[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 24 (Thursday, February 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5515-5516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2500]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Pearl River Watershed, MS, Project

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The primary study area comprises the Pearl River Basin between 
River Mile (RM) 270.0 just south of Byram, MS, and RM 301.77 at the dam 
of Ross Barnett Reservoir. Municipalities within the study area include 
Jackson, Flowood, Pearl, and Richland, MS. The study area includes 
parts of three counties--Madison, Hinds, and Rankin. Major tributaries 
of the Pearl River within the study area include Richland, Caney, 
Lynch, Town, and Hanging Moss Creeks. The primary focus of the project 
is to alleviate flooding in the study area, determine the feasibility 
of continued Federal involvement in developing and implementing a 
solution, and evaluate features designed to alleviate water resource 
problems in the study area. The local cost-sharing project sponsor is 
the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District.

[[Page 5516]]


DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held in Jackson, MS, at the 
Mississippi Agriculture, Forestry, and Aviation Museum, on February 23, 
2004, at 6 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be directed to 
Ms. Karen Dove-Jackson (telephone (601) 631-7136) or Vicksburg 
District, 4155 Clay Street, ATTN: CEMVK-PP-PQ, Vicksburg, MS 39183-
3435.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This project is authorized by congressional 
resolutions adopted May 9, 1979. These authorizations read as follows:

    ``Resolved by the Committee on Public Works and Transportation 
of the House of Representatives, United States, That the Board of 
Engineers for Rivers and Harbors is hereby requested to review the 
reports of the Chief of Engineers on Pearl River Basin, Mississippi 
and Louisiana, published as House Document Number 282, Ninety-Second 
Congress, Second Session, and other pertinent reports, with a 
particular view toward determining whether any further improvements 
for flood damage prevention and related purposes are advisable at 
this time. The alternatives are to be reviewed with local interests 
to insure a viable, locally supported project. Resolved by the 
Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of 
Representatives, United States, That the Board of Engineers for 
Rivers and Harbors is hereby requested to review the report of the 
Chief of Engineers on the Pearl River and Tributaries, Mississippi, 
contained in House Document 441, 86th Congress, and other reports 
with a view to determining whether measures for prevention of flood 
damages and related purposes are advisable at this time, in Rankin 
County, Mississippi. Resolved by the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works of the United States Senate, That the Board of 
Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, created under section 3 of the 
River and Harbor Act, approved June 13, 1902, and is hereby 
requested to review the reports of the Chief of Engineers on Pearl 
River Basin, Mississippi and Louisiana, submitted in House Document 
Numbered 92-282, 92nd Congress, 2nd Session, and other pertinent 
reports with a view to determining whether any further improvements 
for flood damage prevention and related purposes are warranted at 
this time.''
    1. A reconnaissance study was initiated in 1989 and a favorable 
report was completed in 1990 for the Pearl River Watershed, MS, 
Project. The local sponsor executed a Feasibility Cost-Sharing 
Agreement (FCSA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in 
September 1991 to pursue alternative solutions. The resulting 
recommended plan documented in a January 1996 draft report was a 
comprehensive levee system to provide protection from a flood event of 
1979 magnitude. The 1979 flood event in Jackson is the maximum flood of 
record. The frequency of this flood in Jackson was estimated at 
approximately a 200-year event. Study actions were suspended in July 
1998, and the final feasibility report was never completed. Lack of 
local support for the recommended plan, questions over operation of the 
Ross Barnett Reservoir, and downstream concerns over flooding and bank 
caving were primary issues. In 1996, local interests proposed the 
LeFleur Lakes Flood Control Plan, consisting of upper and lower lakes 
along the Pearl River south of the Ross Barnett Reservoir, as an 
alternative to the comprehensive levee plan. The lakes would extend 
from the Ross Barnett Reservoir outlet downstream along the Pearl River 
to approximately 1 mile southwest of Interstate 20. The combined lakes 
would cover approximately 4,800 acres at normal operating levels, and 
weirs at both the upper and lower lakes would regulate flow. The plan 
is supported locally by community and business leaders due to its 
commercial development aspects and potential for cost recovery. An 
independent evaluation of the LeFleur Lakes Flood Control Plan was 
conducted from June-December 2000 by an Architect-Engineer firm. The 
valuation indicated that the LeFleur Lakes Plan could reduce Pearl 
River flooding in the Jackson area, as would the levee plan. The 
Feasibility Cost Sharing Agreement, necessary for study resumption, was 
signed with the non-Federal sponsor, Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and 
Drainage Control District, on 15 October 2003. Studies will include 
updating the previously proposed levee plans presented in the 
aformentioned January 1996 draft report and an analysis of the LeFleur 
Lakes flood control plan. Studies will also include investigations of 
levees for south Jackson and Richland as a component of the LeFleur 
Lakes Plan. The District Engineer has decided to prepare a Draft EIS to 
investigate measures to alleviate flooding in the study area and 
determine the feasibility of continued Federal involvement in 
developing and implementing a solution.
    2. The feasibility study for Pearl River Watershed, MS, will be 
conducted to fully evaluate a range of alternatives to provide a 
comprehensive plan for flood control. Alternative development and 
analysis as currently planned will be limited to updating of previously 
proposed levee plans and an evaluation of the LeFleur Lakes Plan.
    3. A public scoping meeting will be held in Jackson, MS (see 
DATES). Significant issues identified during this scoping process will 
be analyzed in depth in the Draft EIS. The Natural Resources 
Conservation Service; U.S. Forest Service; Environmental Protection 
Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Mississippi Department of 
Environmental Quality; and Mississippi Department of Wildlife, 
Fisheries and Parks will be invited to become cooperating agencies. 
Federally recognized Indian tribes will also be invited to become 
cooperators. These agencies and tribes will be asked to participate in 
the review of data and the feasibility report and appendixes.
    4. Upon completion, the Draft EIS will be distributed for agency 
and public review and comment. Additionally, a public meeting will be 
held to present results of the Draft EIS evaluations and the 
recommended plan.
    5. The DEIS is estimated to be completed in October of the year 
2005.

    Dated: January 22, 2004.
Douglas J. Kamien,
Chief, Planning, Programs, and Project Management Division.
[FR Doc. 04-2500 Filed 2-4-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-PU-M