[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63901-63903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26336]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Relocation of Bogue Inlet Channel between Emerald Isle and Hammocks 
Beach State Park, and the Placement of the Dredged Material onto 
Emerald Isle Beach, in Carteret County, NC

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 (COE), Wilmington District, 
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received a request for 
Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act, from the 
Town of Emerald Isle for the relocation of Bogue Inlet Channel to 
protect residential homes and town infrastructures, and to place the 
dredged material on approximately 5.0 miles of beach for nourishment. 
The project is being proposed to move the main ebb channel in Bogue 
Inlet to a more central location between the west end of Bogue Banks 
and the east end of Bear Island (Hammocks Beach State Park). The main 
ebb channel through Bogue Inlet presently occupies a position 
juxtaposted to the west end of the Town of Emerald Isle and is causing 
severe erosion that threatens development in the subdivision known as 
The Pointe. The relocation of the main ebb channel to a central 
location would restore the channel to a position it occupied in the 
late 1970's and eliminate the erosive impact of tidal currents on the 
east shoulder of the inlet. A portion of the material removed to 
relocate the main ebb channel would be used to close the existing 
channel with the balance of the material used to nourish the shoreline 
on the west end of the Town of Emerald Isle.
    The channel through Bogue Inlet has been maintained by the COE for 
commercial and recreational boating interest since 1981. The COE is 
authorized to maintain the channel to a depth of 8 feet mean low water 
(mlw) over a width of 150 feet. Any changes in the location of the ebb 
tide delta channel would be consistent with this maintenance criteria.

DATES: A public scoping meeting for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) will be held at the White Oak River Elementary School, 
on NC Highway 24, in Cape Carteret, on October 29, 2002 at 6:30 p.m. 
Written comments will be received until November 24, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding scoping of the 
Draft EIS may be addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington 
District, Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number 2001-00632, Post 
Office Box 1890, Wilmington, NC 28402-1890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and DEIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory 
Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4811.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Project Descritpion

    The Town of Emerald Isle, located along the western 11.2 miles of 
Bogue Banks, North Carolina, is proposing to reposition the main ebb 
tide channel (or bar channel) through Bogue Inlet as a means to address 
a severe erosion problem that is threatening development and town 
infrastructure located on the west end of the town in an area known as 
The Pointe. The severe erosion at the Pointe is occurring as a result 
of the eastward migration of the main ebb channel of Bogue Inlet. An 
analysis of historic photographs of the inlet indicates that the 
midpoint of the channel has experienced movements to both the west and 
east with the latest trend being toward the east. Since September 1981, 
the channel midpoint migrated a total of over 3,900 feet to the east, 
however, a majority of this movement occurred between September 1981 
and February 1984. From February 1984 to September 2001, the channel 
moved slightly more than 1,500 feet to the east, which represents an 
annual rate of 104 feet/year. The eastward movement of the channel has 
been

[[Page 63902]]

accompanied by erosion of the Bogue Banks shoulder of the inlet (the 
Pointe shoreline) with the rate of erosion of this shoreline averaging 
56 feet/year between February 1984 and September 2001. If this rate of 
erosion of the Pointe shoreline continues unabated, it is estimated 
that 30 to 50 structures could be lost or severely damaged during the 
next 5 to 10 years. In addition, 300 to 600 feet of Inlet Drive could 
be lost along with side streets and utilities serving the Pointe 
subdivision.
    Secondary features of the proposed project includes using a portion 
of the dredged material to close the existing ebb channel with the 
balance of the material used to nourish the beach along the west end of 
the Town of Emerald Isle. In this regard, the Town of Emerald Isle 
presently has permits to nourish 51,00 feet (9.68 miles) of ocean 
shoreline using offshore borrow areas. Approximately 5.8 miles of this 
shoreline is to be nourished between November 16, 2002 and April 15, 
2003. The Emerald Isle beach nourishment project is part of an island-
wide project sponsored by Carteret County. The County project covers 
approximately 16.8 miles of ocean shoreline and begins at the east town 
limits of the Town of Pine Knoll Shores and ends at a point 8,000 feet 
(1.5 miles) east of Bogue Inlet.

