[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12546-12547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6583]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, Portland District, Columbia and Lower Willamette Rivers 
Federal Navigation Channel Improvements, Oregon and Washington

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Portland District, 
intends to prepare a supplement to the Final Integrated Feasibility 
Report/Environmental Impact Statement (IFR/EIS Supplement) for the 
Columbia and Lower Willamette Rivers Federal Navigation Channel, Oregon 
and Washington. The final IFR/EIS, which was published in 1999, 
identified a plan of action to deepen the Columbia and Lower Willamette 
Federal navigation project by 3 feet, and construct ecosystem 
restoration features. This supplement will address new information that 
has been developed since the 1999 report, including information that 
resulted from the Endangered Species Act consultation with National 
Marine Fisheries Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service and for water 
quality certification.
    The IFR/EIS is being supplemented to add new information that has 
been generated since the final report in 1999. It will include 
information from the recently transmitted biological assessment 
prepared by the Corps for the National Marine Fisheries Service and US 
Fish and Wildlife Service. Several additional ecosystem restoration 
features are proposed to be implemented to benefit the recovery of 
listed threatened and endangered fish. As a result of these actions the 
lower river disposal plan will be re-evaluated to shift from ocean 
disposal at the Deep Water disposal site to creation of ecosystem 
restoration features in the estuary. The construction volumes will also 
be updated utilizing December 2001 and January 2002 hydrographic 
surveys. Other items will be updated from a cost perspective due to new 
information collected since 1999, including a reduction in rock 
excavation and utility relocations. Project economics will be re-
examined to evaluate the sensitivity of the fleet and commodity 
forecasts in the EIS When the costs and benefits are re-examined the 
benefit-to-cost ratio will be reevaluated.
    The alternatives under consideration are the same as those measures 
evaluated in the 1999 IFR/EIs. Elements of the plan of action may 
include dredging of sands, rock removal by mechanical means as well as 
blasting, disposal of material at in-water, shoreline and upland 
disposal sites, and ecosystem restoration features. Information updates 
will include the disposal plan in the lower river, and new ecosystem 
restoration proposals. This plan will shift disposal material from 
ocean disposal at the Deep Water disposal site to creation of the 
restoration features in the estuary.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Mr. Robert E. Willis, 
Chief, Environmental Resources Branch, US Army Corps of Engineers, 
Portland District, CENWP-PM-E, PO Box 2946, Portland, OR 92708-2946, 
phone (503) 808-4760.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is being considered 
under the authority of resolution of the House of Representatives, 
Committee on Public Works and Transportation, adopted August 3, 1989. 
The action ultimately may involve some measures similar to those 
selected in 1999. The Supplement will identify a plan of action which 
(1) evaluates the specific engineering, environmental, and economic 
effects of proposed alternatives for improving the authorized channel 
as compared to the without-project condition (no action alternative); 
(2) identifies a plan which maximizes National Economic Development 
(NED) benefits while protecting environmental resources in accordance 
with Federal laws and statutes; (3) recommends a plan for construction 
if economic, environmental, and engineering justification is met and 
the plan is supported by the sponsor. Alternatives being considered to 
the proposed action are the same as those analyzed in the 1999 report. 
The Supplement will consider information gained from the expert panel 
held during the consultation process and data collection for smelt and 
sturgeon conducted in conjunction with the Federal and State resource 
agencies. Based on preliminary consideration to date, the following 
have been some of the significant issues requiring analysis in the 
Supplement: smelt, sturgeon, Dungeness crab concerns, wetlands and 
mitigation required due to wetland losses. The Corps welcomes input to 
the Supplement from affected Federal, State and local agencies, Indian 
tribes, and other interested organizations and parties. The 
Environmental Protection

[[Page 12547]]

Agency, Region 10, was a cooperating agency to the IFR/EIs, and will 
also act as a cooperating agency in the Supplement.
    The normal range of environmental review and consultation shall 
apply to the proposed action.
    Scoping was completed in 1994. The Corps plans to conduct a series 
of public meetings after release of the draft Supplement. Meeting times 
will be announced later. The draft IFR/EIS Supplement is tentatively 
scheduled for release to the public and agencies for review in May 
2002.

Randall J. Butler,
Colonel, EN, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 02-6583 Filed 3-18-02; 8:45 am]
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