[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20639-20640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10011]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent to Prepare Draft Environmental Impact Statement for 
Operation and Maintenance of Lake Sidney Lanier, Georgia

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) 
intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
address the full range of activities performed by the Corps to operate 
and maintain Lake Sidney Lanier. Lake Lanier is located in the upper 
Chattahoochee River Basin north of Atlanta, Georgia. Buford Dam forms 
the 38,024-acre multiple purpose lake project, with 540 miles of 
shoreline and 18,131 acres of lands above the full power pool elevation 
of 1070. Authorized project purposes include hydroelectric power, flood 
control, water quality, water supply, fish and wildlife, navigation, 
and recreation. An EIS was prepared for the lake project in 1974. 
Although the project purposes under which Lake Lanier is operated and 
maintained have not changed since 1974, the overall environmental 
setting for Lake Lanier has experienced major modifications in response 
to the growth of the Atlanta metropolitan region. The new EIS is being 
prepared to evaluate the continued operation and maintenance of Lake 
Lanier in the context of the changed conditions.

ADDRESSES: District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile 
District, ATTN: CESAM-PD-E, P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, Alabama 36628-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Glen Coffee, Environment and 
Resources Branch, telephone (334) 690-2729. Electronic mail may be 
addressed to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    Lake Lanier is located north of Atlanta, Georgia, a region that has 
been greatly impacted by the metropolitan area's rapid growth. The 
Project's appeal from both aesthetic and recreational aspects make it 
one of the most highly utilized Corps lakes in the country. 
Additionally, the limited amount of government-owned land surrounding 
the lake has created an attractive setting for area residents who want 
to live near the lake. These developments put increasing pressures on 
the lake's shoreline as adjacent landowners are permitted private boat 
docks and associated facilities. Further, commercial marinas operated 
as concessions on the lake are also operating at or near boat storage 
capacity, as are the numerous recreation areas surrounding the lake.
    Even in the 1974 EIS, the trend for increasing development of 
neighboring private lands around the lake was recognized, along with 
the demands that would be placed on the lake's resources to accommodate 
the explosive population growth. In 1974, the Corps had issued permits 
for approximately 2,500 private docks. This number increased to around 
6,500 docks at the time the last Shoreline Management Plan update was 
prepared in 1987. In 2000, the number of permits issued for private 
docks increased to 8,200. Based on the 9-year period ending in 2000, it 
is anticipated that approximately 175 new permits could be issued each 
year into the immediate future, with the potential number of permits 
eventually rising to 16,000. The growth trend of boat dock permits, 
concessions, and club sites could cover more than 250 miles (or 46%) of 
Lanier's public shoreline.
    The combination of private boat docks, commercial marinas, and boat 
ramps contribute to the over 25,000 boats that can occur on Lake Lanier 
at any given time, even though all boats are not necessarily in use 
simultaneously. Peak boat usage occurs during the summer months, 
particularly the three principal summer holidays of Memorial Day, 4th 
of July, and Labor Day. A 1985 study indicated that project waters at 
that time were overused on occasion by 71%. Application of the same 
evaluation criteria to the current number of boats stored on Lake 
Lanier and the maximum use of available recreation facilities indicates 
the level of overuse has increased today to approximately 160%.
    At the same time recreational use by the public is increasing, 
demands are also being placed on the lake's storage volume to meet the 
expanding water needs of the Apalachiocola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) 
Basin and the neighboring Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) Basin. The 
competition for water between the States of Alabama, Florida, and 
Georgia has intensified. A cooperative effort has been underway for 
several years between the three States and the Corps of Engineers to 
develop a water management strategy that would accommodate the 
interstate needs of these two basins from their respective headwaters 
to the Gulf of Mexico. While the water management strategy will 
eventually develop a Water Allocation Formula, the timeframe within 
which the agreement will be reached is uncertain and the scope of the 
formula has not been fixed. Once agreement is reached by the States on 
the new Water Allocation Formula, a comprehensive water management plan 
(and accompanying EIS) will be prepared to address reservoir operations 
in the ACF and ACT Basins. Since Lake Lanier is the uppermost reservoir 
in the ACT Basin, water allocations will certainly influence the manner 
in which Lake Lanier's water levels will be managed in the future. As a 
result, a new and separate EIS must be developed to evaluate the range 
of water management scenarios within which project operation and 
maintenance activities will be performed. It will not be the purpose of 
this Lake Lanier operation and maintenance EIS to evaluate the eventual 
water management plan for the Buford/Lake Lanier project. Instead, the 
EIS will focus on the entire range of project operation and maintenance 
actions performed within the lake and on government-owned lands 
surrounding the lake within the framework of varying lake levels that 
could result from implementation of a future Water Allocation Formula 
developed for the ACF Basin.

[[Page 20640]]

2. Proposed Action

    The EIS will identify and evaluate the impacts on the environment 
of the proposed actions to operate and maintain Lake Lanier. Management 
actions within Lake Lanier will focus on shoreline management 
activities, recreation, fish and wildlife, timber management, real 
estate, and water quality, within the context of the larger water 
management scenarios that are conducted to accomplish the hydropower 
generation, navigation, and water supply project purposes.

3. Alternatives

    a. No Action: No action would represent a continuation of the 
existing operation and management actions addressed in the original 
1974 EIS.
    b. The full range of alternatives to implement the operation and 
maintenance program at Lake Lanier to be addressed in the new EIS has 
not been identified. The alternatives will be developed during the 
early stages of work on the EIS and will include alternative methods of 
implementation for project operation and maintenance actions and 
project site alternatives as appropriate.

4. Scoping Process

    The Corps invites full public participation in the development of 
the EIS to promote open communication and better decision-making. All 
persons and organizations that have an interest in the operation and 
maintenance of Lake Lanier, are urged to participate in this National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental analysis process. Public 
involvement will be most beneficial and worthwhile in identifying 
pertinent environmental issues, offering useful information such as 
published or unpublished data, direct personal experience or knowledge 
to inform decision-making, assistsance in designing the scope of 
operation and maintenance options that should be considered, and 
recommending suitable mitigation measures as warranted. Those wishing 
to contribute information, ideas, alternatives for actions, and so 
forth can furnish these contributions in writing to the points of 
contact identified above, or by attending public scoping opportunities.
    Public comments are welcomed anytime throughout the NEPA process. 
Formal oppportunities for public participation include:
    (1) Input provided at the formal scoping meeting that will be held 
in the vicinity of Lake Lanier--June 2001.
    (2) Input provided via a variety of public involvement forums that 
will be conducted--June-July 2001.
    (3) Review and comment on the draft EIS--July 2002.
    (4) Comments/Presentation on the draft EIS--July 2002.
    (5) Review of the Final EIS--October 2002.
    Precise schedules and locations for public involvement activities 
will be announced in the local news media. You may also request to be 
included on the mailing list for public distribution of meeting 
announcements and documents.

    Dated: April 12, 2001.
J. David Norwood,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 01-10011 Filed 4-23-01; 8:45 am]
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