[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71477-71478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6642]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for 
Potential Multipurpose Projects for Ecosystem Restoration, Flood Damage 
Reduction, and Recreation Development Within and Along the West and Elm 
Forks and Main Stem of the Trinity River in Dallas, Dallas County, TX

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The study is being conducted in response to the authority 
contained in the following United States Senate Committee on 
Environment and Public Works Resolution dated April 22, 1988, as quoted 
below:

    Resolved by the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 
United States Senate, that the Board of Engineers for Rivers and 
Harbors is hereby requested to review the report of the Chief of 
Engineers on the Trinity River and Tributaries, Texas, House 
Document No. 276, Eighty-Ninth Congress, and other pertinent 
reports, with a view to determining the advisability of modifying 
the recommendations contained therein, with particular reference to 
providing improvements in the interest of flood protection, 
environmental enhancement, water quality, recreation, and other 
allied purposes in the Upper Trinity River Basin with specific 
attention on the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

    An initial assessment based on the resolution guidance indicates a 
Federal interest in continuing with more detailed studies for these 
purposes. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared to 
evaluate and compare ecosystem restoration, flood damage reduction, and 
recreation alternatives within and along the Trinity River in, within 
and adjacent to the existing Dallas Floodway area of Dallas, TX. The 
DEIS will also assess the impacts to the quality of the human 
environment associated with each alternative. The study area will be 
bound on the upstream by Loop 12 crossings of the West and Elm Forks 
and at the downstream end by the existing terminus of the Dallas 
Floodway approximated by the abandoned Santa Fe railroad on the Trinity 
River. The construction and implementation of Joe Pool Lake, Grapevine 
Lake, Lake Lewisville and the Dallas Floodway project along with 
urbanization and development activities, have significantly degraded 
the terrestrial and aquatic habitat along and within the Trinity River. 
Consequently, ecosystem restoration measures will be developed and 
evaluated to address the degraded habitats. In addition, recreation 
measures will be developed and evaluated as complements to proposed 
ecosystem restoration measures. Preliminary findings indicate that due 
to major changes in runoff attributable to upstream development, the 
originally authorized flood damage reduction benefits have diminished 
within the study area and therefore opportunities to restore those 
Floodway benefits and explore options for improving flood damage 
reduction benefits within the interior drainages in the study area 
should be investigated. Flood damage reduction measures will address 
the loss of the authorized level of flood protection for the area.

DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held on December 13, 2005 at 7 
p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Nash-Davis Recreation Center 
Activity Room, 3710 North Hampton Road, Dallas, TX 75212.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions pertaining to the proposed 
action and DEIS can be answered by: Mr. Gene T. Rice, CESWF-PM-C, U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, P.O. Box 17300, Fort 
Worth, TX 76102-0300, (817) 886-1734.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The original Dallas Floodway levees and 
interior drainage improvements were completed between 1928 and 1931 by 
the City of Dallas and Dallas County Levee Improvement District. The 
Trinity River was rerouted by constructing a channel within the leveed 
floodway. The original channel was either filled or used for sump 
storage.
    In the mid-1940's, major floods, compounded with continued 
urbanization in the watershed draining into the Floodway system 
resulted in severe flooding. The Dallas Floodway was authorized by 
River and Harbor Acts of March 2, 1945 and May 17, 1950. The project, 
which was completed in April 1959, entailed the channel improvement, 
clearing of the floodway, strengthening of levees, installation and 
modification of drainage structures, construction of pressure sewers, 
pump station and sump areas. The improvements provided conveyance of 
the Standard Project Flood within the floodway plus 4 feet of 
freeboard.
    Alternatives for ecosystem restoration, flood damage reduction, and 
recreation will be developed and evaluated based on ongoing fieldwork 
and data collection and past studies conducted by the Corps of 
Engineers, the City of Dallas, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 
Ecosystem restoration alternatives that will be evaluated include 
creating meanders within the Trinity River, restoring, protecting and 
expanding the riparian corridor, improving aquatic habitat, creating 
riffle-pool complexes, and constructing wetlands. It is anticipated 
that ecosystem restoration measures would aid in improving water 
quality, optimizing aquatic and terrestrial habitat, and minimizing 
erosion and scouring along and within the river. Alternatives for flood 
damage reduction measures will be evaluated from both a non-structural 
and structural aspect. Non-structural measures that will be evaluated 
include acquisition and removal of structures or flood proofing of 
structures for protection from potential future flood damage. 
Structural measures that will be evaluated include levee height 
modification by fill or addition of flood walls, changes in interior 
drainage by enlarging storage areas or increasing widths and depths 
and/or a combination of these measures. Recreation measures that will 
be evaluated for include multipurpose trails and passive recreation 
features, such as interpretive guidance and media and picnic areas. 
Recreation measures will be developed to a scope and scale compatible 
with proposed ecosystem restoration measures without significantly 
diminishing ecosystem benefits.
    A Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Upper 
Trinity River Basin Feasibility study addressing the potential 
cumulative effects of reasonably foreseeable projects, including the 
Clear Fork West Fork studies was completed in June 2000. The DEIS will 
be tiered to the PEIS.
    The public will be invited to participate in the scoping process, 
invited to attend public meetings, and given the opportunity to review 
the DEIS. The first public scoping meeting will be on (see DATES & 
ADDRESSES). Subsequent public meetings, if deemed necessary, will be 
announced in the local news media. Release of the DEIS for public 
comment is scheduled for March 2007. The exact release date, once 
established, will be announced through mailings to known interested 
individuals, agencies and officials and in the local news media.
    Future coordination with other agencies and public scoping will be 
conducted to ensure full and open participation and aid in the 
development of the DEIS. All affected

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Federal, state, and local agencies, affected Indian tribes, and other 
interested private organizations and parties are hereby invited to 
participate. Future coordination will also be conducted with the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The USFWS will furnish 
information on threatened and endangered species in accordance with the 
Endangered Species Act. In addition, the USFWS will also be requested 
to provide support with planning aid and to provide a Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act Report. The State Historic Preservation Office will be 
consulted as required by Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.

John C. Dvoracek,
Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Deputy District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E5-6642 Filed 11-28-05; 8:45 am]
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