[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 247 (Friday, December 22, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80838-80840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32629]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for an Emergency Outlet From Devils Lake, ND, to the Sheyenne River

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent (Revised).

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SUMMARY: Devils Lake is a terminal lake located in northeastern North 
Dakota. Devils Lake has a long history of a wide range of fluctuating 
lake levels. Since 1993, the lake has risen about 25 feet. Rising lake 
levels have resulted in damages to homes, businesses, infrastructure, 
transportation systems, and land uses. Significant expenditures of 
Federal, State, and local funds have been required to relocate 
structures and to raise and strengthen roads and levees. While these 
efforts will provide immediate protection, there is great concern that 
the lake could continue to rise. The Devils Lake basin is a subbasin of 
the Hudson Bay drainage system. Although Devils Lake has not 
contributed to the Hudson Bay drainage for many centuries, there is a 
potential for the lake to rise to its natural outlet elevation if the 
recent climate patterns persist. There is a potential for substantial 
damages to occur along the Sheyenne River, depending on the magnitude 
of the overflow event.
    Purpose and Need. The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce 
the flood damages related to the rising lake levels in the flood-prone 
areas around Devils Lake and to reduce the potential for a natural 
overflow event.
    Proposed Action. The proposed action is the construction of an 
outlet from Devils Lake, North Dakota, to the Sheyenne River.

