[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16093-16096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8175]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana--
Comprehensive Coastwide Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study

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

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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, New Orleans District (Corps) intends to prepare a draft 
programmatic supplemental environmental impact statement (PSEIS) for 
the Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana--Comprehensive Coastwide 
Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study (hereinafter LCA Comprehensive 
Study). The LCA Comprehensive Study will build on the restoration 
strategies presented in the Coast 2050 Plan and the May 1999, 905(b) 
Reconnaissance Report ``Section 905(b) (WRDA 86) Analysis Louisiana 
Coastal Area, Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration.'' The expected outcome 
of the LCA Comprehensive Study is the identification of restoration 
projects that would result in sustaining 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. More than a million acres of Louisiana coastal wetlands 
have been lost within the last 60 years with current estimates of the 
Louisiana coastal land loss rate ranging between 25 and 30 square miles 
per annually (16,000 to 19,000 acres), or about one football field 
every 25 minutes. Louisiana contains about 40 percent of the wetlands 
in the United States; yet, nearly 80 percent of all coastal land loss 
in the lower 48 states today is occurring within Louisiana. Even with 
current restoration efforts, Louisiana is projected to lose nearly 
400,000 acres of marsh and 232,000 acres of swamp by the year 2050, an 
area the size of Rhode Island.
    The LCA Comprehensive Study will supplement previous NEPA-
compliance studies, combining the ``lessons learned'' from previous 
Louisiana coastal wetlands restoration efforts, and determine the 
feasibility of developing the existing Coast 2050 restoration 
strategies into projects for the creation of a programmatic, coast-
wide, ecosystem restoration plan. The LCA Comprehensive Study is 
envisioned as the next step in the natural progression and evolution in 
our efforts to address the problems and determine opportunities for the 
adaptive environmental assessment and restoration of the coastal 
wetlands of Louisiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the PSEIS 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. Troy Constance, CEMVN-PM-W, P.O. Box 60267, New 
Orleans, Louisiana 70160-0267, telephone (504) 862-2742 or fax: (504) 
862-1892.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:

1. Authority

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

2. Proposed Action

    Building on the Coast 2050 Plan and the May 1999, 905(b) 
Reconnaissance Report, the Corps proposes to prepare a PSEIS for the 
LCA Comprehensive Study. The proposed action would assess, at a 
feasibility programmatic-level, coastal restoration projects that would 
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. The LCA Comprehensive 
Study will supplement previous NEPA documents, combining the ``lessons 
learned'' from previous Louisiana coastal wetlands restoration efforts, 
and develop the existing Coast 2050 restoration strategies into 
projects for the creation of a programmatic, coast-wide, ecosystem 
restoration plan.
    In December 1998 the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and 
Restoration Task Force and the Wetlands Conservation Authority 
(constituted under Act 6 R.S. 49:213.1 et seq.) prepared and adopted 
the Coast 2050 Plan as their official restoration plan. The December 
1998 report ``Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana'', 
also known as the ``Coast 2050 Plan'', was developed in recognition of 
the need for a single comprehensive plan for restoration and 
sustainability of the Louisiana coastal area. The Coast 2050 Plan, 
which has been recognized by the state of Louisiana, five Federal 
agencies, and the local coastal parish governments of Louisiana, serves 
as the joint coastal restoration plan of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, 
Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) and the Louisiana State 
Wetlands Authority (November 1990, Pub. L. 101-646, Title III).
    The LCA Comprehensive Study will assess, at a programmatic 
feasibility-level, the Coast 2050 Plan. Specifically, the LCA 
Comprehensive Study will evaluate the restoration strategies identified 
in the Coast 2050 Plan for each of the four major hydrologic regions of 
the state, developing those strategies, and selecting plans that best 
address the ecosystem restoration needs for the entire Louisiana 
coastal area, while complying with applicable rules, regulations and 
administration policy.
    The purpose of the LCA Comprehensive Study is to determine the 
feasibility of sustaining 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. 
Specifically, the LCA Comprehensive Study will determine the 
feasibility of achieving the following restoration goals:
    1. Sustaining a coastal ecosystem with the essential functions and 
values of the natural ecosystem;
    2. Restoring the ecosystem to the highest practicable acreage of 
productive and diverse wetlands; and
    3. Accomplishing this restoration through an integrated program 
that has multiple use benefits, benefits not solely for wetlands, but 
for all the communities, industries and resources of the coast.
    4. Developing a comprehensive plan that is coordinated and 
consistent with other major land use and infrastructure features, 
particularly with respect to navigation, hurricane protection/flood 
control, and oil and gas production.
    The LCA Comprehensive Study, in addition to conducting a 
programmatic environmental impact assessment, will supplement the 
findings from the following NEPA documents:
    1. The draft EIS ``Land Loss and Marsh Creation, St. Bernard, 
Plaquemines and Jefferson Parishes, Louisiana'' (USACE 1990);
    2. The EIS titled ``Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 
Restoration Act Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan'' (La 
Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force, 1993); and
    3. The ``Programmatic Hydrologic Management Environmental Impact 
Statement and Appendixes'' (USACE 1996).
    Additionally, the LCA Comprehensive Study will utilize and 
compliment the findings from the following reports and studies:
    1. The ``Mississippi and Louisiana Estuarine Areas Reconnaissance 
Report'' (USACE 1981);
    2. The ``Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana, Shore and Barrier 
Island Erosion'' Initial Evaluation Study (USACE 1984);

