[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 88 (Friday, May 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26192-26193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11296]



[[Page 26192]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for Wetland Restoration and/or Creation in the Barataria Basin, 
Louisiana, a Component of the Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana--
Ecosystem Restoration, Barrier Island Restoration, Marsh Creation, and 
River Diversion, Barataria Basin Feasibility Study

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
(USACE), New Orleans District (NOD) will prepare a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) to determine the feasibility of implementing 
wetland restoration/creation in the Barataria Basin, located in 
Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The proposed action is strategically 
planned as an initial effort for coastal restoration under the existing 
authority for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana--Ecosystem 
Restoration Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration, Barrier Island 
Restoration, Marsh Creation, and River Diversion, Barataria Basin 
Feasibility Study.
    The LCA Feasibility Study will evaluate the coastal restoration 
strategies described in the December 1998 document entitled ``Coast 
2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana''. The LCA Feasibility 
Study will evaluate the Coast 2050 Plan as a whole and select 
strategies, such as the proposed action, to be analyzed in feasibility-
level detail. The Coast 2050 Plan has been developed under legislative 
mandate and is a result of recognition by Federal, State, and local 
agencies that a single plan is needed that incorporates a clear vision 
for the coast, builds on previous work, integrates coastal management 
and coastal restoration approaches, and adopts a multiple-use approach 
to restoration planning.
    In general, the overall purpose of the Coast 2050 Plan is to 
sustain a coastal ecosystem that supports and protects the environment, 
economy, and culture of southern Louisiana, and contributes greatly to 
the economy and well-being of the nation. The purpose of the Coast 2050 
strategies for the Barataria Basin is to restore and/or protect the 
natural and human environment to create a sustainable ecosystem in the 
Barataria Basin within the context of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, 
including coastal Louisiana. The purpose of the proposed action, 
wetland restoration/creation strategy R2-16 and R2-17 of the Coast 2050 
Plan for the Barataria Basin, is to restore and create wetlands in the 
western Barataria Basin so as to protect and sustain the ecological 
functions, the natural distributary ridges, and the local human 
infrastructure of the area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the DEIS may be 
directed to Dr. William P. Klein, Jr., CEMVN-PM-RS, P.O. Box 60267, New 
Orleans, Louisiana 70160-0267; telephone (504) 862-2540 or fax (504) 
862-2572. Questions regarding the proposed action should be directed to 
the study manager, Mr. Edmond J. Russo, Jr., CEMVN-PM-CWPPRA, P.O. Box 
60267, New Orleans, Louisiana 70160-0267, telephone (504) 862-1496 or 
fax: (504) 862-2572.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Authority.

    This study is authorized through Resolutions of the U.S. House of 
Representatives and Senate Committees on Public Works, 19 October 1967 
and 19 April 1967. Representatives and Senate Committees on Public 
Works, 19 October 1967 and 19 April 1967.

2. Proposed Action

    a. The proposed action is one of three separate actions to be 
initially considered under the LCA, Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration 
Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration, Barrier Island Restoration, Marsh 
Creation, and River Diversion, Barataria Basin Feasibility Study. The 
USACE, NOD proposes to investigate the feasibility of restoring and/or 
creating wetlands in the southwestern portion of the Barataria Basin, 
Louisiana.
    The purpose of the proposed action, wetland restoration/creation 
strategies R2-16 and R2-17 of the Coast 2050 Plan for the Barataria 
Basin, is to restore and create wetlands in the southwestern portions 
of the Barataria Basin so as to protect and sustain the ecological 
functions, the natural distributary ridges, and the local human 
infrastructure of the area.
    b. The study area is located within the Barataria Basin of 
southeastern Louisiana in Lafourche Parish. The study area is bounded 
on the north by the West Fork Bayou L'Ours, on the west by Bayou 
Lafourche, on the south by Louisiana State Highway 1, and on the east 
by the Lafourche Parish and Jefferson Parish boundary. The study area 
is experiencing wetland loss at the rate of approximately 11 square 
miles per year.
    Wetland loss within the Barataria Basin is attributed to the 
combination of natural erosional processes of sea-level rise, 
subsidence, herbivory, and the human activities of levee construction, 
channelization, and development. Freshwater and sediment input into the 
Barataria Basin was virtually eliminated by the flood protection levees 
constructed along the Mississippi River and the closure of Bayou 
Lafourche at Donaldsonville. The only significant source of fresh water 
in the basin is rainfall. There is some freshwater input into the basin 
by the siphons located at Naomi and at West Pointe a la Hache (each 
siphon has a maximum output of about 2,000 cubic feet per second).
    When Davis Pond becomes operational in April 2001, it could 
potentially divert up to 10,650 cubic feet per second dependent upon 
the salinity conditions in the basin. However, it is predicted that the 
sediment-laden waters will collect in the ponding area about two miles 
from the Davis Pond structure located at U.S. Highway 90 and Lake 
Catouatche. Little, if any, of this would likely directly impact the 
proposed action area.
    c. The Coast 2050 Plan serves as the joint coastal restoration plan 
of the Breaux Act Task Force and the State Wetlands Authority. The 
Coast 2050 Plan was completed in December 1998 through a joint effort 
of the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task 
Force and the Louisiana Wetlands Conservation and Restoration 
Authority. Coast 2050 is a planning effort inspired by the severity of 
the problems facing south Louisiana, as well as an increased level of 
confidence in our ability to understand the ecosystem and to implement 
effective restoration projects.
    The Coast 2050 Plan combines elements of all previous efforts, 
along with new initiatives from private citizens, local governments, 
State and Federal agency personnel, and the scientific community. For 
the first time, as explicitly called for by the Coalition to Restore 
Coastal Louisiana in 1997, diverse groups have come together to develop 
one shared vision for the coast expressed in this overarching goal: To 
sustain a coastal ecosystem that supports and protects the environment, 
economy and culture of southern Louisiana, and that contributes greatly 
to the economy and well-being of the nation.
    d. Need for the Study.--The Coast 2050 Reconnaissance Report 
recommended that the study proceed to