[[Page 80839]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the DEIS can be 
directed to: Colonel Kenneth S. Kasprisin, District Engineer, St. Paul 
District, Corps of Engineers, ATTN: Mr. Robert Whiting, 190 Fifth 
Street East, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1638, or phone (651) 290-5264.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. The 1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act provided up 
to $5 million under the Flood Control and Coastal Emergency account to 
conduct preconstruction engineering and design (PED) and prepare an 
associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for an emergency outlet 
at Devils Lake. A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for an outlet from 
Devils Lake to the Sheyenne River under Public Law 105-18 was published 
in the Federal Register on 21 October 1997. That study was not 
completed.
    2. The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Acts of 1998, 
1999, and 2000 included funds for construction of the Devils Lake 
project subject to a determination of economic justification, 
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
compliance with the Boundary Waters Treaty Act of 1909, and technical 
soundness. No funds were provided to the Corps under these authorities.
    3. An amount of $2 million was provided from a supplemental 
appropriation in Fiscal Year 2000, and another $4 million was included 
in the Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations. These funds are for 
preconstruction engineering and design of an emergency outlet from 
Devils Lake, North Dakota, to the Sheyenne River. The Corps is issuing 
a revised Notice of Intent because of the changed authority and 
funding.
    4. Proposed Action. The proposed action in the authorizing 
legislation consists of an outlet to the Sheyenne River. Many potential 
outlet routes and concepts have been evaluated in prior studies. The 
route that has the greatest potential for being implementable is the 
Peterson Coulee route. Therefore, it is likely that, following an 
initial screening, this will be the outlet alternative that will be 
evaluated in detail. Further consideration would be needed to determine 
the recommended outlet operation plan. The evaluation would address an 
array of operating plans ranging from a discharge of 300 cubic feet per 
second (cfs) constrained by downstream channel capacity and water 
quality standards, to a 480 cfs unconstrained discharge. Outlet 
operation would be limited to 7 months of the year, from May through 
November.
    5. Alternatives to be Investigated. The Corps will examine the 
environmental impacts of the alternatives in an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). The EIS will identify and evaluate alternatives to the 
proposed action, and will evaluate in detail only those alternatives 
that meet the purpose and need identified previously. Alternatives 
include the following:
    a. Future Without the Proposed Project. The measures identified 
with this alternative are the base condition upon which other 
alternatives are to be compared for impact assessment under NEPA. This 
alternative assumes that the types of emergency measures currently 
being pursued in the project area would continue to be implemented as 
necessary due to rising lake levels. These emergency measures include 
such actions as raising the levees protecting the City of Devils Lake 
and relocating homes if the lake level continues to rise. If 
technically and economically feasible, emergency measures may also 
include building temporary levees, raising selected roads and railroads 
(within limits of reasonable safety acceptance), and protecting or 
relocating utilities. A continuation of the current level of upper 
basin storage and measures at the location of a natural overflow to 
minimize erosion will also be considered as potential features of the 
future without the proposed project. For the portion of the cost 
effectiveness evaluation using a scenario approach, it will be assumed 
that the current wet cycle will continue, as evidenced by U.S. 
Geological Survey and University of North Dakota studies, to the point 
of naturally overflowing into the Sheyenne River. Proposed actions by 
the State of North Dakota, such as an overflow to Stump Lake and a 
temporary outlet to the Sheyenne River along the Twin Lakes route, will 
not be assumed to be included in the future without conditions 
alternative at this time. If either or both are implemented, the 
evaluation of alternatives will be reviewed to determine what measures 
are needed to complete NEPA with this changed base condition.
    b. Upper Basin Management. This alternative would examine taking 
further measures in the upper basin to reduce inflow into the lake, 
such as providing storage through retention structures, wetland 
restoration, or land use change.
    c. Expanded Infrastructure Measures. Currently, roads are serving 
as barriers to the rising and expanding waters of Devils Lake. These 
roads are acting as dams; however, they were not constructed to 
function as dams. This presents the possibility of safety concerns for 
road users and people living in areas protected by the roads. This 
alternative will examine taking additional measures beyond those 
described in the future without the proposed action alternative to 
ensure a safe level of flood protection within the basin.
    d. Combinations and Sensitivity Analysis. In addition to evaluation 
of the above alternatives independently, several combinations of these 
alternatives will also be addressed. To better understand the 
sensitivity of assumptions used for the future without a proposed 
project condition, the selected alternative will be evaluated in 
comparison to at least three other base conditions. The other three 
scenarios are as follows:
    (1) No additional Emergency Measures will be done in the Devils 
Lake basin.
    (2) A more moderate scenario for future lake stage (maximum 
elevation 1455).
    (3) An even more moderate scenario for future lake stage (maximum 
elevation 1450).
    6. The DEIS will discuss the proposed action and alternatives. 
There will be an identification and evaluation of alternatives, 
additional supplemental scoping, a discussion of the direct impacts of 
the proposed action, and a general discussion of the need for 
monitoring project operation to determine impacts and mitigation needs.
    7. Significant issues and resources to be identified in the DEIS 
were determined through coordination and scoping activities with 
responsible Federal, State, Canadian, and local agencies; the general 
public; interested private organizations and parties; and affected 
Native Americans during the previous scoping process. This scoping was 
conducted in conjunction with the previous Devils Lake basin studies. 
Significant issues identified through previous scoping activities for 
discussion in the DEIS are as follows:
    a. Natural resources including: Aquatic, wildlife, vegetation, 
wetlands, and riparian areas;
    b. Cultural resources;
    c. Water quality and quantity, groundwater, erosion, sedimentation, 
and induced flooding;
    d. Federally and State listed threatened or endangered plant or 
animal species;

[[Page 80840]]

    e. Social and economic resources, soils, and downstream water 
users;
    f. Downstream intrastate, interstate, and international resources; 
and
    g. Native American and Tribal Trust resources and responsibilities.
    8. Supplemental scoping/public involvement will be used to help 
identify any additional concerns and issues. Anyone who has an interest 
in participating in the development of the DEIS is invited to contact 
the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers. A notice of any meetings 
will be provided to interested parties and to local news media.
    9. Measures to address the project purpose and need are considered 
to be major in scope. Project features have the potential to result in 
significant impacts. The Corps of Engineers' environmental review will 
be conducted according to the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, National Historic Preservation Act of 
1966, Council on Environmental Quality Regulations, Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and applicable laws 
and regulations.
    10. It is anticipated that the DEIS will be available to the public 
in February 2002. The EIS will be supplemented as appropriate.

Gregory D. Showalter,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-32629 Filed 12-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-CY-U