[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 216 (Thursday, November 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67831-67832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-28352]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7405-4]


Notice of Public Scoping Meeting on the Preparation of an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Federal Funding, 
Construction, Operation and Monitoring of a Coastal Wetlands 
Restoration Project, the Mississippi River Water Reintroduction Into 
Maurepas Swamp

    On April 26, 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
6 (EPA) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register that 
it was planning to develop an environmental impact statement on the 
restoration project as the Federal member of the Task Force created by 
the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, Public 
Law 101-646 (CWPPRA) designated to carry out the project. The EPA will 
hold a Scoping Meeting for the EIS on December 11, 2002, at the 
Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet School, 240 Highway 54, in Garyville, LA 
70051. Formal meeting presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m.; the 
meeting room will be open with poster displays at 5:30 p.m. 
Individuals, groups, officials, and Federal, State, Tribal, and local 
agencies are invited to participate in the scoping process to help 
determine impacts on resources, issues, and alternatives to be examined 
in detail in the EIS.
    Purpose: EPA has determined that the proposed wetlands restoration 
effort is a Major Federal Action significantly impacting the human 
environment. The purpose of the EIS is to ensure that decisions are 
made in accordance with the policies and purposes of the National 
Environmental Policy Act. The EIS will be considered by the CWPPRA Task 
Force in its decisions on funding, construction, operations, monitoring 
and on alternative features and activities associated with carrying out 
the project.
    Summary of Project: The proposed action provides for the 
reintroduction of Mississippi River water into swamps south of Lake 
Maurepas in Louisiana for the purpose of restoring the ecological 
health and productivity of the swamps. Over time, hydrologic 
modifications to the riverine system have eliminated the natural inputs 
of freshwater, nutrients, and sediment that built and maintained the 
wetlands. These swamps are stressed and dying due to saltwater 
intrusion and excessive flooding, which is due to subsidence and 
insufficient accumulation of sediment. The project will divert in 
excess of 1,500 cubic feet per second of fresh river water through a 
proposed box-culvert diversion structure in the levee of the 
Mississippi River, then through an outflow channel for a distance of 
approximately five miles, and into the Maurepas swamps. The presently 
proposed water diversion would be constructed in the Garyville, 
Louisiana area, connecting to the existing Hope Canal north of U.S. 
Highway 61. As part of this alternative, the Hope Canal is proposed to 
be enlarged in order to accommodate the estimated flows. The project is 
estimated to benefit more than 36,000 acres of cypress-tupelo swamps by 
increasing input of freshwater, sediments, nutrients, and oxygen. The 
EIS will consider impacts of this project with existing and/or proposed 
flood control measures of the foreseeable future. Efforts will be made 
to ensure that severity of existing local drainage problems is not 
increased as a result of this project. Information from reconnaissance 
level studies for project development included preliminary site 
reviews; hydrologic modeling of existing conditions and basic diversion 
scenarios; baseline ecological field studies; and surveys of elevations 
and cross-sections, and will be provided in the EIS.
    Alternative Actions: The CWPPRA Task Force may determine to fund 
and construct the restoration project; the CWPPRA Task Force may deny 
funding and construction of the restoration project; or, the Task Force 
may determine to take no final action until additional funds are 
available. The EIS will be utilized in other actions such as the Clean 
Water Act Section 404 Permit which (1) may be issued as requested, (2) 
may be issued with conditions, or (3) may be denied.
    To Submit Scoping Comments, To Request Additional Information, or 
To Be Placed on the EIS Mailing List, Contact: Jeanene Peckham at EPA 
Water Quality Protection Field Office, 707 Florida Blvd., Suite B-21, 
Baton Rouge, LA, 70801; telephone (225) 389-0736, e-mail 
[email protected].
    Estimated Date for Release of Draft EIS: Spring 2004.

[[Page 67832]]

    Responsible Official: Gregg A. Cooke, Regional Administrator.

Oscar Ramirez, Jr.,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division (6WQ).
[FR Doc. 02-28352 Filed 11-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P