[[Page 26193]]

the feasibility phase, contingent upon the execution of a Feasibility 
Cost Sharing Agreement (FCSA) with a non-Federal Sponsor. An FCSA was 
executed with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LADNR) on 
February 18, 2000. The proposed action focuses on wetland restoration/
creation in the Barataria Basin ecosystem due to the very high rate of 
wetland loss, estimated at about 11 square miles per year, throughout 
the basin.
    The proposed action also provides additional advantages: (1) This 
proposed action potentially provides a low risk and quickly 
implementable plan to address wetland loss in the Barataria Basin; (2) 
the proposed action study area is strategically placed and could 
potentially yield benefits to other coastal resources within the unique 
Barataria Basin ecosystem, geologic framework, and the human 
environment infrastructure associated with transportation, oil and gas 
extraction, utilities, etc.; (3) the proposed action could also provide 
additional benefits in terms of protection of important landscape 
structural features that function as important hydrological features 
within the Barataria Basin; and (4) the proposed action could be 
implemented independently of the remaining Coast 2050 Plan strategies 
for the Barataria Basin.

3. Study Alternatives

    a. During the Coast 2050 public meetings conducted in 1998, two 
marsh creation strategies, Strategy R2-17--Dedicated Dredging near 
Caminada Bay and Strategy R2-16--Dedicated Dredging Along Louisiana 
Highway 1, were considered as viable ecosystem restoration strategies. 
Hence, these strategies will be developed into alternatives for the 
proposed action. Other alternatives that will be considered include: 
The No Action Alternative, filling, marsh replenishing, terracing, and 
the beneficial use of dredged material from maintenance dredging of 
navigation channels. In addition, alternatives developed during the 
scoping process will also be developed and considered.
    b. Wetland restoration/creation design features will be evaluated 
to ensure compliance with current Federal and State laws and 
regulations. Any adverse effects of the alternative plans will be 
identified and appropriate mitigation measures will be included in the 
plans. However, because the proposed action is ecosystem restoration, 
it is not the intent to generate alternative plans that would require 
mitigation. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared 
during the feasibility phase because of the potential for significant 
direct and indirect, secondary, and cumulative impacts on the human and 
natural environment.

4. Scoping Process

    An intensive public involvement program will be initiated and 
maintained throughout the study to solicit input from affected Federal, 
State, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and interested private 
organizations and individuals. Scoping is a critical component of the 
overall public involvement program. The scoping process is designed to 
provide an early and open means of determining the scope of issues 
(problems, needs, and opportunities) to be identified and addressed in 
the DEIS.

5. Public Scoping Meeting

    The Corps of Engineers and the LADNR invite NEPA input in writing 
or in person concerning the scope of the EIS, resources to be 
evaluated, and alternatives to be considered. Individuals, groups, 
agencies and other interested parties can write comments to the Corps 
of Engineers using Dr. Klein's mailing address shown above. In the 
early summer of 2000, the Corps of Engineers will hold at least one 
public meeting in the study area to receive oral and written comments 
on the proposed action. Notices will be mailed to the affected and 
interested public once the date of the public scoping meeting has been 
established. Comments received as a result of the scoping meeting will 
be compiled and analyzed; and a Scoping Document, summarizing the 
results, will be made available to all participants.

6. Interagency Coordination

    The Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will 
provide a Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report. Coordination will 
be maintained with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National 
Marine Fisheries Service regarding threatened and endangered species 
under their respective jurisdictional responsibilities. Coordination 
will be maintained with the Natural Resources Conservation Service 
regarding prime and unique farmlands. The U.S. Department of 
Agriculture will be consulted regarding the ``Swampbuster'' provisions 
of the Food Security Act. We will prepare a section 404(b)(1) 
evaluation. Coordination will be maintained with the Advisory Counsel 
on Historic Preservation and the State Historic Preservation Officer. 
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources will be consulted 
regarding consistency with the Coastal Zone Management Act. The 
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will be contacted 
concerning potential impacts to Natural and Scenic Streams. Application 
will be made to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for a 
Water Quality Certificate.

7. Availability of DEIS

    It is anticipated that the Draft EIS will be available for public 
review during the spring of 2001. A 45-day review period will be 
allowed so that all interested agencies, groups, and individuals will 
have an opportunity to comment on the draft report and EIS. In 
addition, a public meeting will be held during the review period to 
receive comments and address questions concerning the draft EIS.

    Dated: April 26, 2000.
Thomas F. Julich,
Colonel, U.S. Army District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 00-11296 Filed 5-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-84-P