmon, and is an area that they use for 
saltwater physiological adaptation; the project would result in the 
loss of several acres of intertidal and shallow subtidal fisheries 
habitat; (4) impacts on benthic organisms and their habitat at both 
nearshore confined disposal and contained aquatic disposal sites; e.g. 
with the construction of a nearshore confined fill area, there would be 
a loss of about 12 acres of productive benthic habitat that contributes 
to the aquatic food web of Elliott Bay; (5) other estuarine resources, 
as with construction of a nearshore confined fill area, there would be 
losses of other estuarine resources, including shorebirds and waterfowl 
habitat and kelp beds; (6) Native American concerns including dredging 
and disposal of contaminated sediments, increased shipping, and 
nearshore fills and their impacts on Tribal fishing access and 
operations, and on salmon habitat; also, concerns over cumulative 
impacts of recent shoreline developments in Elliott Bay on adjudicated 
treaty fishing rights; (7) beneficial impacts, in that dredging would 
remove up to 450,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments over an 
extent of about 112 acres of East Waterway, thereby removing a 
substantive source of contaminants that affect the Elliott Bay food 
web; and (8) threatened and endangered Species, as the DEIS will 
evaluate the impact of the dredging/disposal project on bald eagles 
that are known to nest within two miles of the project site; it is 
likely that Chinook salmon will be proposed for listing as threatened 
in Elliott Bay in early 1998 and may be listed as threatened sometime 
during 1998. The

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environmental review process will be comprehensive and will integrate 
and satisfy the requirements of NEPA (federal) and SEPA (Washington 
State), and other relevant Federal, state, and local environmental 
laws.

4. Scoping Meeting

    A notice of the scoping meeting will be mailed to all involved 
agencies and individuals known to have an interest in this project. A 
scoping workshop will be held on March 5, 1998, at the Port of 
Seattle's Commission Chambers, 2711 Alaskan Way (Pier 69) from 4:00 to 
6:00 PM. Verbal or written comments will be accepted at the scoping 
meeting, or written comments may be sent to Dr. Stephen Martin at the 
above address on or before March 20, 1998.

5. Other Environmental Review, Coordination, and Permit Requirements

    Other environmental review, coordination, and permit requirements 
include preparation of a Section 404 (b)(1) evaluation by the Corps of 
Engineers; and consultation among the Corps, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and the State of Washington per Section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act. Coordination will also be initiated with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service to meet the requirements of the Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act.

6. Availability of Draft EIS

    The draft EIS is scheduled for release in March 1999.

    Dated: February 12, 1998.
James M. Rigsby,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 98-4673 Filed 2-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-ER-M