[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 62 (Wednesday, March 31, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16903-16904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7195]



[[Page 16903]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability of a Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement (FSEIS), for Phipps Ocean Park Beach Restoration 
Project, FSEIS--Department of the Army (DA) Permit Application Number 
200000380(IP-PLC), Town of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, FL

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
(USACE or Corps) Jacksonville District, announces the availability of a 
Regulatory Program Final SEIS for the proposed Phipps Ocean Park Beach 
Restoration Project. The Town of Palm Beach, Florida (Applicant) is 
seeking Corps regulatory authorization for the proposed project 
pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403). In accordance with 40 
CFR 1506.5 and Appendix B, 33 CFR part 325, the Applicant has prepared 
the Final SEIS on the requested permit action under the direct 
supervision of the Corps pursuant to a ``third party contract.''
    The general environmental impacts of beach restoration and erosion 
control activities on the Southeast Atlantic Coast of Florida were 
previously evaluated in the ``Coast of Florida, Erosion and Storm 
Effects Study--Region III, with Final Environmental Impact Statement, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District,'' October 1996. 
The Applicant's proposed project is located within a segment of the 
Region III area evaluated in the Coast of Florida FEIS and the Phipps 
Ocean Park Final SEIS is a supplement to the Coast of Florida FEIS. The 
Applicant's proposed project is consistent with the Town's 
``Comprehensive Coastal Management Plan Update--Palm Beach Island, 
Florida'' (June 1998).
    As required by NEPA, the Final SEIS describes the Applicant's 
preferred alternative and other alternatives evaluated to provide 
alternative and other alternatives evaluated to provide shore 
protection for Phipps Ocean Park within the Town of Palm Beach, FL. In 
response to comments on the Draft SEIS, the FSEIS includes: (1) An 
expanded analysis of the No Action Alternative; (2) the addition of 
Appendix N, which includes additional data and analysis regarding 
potential storm associated with the No Action Alternative as compared 
to the Applicant's Preferred Alternative; (3) the addition of Appendix 
M, which describes and evaluates a new alternative designated the ``T-
Head Groin and Reduced Fill Alternative;'' and (4) new data regarding 
the location and height of nearshore hardbottom features under the 
existing Project area beach, along with an expanded analysis and 
revised modeling of how these features would impact future shoreline 
conditions if the No Action Alternative is selected.
    The Applicant's preferred alternative is intended to: (1) Mitigate 
the long-term erosion impacts of Lake North Inlet and armored coastline 
north of the Project area; (2) provide and maintain storm protection to 
upland improvements; (3) restore and maintain the beach for public 
recreational use; and (4) restore and maintain the beach for marine 
turtle nesting habitat.
    The Applicant's preferred alternative includes placement of 
approvimately 1.5 million cubic yards of fill over approximately 1.9 
miles of beach, between DEP Monuments R-116a nd R-126. Sand compatible 
with the existing beach has been identified and would be obtained from 
borrow areas located approximately 3,500 feet offshore and between 1.5 
and 2.6 miles south of the fill area. The proposed borrow areas have 
been designed with buffer zones to avoid impacts to hardbottom 
communities in the vicinity of the borrow areas.
    The Final SEIS also identifies and evaluates the potential direct, 
indirect, and cumulative environmental consequences of the Applicant's 
preferred alternative, including potential impacts to Essential Fish 
Habitat, hardbottom resources and other specific issues identified 
during the scoping process.

DATES: The public comment period on the Final SEIS shall end on April 
30, 2004. Written comments must be received at the address listed below 
no later than 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and questions concerning this proposal 
to Ms. Penny Cutt, Phipps SEIS Project Manager, Department of the Army, 
Jacksonville District Corps of Engineers, Palm Beach Gardens Regulatory 
Office, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410-
6557; telephone 561-472-3505, facsimile 561-626-6971, or e-mail at 
[email protected]. Copies of the Final SEIS document may 
be obtained by contacting Lois Edwards, SEIS Public Involvement 
Coordinator/Third Party Contractor, Coastal Technology Corp., 3625 20th 
Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960, telephone (888) 562-8580; facsimile (772) 
562-8432 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Copies may be 
requested in either hard copy or in digital format on CD. This document 
may also be found on the Corps' Web site by accessing the following 
address: www.saj.usace.army.mil/permit/hot_topics/PhippsEIS/phippsindex.htm. Requests to be placed on the mailing list should be 
sent to Mrs. Edwards at the Vero Beach address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Penny Cutt at the above address or 
Peter A. Ravella, SEIS Project Manager/Third Party Contractor, Coastal 
Technology Corp., 2306 Lake Austin Blvd., Austin, TX 78703; telephone 
(512) 236-9494; facsimile (800) 321-9673, or e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final SEIS examines potential impacts to 
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) and also includes a comprehensive 
examination of potential cumulative impacts of the project and other 
projects from Lake Worth Inlet to South Lake Worth Inlet. In accordance 
with the NEPA, the Final SEIS evaluates reasonable alternatives for the 
USACE's decision-making process, including the ``no action'' 
alternative as a baseline for gauging potential impacts.
    The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has 
designated all of the Project area from R-116 to R-126 as an area of 
``critical erosion.'' This designation is based on (a) the erosion 
attributable to the influence of Lake Worth Inlet and the adjacent 
armored shoreline and (b) the existing headland features surrounding 
the Project area.
    Shoreline conditions and structures updrift of the Project area 
exacerbate erosion in the Project area and the shoreline further south. 
Net longshore sand transport in the region is to the south. 
Construction of the Lake Worth Inlet and its jetties interrupt the 
longshore flow of sand and starves the Project area and regions south 
of the inlet and have led to the construction of seawalls, groins, and 
eventually a rock revetment constructed by the Florida Department of 
Transportation (FDOT) north of Sloan's Curve in 1987. The revetment has 
cut-off the sand supply from the dune landward of the revetment and 
contributed to the diminishment of sediment transport into the Project 
area. These conditions are expected to continue to contribute to

[[Page 16904]]

the erosion within the Project area in the future.
    The three miles of shoreline immediately north of Sloan's Curve are 
fronted by numerous armoring structures including rock revetments, 
seawalls, and groins. The existing groins north of Phipps Ocean Park 
deter southerly longshore transport to Phipps Ocean Park and the 
Project area. The Mid-Town Beach Restoration Project (unrelated to the 
project for which the Applicant seeks authorization) is located to the 
north of this three-mile segment; the groins and armoring have impeded 
the southerly migration of the Mid-Town sand. In combination with the 
effects of Lake Worth Inlet, armoring structures have caused a 
longshore transport and sediment deficit to the Project area, resulting 
in erosion, loss of the recreational beach, increase in the storm 
damage risk to upland property, and loss of sea turtle nesting habitat.
    Copies of the Final SEIS are also available for inspection at the 
following locations:
(1) Town of Palm Beach Clerk's Office, Town Hall, 360 South county 
Road, Palm Beach, FL 33480.
(2) Town of Palm Beach Public Works Department, 951 Old Okeechobee 
Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.
(3) Town of Palm Beach Fire Rescue Station 3, 2185 South Ocean Blvd., 
Palm Beach, FL 33480.
(4) USACE Palm Beach Gardens Regulatory Office, 4400 PGA Boulevard, 
Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410.
(5) Palm Beach County Government Center, Front Lobby Information Desk, 
215 North Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Alternate Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-7195 Filed 3-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-AJ-M