[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 65688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30550]


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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Feasibility Study and Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Bloomsburg Local Flood Protection 
Project in Columbia County, PA

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is 
initiating the Bloomsburg Local Flood Protection Feasibility Study in 
Columbia County, Pennsylvania. This study will include an evaluation of 
levee/floodwall alignment alternatives to provide adequate protection 
to the Town of Bloomsburg. The level of protection will be determined 
through an assessment of flood damages; degree of adverse impacts to 
the cultural, environmental, and socio-economic surroundings, and a 
benefit-cost ratio. A DEIS will be prepared that will document existing 
conditions, project actions, and project impacts. The Town of 
Bloomsburg is the non-Federal sponsor.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and DEIS can be addressed to Ms. Stacey Underwood, Study Team Leader, 
Baltimore District; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENAB-PL-P, 
P.O. Box 1715; Baltimore, Maryland 21203-1715, telephone (410) 962-
4977. E-mail address: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. The authorization for the Bloomsburg Reconnaissance Study was 
the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure resolution, dated September 12, 1996.
    2. The Bloomsburg Reconnaissance Study produced by the Corps in 
1998 determined that there was both Federal and non-Federal interest in 
pursuing a feasibility study and implementation of a local flood 
protection project.
    3. In June 1999, the Corps and the Town of Bloomsburg executed a 
feasibility cost-sharing agreement. The study area is the Town of 
Bloomsburg, located in central Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 
approximately 50 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre. Bloomsburg is 
situated at the confluence of Fishing Creek and the Susquehanna River.
    4. Environmental issues will focus on, but are not limited to, 
effects on air quality, wetlands, water quality; fish and wildlife 
resources (including threatened and endangered species); hazardous, 
toxic, and radioactive waste; aesthetic resources; and cultural 
resources (including archaeological sites and historic architecture). 
Benefits, costs, and impacts will be examined in detail to determine 
whether a flood protection structure is justified and the appropriate 
alignment for such a structure. The team will evaluate the 
environmental impacts (both adverse and beneficial) of the proposed 
actions.
    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, and will also be based on the national concern for 
protection and utilization of important resources. The benefit that 
reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal will be balanced 
against the project's reasonably foreseeable costs. The Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection and the Baltimore District are 
preparing a DEIS that will describe the impacts of the proposed project 
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 that may be relevant to the proposal, 
including the cumulative effects thereof. 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 
(Public Law 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 will be 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. Other participants that will be involved in the study and DEIS 
process in addition to the Corps, the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection, and the Town of Bloomsburg include the 
following: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Natural 
Resource Conservation Service, and 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 Bloomsburg Local Flood Protection Feasibility Study and DEIS 
are tentatively scheduled for public review in December 2001.
Robert W. Lindner,
Chief, Planning Division.
[FR Doc. 99-30550 Filed 11-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-41-M