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    3. MRC/MVD Task Group Report (USACE 1985);
    4. Louisiana Coastal Area-Mississippi River Delta Study Recon 
(USACE 1990);
    5. Louisiana Coastal Area--Ecosystem Restoration, Louisiana 
reconnaissance report approved May 1999; and
    6. Mississippi River Sediment, Nutrient, and Freshwater 
Redistribution (MRSNFR) Study (USACE 2000).
    In the 1970s, studies and plans by state, Federal and other 
interested parties recognized the coastal land loss problem in 
Louisiana (e.g. Gagliano et al. 1972 report ``Environmental Atlas and 
Multi-use Management Plan for South-Central Louisiana''). Public 
recognition of not only the environmental importance, but also the 
economic importance of the rapidly disappearing coastal wetlands in 
Louisiana prompted an amendment to the Louisiana constitution in 1989: 
Act 6, LA. R.S. 49:213 et seq. Known also known as the Louisiana 
Coastal Wetlands Conservation, Restoration and Management Act, Act 6 
established the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities, the Office of 
Coastal Restoration Management within the Department of Natural 
Resources, as well as providing for a dedicated trust fund for coastal 
wetlands restoration. Act 6 also directs the production of the annual 
Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Plan, which provides 
site-specific project authorization.
    Continuing in the evolution of Louisiana coastal restoration 
efforts, the November 1990, CWPPRA provided the first national mandate 
addressing the need for restoration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. 
The CWPPRA required preparation of a comprehensive restoration plan 
that would coordinate and integrate coastal wetlands restoration 
projects to ensure the long-term conservation of coastal wetlands of 
Louisiana. In addition to development of the restoration plan, the 
CWPPRA authorizes the construction of wetland protection and 
restoration projects, via Project Priority Lists, preparation of a 
wetland conservation plan, and implementation of a feasibility study to 
consider flow distribution between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi 
rivers.
    Section 303(b) of the CWPPRA requires preparation of a 
comprehensive restoration plan. The CWPPRA Main Report and EIS entitled 
``Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan'' was prepared by the 
CWPPRA Task Force and completed in November 1993. Implementation of the 
November 1990 CWPPRA has provided the primary experiential basis for 
coastal restoration experiences across the Louisiana coast.
    The CWPPRA provides an annual $5 million (approximately) for 
planning and $33 million (approximately) for the construction of 
restoration projects that are typically small in scale and site-
specific rather than ecosystem level restoration efforts. Over the past 
10 years the CWPPRA, with the completion of the 11th Priority Project 
List in 2001, has authorized a total of 125 projects. When constructed, 
all of the projects, to date, would create, restore, protect, or 
enhance approximately 105,000 acres at a cost of approximately $496 
million dollars. Despite the acres gained by implementation of the 
CWPPRA-funded projects, these acres and those preserved by the existing 
freshwater diversions from the Mississippi River would prevent only 
about 25-30 percent of the predicted future marsh loss in Louisiana. 
There continues to be a need for an adaptive assessment and restoration 
effort of coastal Louisiana at the ecosystem level which will require 
significantly greater funding than was conceptualized and is authorized 
for the CWPPRA because the state continues to suffer a net loss of 
ranging between approximately 25 to 30 square miles of coastal wetlands 
per year.
    In recognition of the need for a single, coast-wide restoration 
plan, the Coast 2050 Plan was developed and is described in the 
December 1998 ``Coast 2050: Towards a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana.'' 
The Coast 2050 Plan developed as an outgrowth of lessons learned during 
implementation of restoration projects under the CWPPRA. The Louisiana 
Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and the 
Wetlands Conservation Authority prepared and adopted the Coast 2050 
Plan as their official restoration plan. The Coast 2050 Plan was 
provided to the U.S. Department of Commerce by the State of Louisiana 
to incorporate it into the Louisiana Coastal Resources Program 
Guidelines. In addition, the Coast 2050 Plan was affirmed by 
resolutions of support from the local coastal parish governments. The 
Coast 2050 Plan was used as a basis to produce the May 1999, 
Reconnaissance Report ``Section 905(b) (WRDA 86) Analysis Louisiana 
Coastal Area, Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration,'' recommending that the 
strategies contained within the Coast 2050 Plan proceed to feasibility 
level analysis.
    The LCA Comprehensive Study will supplement previous NEPA documents 
and utilize and compliment previous reports and studies (as described 
above), combining the ``lessons learned'' from these efforts and 
developing the existing restoration strategies into projects for the 
creation of a programmatic, coast-wide, ecosystem restoration plan. The 
LCA Comprehensive Study is the next step in the natural progression and 
evolution in our understanding and efforts to address the problems and 
determine opportunities for the adaptive environmental assessment and 
restoration of the coastal wetlands of Louisiana.

