[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10960-10962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3050]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Project

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: This notice of intent (NOI) is for the Louisiana Coastal 
Protection and Restoration (LACPR) Project. This notice of intent 
addresses the coastal area of southern Louisiana from the state 
boundary of Louisiana and Mississippi at the Pearl River in the east to 
the state boundary of Louisiana and Texas at the Sabine River in the 
west as identified in the Coast 2050 coastal Louisiana restoration 
plan.

ADDRESSES: Scoping meeting comments regarding the draft Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for the LACPR may be provided 
orally or in writing at the scoping meetings; sent via e-mail to 
[email protected]; sent via the worldwide Web at http://www.lacpr.usace.army.mil/; or sent via letter postmarked not later than 
the close of the scoping comment period to the LACPR EIS Environmental 
Manager, CEMVN-PM-R, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, LA 70160-0267. 
Comments will not be accepted if submitted by facsimile (fax).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LACPR EIS Environmental Manager, Bruce 
Baird, (504) 862-2526.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Background: On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a major 
hurricane (sixth strongest Atlantic basin cyclone on record), made 
landfall in southeast Louisiana and left in its path the costliest 
natural disaster recorded in the relatively young history of the United 
States of America. On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita (fourth 
strongest Atlantic basin cyclone on record), made landfall in southwest 
Louisiana leaving in its path a trail of severely impacted communities 
and infrastructure.
    Congress has directed the Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, 
in

[[Page 10961]]

close coordination with the State of Louisiana, to begin a six-month 
endeavor, titled the South Louisiana Comprehensive Coastal Protection 
and Restoration Report, also referred to as the LACPR Report, to 
identify, describe and propose a full range of flood control, coastal 
restoration, and hurricane protection measures for south Louisiana. A 
preliminary technical report for comprehensive Category 5 protection is 
due within six months from December 30, 2005, while a final technical 
report for Category 5 protection is due within 24 months from December 
30, 2005. A final PEIS, without a Record of Decision, will be submitted 
in conjunction with the 24-month final technical report.
    Applicable legislation includes Corps of Engineers--Civil 
Investigations, The Energy and Water Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 
109-103), November 19, 2005, Section 5009, The Department of Defense 
Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-148), December 30, 2005, and 
Chapter 3, The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 
109-148), December 30, 2005, for assessment of Louisiana Coastal 
Protection and Restoration.
    The DPEIS will document the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969) process identifying and assessing reasonable alternatives to 
proposed actions that will avoid or minimize adverse effects of these 
actions upon the quality of the human environment. Specifically, the 
DPEIS will analyze the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative 
impacts of implementing flood control, coastal restoration, and 
hurricane protection measures for south Louisiana.
    2. Proposed Action and Reasonable Alternatives. Four alternatives, 
including the no-action alternative, have been preliminarily proposed 
for further evaluation in the six and 24-month technical reports. Those 
alternatives are as follows: (1) A structural alternative, which is 
flood protection consisting of a continuous line of earthen or concrete 
walls, along southern coastal Louisiana connected at various locations, 
as needed, by floodgates and other devices to provide protection 
against a storm surge originating from the Gulf of Mexico produced by a 
catastrophic Category 5 hurricane; (2) a structural alternative with 
coastal restoration commensurate to the level of structural 
fortification to provide protection against a storm surge originating 
from the Gulf of Mexico produced by a catastrophic Category 5 
hurricane; (3) and a non-structural alternative consisting of 
environmental or coastal restoration measures only to provide 
protection against a storm surge originating from the Gulf of Mexico 
produced by a Category 5 hurricane. Other non-structural measures such 
as, raising or moving structures to meet existing or revised flood 
plain base elevations, would be a part of any proposed action 
alternative. The no-action alternative would maintain current levels of 
flooding protection against a major Category 3 hurricane.
    3. Scoping Process. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
regulations implementing the NEPA process directs federal agencies that 
have made a decision to prepare an environmental impact statement to 
engage in a public scoping process. The scoping process is designed to 
provide an early and open means of determining the scope of issues 
(problems, needs, and opportunities) to be identified and addressed in 
the draft environmental impact assessment. Scoping is the process used 
to: (a) Identify the affected public and agency concerns; (b) 
facilitate an efficient EIS preparation process; (c) define the issues 
and alternatives that will be examined in detail in the EIS; and (d) 
save time in the overall process by helping to ensure that the draft 
statements adequately address relevant issues. Scoping is a process, 
not an event or a meeting. It continues throughout the planning for a 
draft EIS and may involve meetings, telephone conversations, and/or 
written comments. Public scoping meetings will be conducted during a 
two-week scoping meeting comment period. Locations for public scoping 
meetings are as follows: New Orleans, Thibodaux, Lafayette, and Lake 
Charles, Louisiana. Dates, times, and physical locations of the public 
scoping meetings are to be determined. Public scoping meeting comments 
will be accepted up to seven business days following the final scoping 
meeting.
    4. Request for Scoping Comments. The Corps will conduct scoping 
meetings to determine the scope of issues to be addressed and for 
identifying the significant issues related to the DPEIS for the LACPR 
project. Notices will be mailed to the affected and interested public 
once the dates and locations of the scoping meetings have been 
established. The Corps invites scoping input concerning the following 
scoping focus questions: Question 1: What are the critical 
natural and human environmental problems and needs that should be 
addressed in the DPEIS? Question 2: What are the significant 
resources that should be considered in the DPEIS? Question 3: 
What are the reasonable restoration alternatives that should be 
considered in the DPEIS? Interested parties are encouraged to provide 
their input and recommendations for all significant issues of the 
study.
    Scoping comments will be compiled, analyzed, and utilized in the 
plan formulation process. A Scoping Report, summarizing the comments, 
will be made available to all scoping participants and published on the 
LACPR Web site (http://www.lacpr.usace.army.mil/). Scoping comments 
will be accepted throughout the scoping comment period.
    5. Public Involvement. Scoping is a critical component of the 
overall public involvement program. An intensive public involvement 
program will continue throughout the study to solicit input from 
affected Federal, state, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and other 
interested parties.
    6. Interagency Coordination and Cooperation. Pursuant to section 
1501.6 of the NEPA (30 CFR parts 1500-1508), the following agencies 
have been invited to participate in the study as cooperating agencies 
on the EIS: Minerals Management Service, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological 
Service, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana 
Department of Natural Resources, and the Louisiana Department of 
Wildlife and Fisheries. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide 
a Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report. Coordination will be 
maintained with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National 
Marine Fisheries Service regarding threatened and endangered species 
under their respective jurisdictional responsibilities. Coordination 
will be maintained with the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding 
essential fish habitat. Coordination will be maintained with the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service regarding prime and unique 
farmlands. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will be consulted 
regarding the ``Swampbuster'' provisions of the Food Security Act. 
Coordination will be maintained with the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency concerning compliance with Executive Order 12898, ``Federal 
Action to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and 
Low-Income Populations.'' Coordination will be maintained with the 
Advisory Counsel on Historic Preservation and the State Historic 
Preservation Officer. The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources 
will be consulted regarding consistency with the Coastal Zone

[[Page 10962]]

Management Act. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will 
be contacted concerning potential impacts to Natural and Scenic 
Streams.
    7. Availability of DPEIS. It is anticipated that the DPEIS will be 
available for public review May 2007. A 45-day review period will be 
provided so that all interested agencies, groups and individuals will 
have an opportunity to comment on the DPEIS. In addition, public 
meetings will be held during the review period to receive comments and 
address questions concerning the DPEIS.

    Dated: February 21, 2006.
Richard P. Wagenaar,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. E6-3050 Filed 3-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-84-P