2. Proposed Action

    The primary purpose of the channel relocation project is to create 
a stable channel that will divert tidal flow away from the Pointe area 
of Emerald Isle. Therefore, the design focus is on developing channel 
dimensions that will capture the majority of the ebb tidal flow through 
the inlet. An added feature of the overall design would be the closure 
of the existing channel by constructing a sand dike across the existing 
channel in the vicinity of the Pointe. The dimensions of the relocated 
channel will be based on characteristics of the existing ebb tide 
channel, numerical model studies of tides and currents in the inlet, 
and channel stability criteria. The numerical model will also be used 
to evaluate the need for and impacts of closing the existing channel as 
well as assess the impacts of the repositioned channel on salinity 
intrusion and flow patterns throughout the entire inlet/estuary 
complex.
    Apart from the channel dimensions, the new channel must be position 
so that it does not cause adverse impacts on the adjacent shorelines or 
result in unacceptable loss of estuarine habitat. The selection of a 
channel location is being based on detailed geomorphic analysis of the 
inlet and adjacent shorelines, conducted by Dr. William J. Cleary, 
University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The geomorphic analysis 
will utilize an assortment of aerial photographs of the inlet covering 
the period from 1938 to 2001. However the primary emphasis will be on 
changes in the inlet and the adjacent shorelines between 1973 and 2001. 
The geomorphic analysis consists of an evaluation of the following: (a) 
location of the channel midpoint relative to the Pointe; (b) the 
orientation of the inlet's ebb tide delta channel; (c) the 
configuration of the ebb tide delta i.e., the percent of the ebb tide 
delta east and west of the main ebb channel; (d) inlet shoulder changes 
(the Pointe shoreline and the west tip of Bear Island); (e) changes in 
the ocean shoreline on the west end of Bogue Banks and the east end of 
Bear Island (Hammocks Beach State Park); and (f) changes in the 
interior marsh islands (primarily Dudley Island and Island 2). The 
measured changes the adjacent shorelines, inlet shoulders, and the 
interior marshes will be related to changes in the physical makeup of 
the inlet including the position and orientation of the ebb tide delta 
channel and the configuration of the ebb tide delta.
    Geomorphic analysis indicates that the cumulative shoreline changes 
on each island were averaged over 3,500 feet of shoreline immediately 
adjacent to the inlet. When the percent of the ebb tide delta on the 
Bogue Banks side is small, as it was between 1984 and 2001, the bar 
channel was located close to Bogue Banks and the portion of the delta 
on the Bogue Banks side was providing some degree of wave sheltering 
for the west end of the island. This particular ebb tide delta 
configuration resulted in a considerable amount of accretion along of 
3,500-foot shoreline immediately east of the inlet while Bear Island 
experienced an almost mirror image response on its ocean shoreline, 
i.e., erosion. Even though the present ebb tide delta configuration is 
favorable for the extreme west end of Emerald Isle, the eastward 
migration of the inlet channel that led to the existing inlet 
configuration also caused the inlet shoreline of Bogue Banks (the 
Pointe shoreline) to erode. Not only has the Bogue Banks inlet 
shoreline eroded in response to the eastward movement of the channel, 
so has the Bear Island ocean and inlet shorelines. Based on these and 
numerous other comparisons, the preliminary results of the geomorphic 
analysis indicates that a centrally located channel, approximating the 
position and orientation of the channel in 1978, may be beneficial to 
the inlet shoreline on Bogue Banks (the Pointe shoreline) and the east 
end of Bear Island.

3. Issues

    There are several potential environmental issues that will be 
addressed in the EIS. Additional issues may be identified during the 
scoping process. Issues initially identified as potentially significant 
include:

    a. Potential impact to marine biological resources (benthic 
organisms, passageway for fish and other marine life, and bird 
nesting of foraging).
    b. Potential impact to threatened and endangered marine mammals, 
birds, fish, and plants.
    c. Potential impacts to water quality.
    d. Potential increase in erosion rates to adjacent Hammocks 
Beach State park.
    e. Sand budgeting.
    f. Potential impacts to Navigation, commercial and recreational.
    g. Potential impacts to the long-term Federal maintenance of the 
channel.
    h. Potential impacts to private and public property.
    i. Cumulative impacts of Inlet and Inlet channel relocations 
throughout North Carolina.
    j. Cumulative impacts for using inlets as sand source in 
nourishment projects.
    k. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
    l. Potential impacts to recreational and commercial fishing.
    m. The compatibility of the material for nourishment.
    n. Potential economic impacts.

4. Alternatives

    Several alternatives are being considered for the proposed project. 
These alternatives will be further formulated and developed during the 
scoping process and an appropriate range of alternatives, including the 
no federal action alternative, will be considered in the EIS.

5. Scoping Process

    A public scoping meeting (see DATES) will be held to receive public 
comment and assess public concerns regarding the appropriate scope and 
preparation of the Draft EIS. Participation in the public meeting by 
federal, state, and local agencies and other interested organizations 
and persons is encouraged.
    The COE will also be consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act, and with the National Marine Fisheries Service under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act and Endangered Species Act. Additionally, the 
EIS will assess the potential water quality impacts pursuant to Section 
401 of the Clean Water Act, and will be coordinated with

[[Page 63903]]

the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (DCM) to determine 
the projects consistency with the Coastal Zone Management Act. The COE 
will closely work the DCM through the EIS to ensure the process 
complies with all State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requirements. 
It is the COE and DCM's intentions to consolidate both NEPA and SEPA 
processes to eliminate duplications.

6. Availability of the Draft EIS

    The Draft EIS is expected to be published and circulated sometime 
in 2003, and a public hearing will be held after the publication of the 
Draft EIS.

    Dated: October 4, 2002.
Charles R. Alexander, Jr.,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 02-26336 Filed 10-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-GN-M