[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42695-42696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16230]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Lower Rio Grande Basin, Texas, Flood Control and 
Major Drainage, Raymondville Drain Project

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Raymondville Drain Project is part of the Lower Rio Grande 
Basin Project which was authorized by section 401 of the Water 
Resources and Development Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-

[[Page 42696]]

962). The proposed Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(DSEIS) will evaluate alternatives in the Raymondville Drain Project 
watershed to identify the most acceptable alternative to reduce and 
control flooding in Willacy and Hidalgo Counties, Texas. Alternatives 
are intended to provide flood protection and drainage to a watershed 
area of approximately 322 square miles including the City of 
Raymondville and surrounding rural and agricultural areas of Hildalgo 
and Willacy Counties. The local sponsor for the project is Hidalgo 
County Drainage District No. 1.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and DSEIS can be answered by: Ms. Kristy Morten, Environmental Lead, 
P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, TX 77553-1229; fax: (409) 766-3064; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Proposed Action. The DSEIS will be an integral part of a General 
Reevaluation Report (GRR) that will present the results of a new plan 
to provide flood control and agricultural drainage improvements to the 
City of Raymondville and Willacy and Hidalgo Counties, as authorized by 
the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (WRDA 86). The Raymondville 
Drain is one of three elements of the authorized Lower Rio Grande Basin 
Project. The Phase 1 General Design Memorandum (GDM) and Programmatic 
EIS were completed in August 1982 and approved in the September 1982.
    A Limited Reevaluation Report (LRR) completed in 1997 concluded 
that the Federal project for flood control and major drainage at 
Raymondville was still economically and environmentally feasible. 
However, Willacy County, the local sponsor, could not support the 
project because of financial reasons. Hildalgo and Willacy Counties 
have again expressed an interest in pursuing a flood control project 
under this authorization. Given the last LRR completion nearly 7 years 
ago, a GRR and SEIS will be completed by the Corps of Engineers in 
partnership with Hildalgo County Drainage District 1 as the 
Lead Sponsor to assure that the project recommended will be safe, 
functional, economically justified, and environmentally acceptable and 
that the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
have been met.
    2. Alternatives. The alternatives that will be evaluated in the GRR 
and SEIS include: (1) Non-structural measures that would include 
acquisition and removal, flood proofing, or raising of existing 
structures; (2) Channelization along the Raymondville Drain; (3) 
Earthen levees of various heights and lengths; (4) Combinations of the 
above measures; and (5) No action.
    3. Scoping. The scoping process will involve Federal, State, and 
local agencies and other interested persons and organizations. A series 
of scoping meetings and workshops will be conducted in Hildalgo and 
Willacy Counties, Texas to discuss various issues associated with 
proposed flood protection and drainage measures. Initial Public Scoping 
Meetings will be held July 21, 2004 at the UTPA Center for Border 
Economic Study (IT2 Building) in Edinburg, TX from 7 pm-8:30 pm and 
July 22, 2004 at the Raymondville Public Library in Raymondville, TX 
from 7 pm-8:30 pm.
    If you cannot attend the public meetings and have information or 
questions concerning the study, written comments will be accepted for 
30 days following the meetings or until August 22, 2004.
    4. Coordination. Further coordination with environmental agencies 
will be conducted under NEPA, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 
the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Historic 
Preservation Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Essential Fish Habitat), Farmland Protection Policy Act 
and the Coastal Zone Management Act under the Texas Coastal Management 
Program.
    5. DSEIS Preparation. It is estimated that the DEIS will be 
available to the public for review and comment in November 2007.

Carolyn E. Murphy,
Chief, Environmental Section.
[FR Doc. 04-16230 Filed 7-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-52-M