[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 155 (Thursday, August 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48971-48972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20281]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Estuarine Research Reserve System

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Intent; Information and Scoping Meetings for the Goat 
Canyon Enhancement Project.

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SUMMARY: The National Ocean Service announces its intention to prepare 
a joint draft environmental impact statement/environmental impact 
report (EIS/EIR) with the State of California Department of Parks and 
Recreation for the construction of sedimentation, flood control and 
other facilities within and adjacent to Goat Canyon, located in San 
Diego County, California, in the vicinity of the international border 
with Mexico and within the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research 
Reserve (TRNERR). These facilities are intended to enhance the existing 
Goat Canyon Creek and its natural habitat communities, including the 
Tijuana River Estuary, through the management of sediment within the 
canyon and on the adjacent alluvial fan. The scope of analysis will 
include all activities addressing the enhancement of Goat Canyon Creek.
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will 
hold a scoping meeting on August 25, from 1-3 p.m. to receive public 
input on the range of issues and alternatives to be covered in the 
joint EIS/EIR. NOAA is also accepting written comments on these topics.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted through September 8, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to be included on a mailing 
list of persons interested in the joint EIS/EIR should be sent to Nina 
Garfield, NOAA-ERD, SSMC-4, 11th Floor, 1305 East West Hwy, Silver 
Spring, MD, 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tessa Roper, Project Manager, Goat 
Canyon Enhancement Project, Southwest Wetlands Interpretive 
Association, 301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach, CA, 91932, tel. 619-575-
3613.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Goat Canyon Enhancement Project will be 
conducted within the TRNERR, in San Diego County, California and 
includes a series of sediment retention basins to be constructed within 
the Goat Canyon Creek watershed beginning at the international border 
and continuing downstream. Through the National Estuarine Research 
Reserve Program, NOAA is providing partial funding for the project. In 
addition to the construction of sedimentation basins, portions of Goat 
Canyon Creek will be restored to a creek bed that follows the

[[Page 48972]]

coastal bluffs before turning westward. The project also includes a 
realignment of Monument Road through Border Field State Park lands. 
These facilities are intended to enhance the existing Goat Canyon Creek 
and its natural habitat communities, including the Tijuana River 
Estuary, through the management of sediment within the canyon and on 
the adjacent alluvial fan. The proposed project is in conformance with 
the Final Goat Canyon/Canon de los Laureles Enhancement Plan prepared 
by the Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association (SWIA). It is 
anticipated that the project will feature some variation of two small, 
in-line sedimentation basins and two to three larger avulsion basins in 
the alluvial fan. A realigned, elevated Monument Road will be 
integrated into the basin layout as part of the project. In addition, 
several staging areas and loading pads will be included for system 
maintenance. Maintenance is expected to include, minimally, the removal 
of debris following storm events, the periodic removal of accumulated 
sediment, and the management of vegetation growth.

Alternatives

    In the joint EIS/EIR, NOS will consider a reasonable range of 
alternatives for the enhancement of Goat Canyon, including alternatives 
to the location and number of sedimentation and avulsion basins and the 
No Action alternative, and will evaluate their potential environmental 
impacts. Through this scoping process, NOS requests public input on the 
scope of issues to be addressed, to identify significant issues related 
to the project, and public input on enhancement alternatives that 
should be considered in the joint EIS/EIR. At the scoping, NOS will 
present draft alternatives that will be developed further in response 
to comments on the joint EIS/EIR.

Issues

    Based on a preliminary review it is anticipated that the project 
may result in significant environmental impacts in the following areas: 
aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, 
geology and soils, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, 
recreational resources, noise, public services, transportation/traffic, 
and utilities and service systems. For each of these issues, the 
existing baseline conditions will be described in the Affected 
Environment portion of the EIS/EIR; the nature and significance of any 
impacts expected from the proposed project and the alternatives to the 
project will be summarized in the Environmental Consequences section; 
and mitigation measures for adverse effects will be provided in the 
Mitigation Measures section. In addition to these sections, the EIS/EIR 
will contain all other mandatory sections including a Summary, 
Introduction, Environmental Setting, a Purpose of and Need for Action 
statement, an Alternatives section, analysis of the potential 
Cumulative Effects, Effects Found Not To Be Significant, and Growth-
Inducing Effects.

Consultations

    Pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 
consultations for listed species and critical habitat affected by the 
proposal to enhance Goat Canyon will be initiated with the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. These 
consultations will analyze the individual and cumulative impacts of 
activities relating to Goat Canyon to determine whether the impacts are 
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species.

Public Involvement

    Scoping for the joint EIS/EIR begins with publication of this 
notice. A formal scoping meeting to receive comments will be held at 
the Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center, 301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach, 
CA, on August 25, 2000 from 1-3 p.m.

Special Accommodations

    The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Tessa Roper, Goat Canyon Enhancement Project, 
Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association, 301 Caspian Way, Imperial 
Beach, CA, 91932, tel. 619-575-3613.

Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.420 (Coastal Zone 
Management) Research Reserves.
    Dated: August 4, 2000.
Captain Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 00-20281 Filed 8-9-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P