3. Need for the Study

    The 905(b) Reconnaissance Report recommended that the Coast 2050 
plan proceed to 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 
on February 17, 2000 and amended on March 14, 2002.
    The 905(b) Reconnaissance Report estimates that more than a million 
acres of Louisiana coastal wetlands have been lost within the last 60 
years and the current land loss rate ranges between 25 and 30 square 
miles per annually (16,000 to 19,000 acres), or about one football 
field every 25 minutes. This accounts for nearly 80 percent of all 
coastal land loss in the lower 48 states today. The 905(b) 
Reconnaissance Report concludes that even with current restoration 
efforts, Louisiana is projected to lose nearly 400,000 acres of marsh 
and 232,000 acres of swamp by the year 2050, an area the size of Rhode 
Island.
    In February 2002, the Governor's Committee on the Future of Coastal 
Louisiana (COFCL) prepared a report, ``Saving Coastal Louisiana: 
Recommendations for Implementing an Expanded Coastal Restoration 
Program,'' which provided recommendations as a starting point for a 
renewed and expanded coastal restoration effort. The COFCL report 
characterizes Louisiana's land loss crisis as an emergency of untold 
cost to the state of Louisiana and the nation that must be confronted 
now, with all available resources. The devastation of the coastal land 
loss will, according to the COFCL report, directly affect our nation's 
security, navigation, energy consumption, and food supply. The COFCL 
report further elaborates that the potential loss of lives, 
infrastructure, industry, ecosystems and culture cannot be overstated.

4. Study Alternatives

    During the Coast 2050 public meetings conducted in 1998, 83 
regional ecosystem restoration strategies were developed. In January 
2001, these strategies were revised into 88 regional ecosystem 
restoration strategies. The

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LCA Comprehensive Study will develop these strategies into features 
that will be developed further into an array of alternatives that 
consist of projects. Other restoration alternatives that will be 
considered include the No Action Alternative, as well as strategies 
suggested during the scoping process. Alternatives will be evaluated to 
ensure compliance with current Federal and state laws and regulations. 
Potential adverse effects of strategies will be identified and 
recommendations for mitigation measures, if appropriate, will be 
suggested. A programmatic supplemental EIS is being prepared because of 
the potential for significant direct and indirect, secondary and 
cumulative impacts on the human and natural environment.

5. Scoping Process

    The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing 
the NEPA direct federal agencies which have made a decision to prepare 
an environmental impact statement to engage in a public scoping 
process. 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 draft 
environmental impact assessment, which in this case is a PSEIS. Scoping 
is the process used to: (a) Identify the affected public and agency 
concerns; (b) facilitate an efficient PSEIS preparation process; (c) 
define the issues and alternatives that will be examined in detail in 
the PSEIS; and (d) save time in the overall process by helping to 
ensure that the draft statements adequately address relevant issues. 
Scoping is a process, not an event or a meeting. It continues 
throughout the planning for a PSEIS and may involve meetings, telephone 
conversations, and/or written comments. (Counsel on Environmental 
Quality, Memorandum for General Counsel, April 30, 1981).

6. Public Scoping Meetings

    In the early spring of 2002, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will 
hold initial public scoping meetings throughout the coastal Louisiana 
study area. Notices will be mailed to the affected and interested 
public once the dates and locations of the scoping meetings have been 
established. The USACE and the local sponsor--the Louisiana Department 
of Natural Resources, invite NEPA input in writing or in person 
concerning the scope of the PSEIS, resources to be evaluated, and 
alternatives to be considered. Federal, state, and local agencies, 
Indian tribes, and other interested parties can write comments to the 
Corps using Dr. Klein's mailing address shown above. Comments received 
as a result of the scoping meetings will be compiled and analyzed; a 
Scoping Document, summarizing the comments, will be made available to 
all scoping participants. Additional public meetings will be held and 
comments accepted throughout the scoping process.

7. Public Involvement

    Scoping is a critical component of the overall public involvement 
program. 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 other interested parties.

8. Interagency Coordination

    The Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Interagency 
Coordination. The Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (USFWS), will provide a Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 
Report. Coordination will be maintained with the USFWS 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. 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.

9. Availability of Draft PSEIS

    It is anticipated that the Draft PSEIS will be available for public 
review during the late summer of 2003. 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 feasibility report and 
PSEIS. In addition, a public meeting will be held during the review 
period to receive comments and address questions concerning the draft 
PSEIS.

    Dated: March 20, 2002.
Michel R. Burt,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Acting District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 02-8175 Filed 4-3-02; 8:45 am]
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