[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 233 (Monday, December 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68088-68089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31556]


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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement--
Atlantic Coast of Long Island, From Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point, 
NY, Reach 1--Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet; Interim Plan for 
Storm Damage Protection

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: The responsible lead agency is the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, New York District. The responsible cooperating agencies are 
the National Park Service's Fire Island National Seashore and the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service. The sponsor for this project will be the New 
York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Fire Island 
Interim Project (FIIP) area is bounded by Fire Island Inlet to the west 
and Moriches Inlet to the east, and includes a National Park known as 
the Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS), populated communities within 
the Seashore, Robert Moses State Park, and Smith Point County Park. The 
island is approximately 30 miles in length, with a width that generally 
varies between 800 and 2,500 feet. Fire Island is separated from the 
mainland of Long Island by the Great South Bay. The study area includes 
the shoreline, barrier beaches, bay areas and low lying mainland areas. 
Although the study area consists of the entire island coastline, the 
project will specifically target selected sections of the island which 
currently provide low levels of protection against overwash and 
breaching. The New York District has investigated public concerns 
within the projected area in providing interim storm damage protection. 
The proposed interim project is the environmentally preferred plan 
because the six year long interim project would provide barrier island 
and bay storm damage protection while maintaining the natural 
protective features of the barrier island.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the scoping 
process or requests for the Draft Environment Impact Statement may be 
directed to: Attn: Peter M. Weppler, EIS Coordinator, (212) 264-0195, 
Planning Division, Corps of Engineers, New York District, 26 Federal 
Plaza, New York, New York 10278-0090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of the Army has recommended a 
plan for implementation, called the interim plan.

[[Page 68089]]

The interim plan consists of construction of beach fill and a dune 
system along 11.4 miles of Fire Island. Through restoration and 
enhancement of the existing dunes, the interim plan would provide a 
continuous protective dune system to reduce overwashing and breaching 
of the barrier island thereby reducing storm damages to structures 
located on Fire Island and the bay shore of Long Island while the Fire 
Island to Montauk Point Study is being reformulated. The interim plan 
would involve an initial beach fill and dune building and is 
anticipated to be renourished once during its six-year life. During 
this six-year period, the proposed interim project would be able to 
withstand a storm with a return period of 44 years. The project has 
been designed so that only those areas with a high breach potential 
would receive beach fill. In environmentally sensitive areas, feeder 
beaches would be constructed on the up-drift side so that no 
construction would take place in these sensitive areas. The interim 
plan consists of sections of beach berm at elevation +9.5 feet above 
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) with a dune elevation of + 15 
feet above NGVD for a length of 18,400 feet, sections of beach berm at 
elevation +11.5 feet above NGVD with a dune elevation of +18 feet above 
NGVD for a length of 18,200 of shoreline and sections of beach berm at 
elevation + 9.5 above NGVD with no dune fill for a length of 23,300. 
The construction of the proposed beach fill and dune system includes 
developed as well as undeveloped lands within the Fire Island National 
Seashore (FIIS), Robert Moses State Park, and Smith Point County Park.
    The environmental analysis found no significant effects on the 
human environment. No historic properties eligible for the National 
Register of Historic Places would be adversely affected by the proposed 
interim project.
    The primary effects from the implementation of the proposed interim 
project are associated with the dredging from a borrow area 1.5 miles 
offshore and the fill placement along the shorefront. Placement of sand 
along the Fire Island beaches would result in temporary degradation of 
the existing beat habitat during initial construction and during the 
one periodic nourishment. Existing benthic organisms would be buried. 
Benthic species are expected to re-colonize the new beachfront with no 
substantial long-term impacts outside the area permanently lost by 
extending the beach. Use of the shoreline area by fish and avian 
species for feeding would be disrupted in the immediate vicinity of and 
during the placement of the fill. Decreased water quality and increased 
turbidity associated with the hydraulic placement of fill would also be 
expected. These impacts are anticipated to be minor and short-term due 
to the existing high degree of natural and human disturbance in the 
beach fill areas. Fish and wildlife species that use these areas are 
those adapted to the high wildlife species that use these areas are 
those adapted to the high energy, dynamic condition of the ocean 
shoreline. Fish and bird species would return following the period of 
disturbance. Federally listed threatened piping plovers (Charadarius 
melodus) currently nest at various part of the affected beachfront. 
Impacts to these potential-nesting sites during construction activities 
will be avoided though the implementation of a survey-monitoring 
program, coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
    The Department of Interior (DOI) and Fire Island National Seashore 
(FIIS) have indicated concerns about the consistency of the FIIP with 
the General Management Plan (GMP) that has been prepared and adopted 
for FIIS. The first GMP premise is that FIIS ``will be managed to 
preserve the nationally significant natural resources while providing 
for environmentally compatible recreation.'' However, the GMP also 
recognizes that much of the island has been altered by human 
habitation. These alterations have disturbed the natural morphology and 
coastal processes. The GMP makes allowances ``to restore and maintain 
the dune and beach system by environmentally compatible methods.''

Public Meetings

    Public meetings are intended to provide the public the opportunity 
to comment on the proposed plan and DEIS. A public notice issued at a 
later date will provide the dates, times and locations of public 
meeting(s). Additions to this mailing list can be made by notifying the 
project EIS coordinator.
Frank Santomauro, P.E.,
Chief, Planning Division.
[FR Doc. 99-31556 Filed 12-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-06-M