[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 19 (Friday, January 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 4640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2186]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplement III to the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay Project, 
Dare County, North Carolina; Dated January 1999

AGENCY: Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has prepared Supplement No. 2 
General Design Memorandum and a Draft Supplement III to the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay 
project, located in Dare County, North Carolina. The project was 
originally authorized in 1970, and called for the deepening of the 
navigation channel from the Atlantic Ocean through Oregon Inlet to 
Wanchese, North Carolina. Because of the dynamic and hazardous nature 
of Oregon Inlet, dual jetties, combined with a means to bypass sand 
around the inlet, were authorized to provide safe navigation and reduce 
the frequency of maintenance dredging.
    A range of jetty spacings was analyzed to determine the optimum for 
protecting navigation, channeling tidal flows, preventing sound side 
setup, and facilitating larval fish passage through the inlet. Based on 
this analysis, a jetty spacing of 3,000 feet was selected. Three 
alternative jetty designs were analyzed to determine whether cost 
effective measures are available to minimize potential impacts on 
larval fish: (a) The previously proposed project at a 3,000-foot 
spacing; (b) jetties along the same alignment which are 1,000 feet 
shorter; and (c) jetties which are 1,000 feet shorter along the same 
alignment and with a weir section in the north jetty to allow larval 
fish passage during mid to high tides. Refined modeling and offshore 
surveys have indicated that shorter jetties will be effective at 
intercepting littoral sands and capturing sediments in the ebb tide 
delta, therefore, shorter jetties are being recommended. Analysis of 
the weir jetty alternative indicates that movement of larval fishes 
into the inlet would be facilitated by the presence of a weir. Initial 
construction costs would be slightly lower and there would be 
unquantifiable fishery benefits. A weir jetty would allow for the 
movement of sand over the weir into the inlet where it could be readily 
bypassed during any season instead of the summer season bypassing 
required under the previously proposed plan. The dredging only plan has 
also been reexamined. It has been confirmed that, due to high rate of 
shoaling in Oregon Inlet, construction and maintenance of the 
authorized improved channel without jetties is not economically 
feasible. The no action alternative, which includes the continuation of 
year-round sidecast dredging supplemented by pipeline and hopper 
dredging in an effort to maintain the existing project, does not 
provide a safe, navigable channel in Oregon Inlet. The hazardous 
navigation conditions will continue to cause vessel losses and damages, 
injuries to crews, and occasional deaths. After consideration of the 
environmental consequences of the spacing changes and refinements to 
the jetty alternative, the dredging only alternative, and the no action 
alternative, the preferred alternative is to construct shortened 
jetties with a 3,000-foot spacing and a weir section in the north 
jetty.
    The Supplement No. 2 General Design Memorandum and Draft Supplement 
III to the Final EIS are now being circulated to allow the public and 
other interested parties to comment on this sand management plan and 
other project features which have changed since the last EIS 
supplement, dated May 1985. All interested persons are invited to 
provide their views on any aspect of the proposed project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Supplement No. 
2 General Design Memorandum contact Mr. William Dennis, U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, Wilmington District, PO Box 1890, Wilmington, North 
Carolina 28402-1890, at (910) 251-4780; and for information on the DEIS 
supplement contact Mr. William Adams, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Wilmington District, P.O. Box 1890, Wilmington, North Carolina 28402-
1890, at (910) 251-4748.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Lands on either side of the inlet are in 
public ownership, with Cape Hatteras National Seashore to the north and 
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to the south. Without sand 
bypassing, jetties, which trap sand as it moves along the beach, can 
cause significant erosion of adjacent shorelines. During 1991, the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior formed a 
Joint Task Force to develop a sand-bypassing plan that was agreeable to 
both parties. The outcome of this effort was the development of a Sand 
Management Plan which went beyond previous sand bypassing plans by 
predefining project related shoreline impacts and delineating shoreline 
reaches which will be managed as a project responsibility.

SCOPING: Individuals and agencies may present written comments relevant 
to the Draft EIS Supplement by sending the information to Mr. William 
Adams at the address above prior to March 18, 1999. Comments, 
suggestions, and requests to be placed on the mailing list for 
announcements and for the Final EIS Supplement are also welcome and can 
be furnished to Mr. Adams at the above address or via e-mail to: 
[email protected], or by FAX at (910) 251-4965.
    Copies of the Draft EIS Supplement are available from Mr. William 
Adams at the address above. Review copies are also available in the 
library of the Wilmington District Headquarters located at 69 
Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, North Carolina.

    Dated: January 13, 1999.
Terry R. Youngbluth,
Colonel Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 99-2186 Filed 1-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-GN-M