[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 12646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5970]



[[Page 12646]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Yuba River Basin Project, 
Yuba County, CA

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Sacramento District, is preparing a 
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact 
Report (SEIS/EIR) to evaluate modifications to the previously 
authorized plan to reduce flood damages in the lower Yuba River Basin, 
part of the Feather River Basin, and the city of Marysville in Yuba 
County, California. The modifications are needed to resolve previously 
unknown levee foundation problems in portions of the authorized 
project, thereby ensuring the level of flood protection previously 
planned. The basic study authority for the Yuba River Basin study was 
provided under the Flood Control Act of 1962.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning this study 
to Ms. Kim Stevens, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, 
Attn: Planning Division (CESPK-PD-R), 1325 J Street, Sacramento, 
California 95814. Requests to be placed on the mailing list should also 
be sent to this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kim Stevens, E-mail at 
[email protected], telephone (916) 557-7332, or fax (916) 
557-7856.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Public Involvement: The Yuba River Basin project will be 
coordinated between Federal, State, and local governments; local 
stakeholders; special interest groups; and any other interested 
individuals and organizations. The Corps will announce availability of 
the draft supplemental document in the Federal Register and other 
media, and will provide the public, organizations, and agencies with an 
opportunity to submit comments, which will be addressed in the Final 
SEIS/EIR. A 45-day public review period will be provided for 
individuals and agencies to review and comment on the SEIS/EIR. All 
interested parties should respond to this notice and provide a current 
address if they wish to be notified of the SEIS/EIR circulation.
    2. Project Information: The Yuba River Basin is located in western 
Yuba County about 50 miles north of Sacramento. The project focuses on 
approximately 21 miles of levees along the Yuba and Feather Rivers in 
the vicinity of Marysville, California. The Yuba River Basin project 
area is divided into three reaches: reach 1--Yuba River/Feather River; 
reach 2--Feather River; and reach 3--Marysville ring levee.
    The Feasibility Report and Final EIS/EIR were completed in April 
1998. Congress authorized the project in the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1999, and the Record of Decision was signed in June 
2000. The authorized project included specific levee modifications on 
6.1 miles of the left bank of the Yuba River upstream of the confluence 
with the Feather River; 10 miles of levee on the left bank of the 
Feather River downstream of the confluence of the Yuba River; and 5 
miles of the Marysville ring levee. The levee modification work as 
authorized was intended to bring the level of protection for these 
levees up to about a 200-year level of protection.
    Since the final Yuba River Basin project was authorized, 
geotechnical investigations and new hydrology have identified 
previously unknown levee foundation problems in portions of the 
specifically authorized project. Because flooding is still a 
significant problem for the affected communities along the Yuba and 
Feather Rivers, the State of California Reclamation Board has requested 
that the Corps initiate a reevaluation of the project.
    3. Proposed Action: The proposed action would be limited to a 
reevaluation of the elements of the authorized project and the design 
changes required to provide the level of protection previously planned.
    4. Alternatives: Potential alternatives to reduce flood damages 
include: (1) No Action, (2) Authorized Project, and (3) Proposed 
Project. Under the Authorized Project, no modifications would be made 
to the features of alternative 3 as described in the 1998 Feasibility 
Report and Final EIS/EIR. Under the Proposed Project, several 
modifications would be made to the Authorized Project, including deeper 
slurry walls, deleting some berms, installing some new slurry walls, 
increasing some berm widths, adding impervious fill and drain blankets 
to the levees, relocating slurry walls from the levee toe to crown, and 
reshaping some levees.

    Dated: February 24, 2004.
Michael J. Conrad, Jr.,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 04-5970 Filed 3-16-04; 8:45 am]
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