[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59498-59499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-8562]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for the Nourishment of 7.25 Miles of Beach, the 
Repositioning of the New River Inlet Channel, and the Implementation of 
an Inlet Management Plan, in North Topsail Beach, Onslow County, NC

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, 
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received an amendment to the 
request for Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 
404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors 
Act, from the town of North Topsail Beach to nourish approximately 7.25 
miles of shoreline. The modification will include an additional 3.85 
miles of beachfront to protect residential homes and town 
infrastructures located along the south section of the Town limits. The 
proposed sources of material for the addition will be dredged from the 
same offshore borrow area as described in the original 7.25 mile plan. 
The placement of beach fill along the Town's southern shoreline would 
result in the initial widening of the beach 75 to 1590 feet seaward, 
depending on the final design volume and foreshore slopes that the fill 
assumes during construction.
    The 3.85 miles of shoreline are located at the southern end of 
North Topsail Beach. Unlike the original 7.25 miles of proposed 
nourishment, the additional section is outside the Coastal Barrier 
Resource System (CBRS) designation; therefore, it is not subject to the 
expenditure of Federal funding restrictions associated with the Coastal 
Barrier Resource Act of 1982 and the coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 
1990. This south section, or stretch, of shoreline is currently being 
considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a federal shoreline 
protection project. Due to delays to complete the federal plan 
formulation process, the North Topsail Beach Board of Alderman voted to 
include the 3.85 mile section in the non-federal 7.25 mile section that 
is currently under review pursuant to the Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) procedures. The decision to include the south section 
in the present EIS process is intended to act as interim or emergency 
beach fill by preserving existing development and infrastructure along 
the 3.85 miles of shoreline while the federal plan formulation 
continues.
    The original Notice of Intent was published on May 19, 2005 (70 FR 
28924) with a commenting deadline of June 21, 2005.

DATES: Written comments for this project amendment or modification must 
be provided by November 10, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding the inclusion of 
the additional 3.85 miles of nourishment may be addressed to: U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, Regulatory Division. Attn: 
File Number 2004-344-067, Post Office Box 1890, Wilmington, NC 28402-
1890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed amendment 
and DEIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory 
Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4811.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project Description. The formulation of 
the federal storm damage reduction project for the southern 3.85 miles 
of North Topsail Beach by the Corps of Engineers is based on the 
condition of the shoreline that existed in 2002. Corps of Engineers 
guidance for the design of the emergency beach fill in the South 
Section indicated that the volume of material should be based on: (1) 
Restoring the 2002 shoreline condition and (2) providing advanced 
nourishment sufficient to maintain the 2002 shoreline condition until 
the federal storm damage reduction project is implemented (estimated 
timeframe 6 to 8 years). The volume of material necessary to achieve 
the project objective will range between 500,000 and 1,000,000 cubic 
years. The material would be distributed along the 3.85 mile shoreline 
in the form of a horizontal beach berm at elevation +7.0 NGVD (National 
Geodetic Vertical Datum). The berm would begin near the seaward toe of 
the existing dune system and would extend 75 to 150 feet seaward 
depending on the final design volume and foreshore slopes that the fill 
assumes during construction.
    2. Proposed Action. The scope of activities for the proposed 
emergency beach fill project includes: (a) Additional vibracores in the 
borrow area, (b) side scan sonar surveys of the ocean bottom just 
offshore of the South Section, (c) in-water investigations of

[[Page 59499]]

potential near shore hard bottom resources identified by the side scan 
sonar survey, and (d) beach profile surveys. The boundaries of the 
borrow area will take into consideration the location and extent of 
hard bottom resources identified by side scan sonar and seismic surveys 
and in-water observations conducted in connection with the planning and 
design of the northern 7.25 mile beach nourishment project. A 
magnetometer survey will be conducted in the borrow area. Any 
historically significant archaeological artifacts located by the 
magnetometer surveys and verified through field investigations will be 
avoided. A final compatibility analysis of the material in the borrow 
area with the native beach material will be performed following the 
refinement of the boundaries of the borrow area.
    3. Issues. There are several potential environmental issues that 
will be addressed in the EIS. Issues initially identified as 
potentially significant include:
    a. Potential impact to marine biological resources (benthic 
organisms, passageway for fish and other marine life) and Essential 
fish Habitat, particularly Hard Bottoms.
    b. Potential impact to threatened and endangered marine mammals, 
birds, fish, and plants.
    c. Potential impacts to water quality.
    d. Potential increase in erosion rats to adjacent Onslow Beach.
    e. Potential effects on military training on U.S. Marine Corps Camp 
Lejeune Base.
    f. Potential impacts to Navigation, commercial and recreational.
    g. Potential impacts to the long-term management of New River 
Inlet.
    h. Potential impacts to private and public property.
    i. Cumulative impacts of Inlet and Inlet channel relocations 
throughout North Carolina.
    j. Cumulative impacts for using inlets as sand source in 
nourishment projects.
    k. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
    l. Potential impacts to recreational and commercial fishing.
    m. The compatibility of the material for nourishment.
    n. Potential economic impacts.
    4. Alternatives. Several alternatives, including various borrow 
areas, are being considered for the 11.1 miles of shoreline. These 
alternatives are being further formulated and developed during the 
scoping process and an appropriate range of alternatives, including the 
no federal action alternative, will be considered in the EIS.
    5. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting was held on June 7, 
2005, and Project Delivery Team (PDT) meetings are continuing on a 
periodic basis. The release of the Draft EIS is expected sometime in 
early 2007.
    The COE will also be consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act, and with the National Marine Fisheries Service under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act and Endangered Species Act. Additionally, the 
EIS will assess the potential water quality impacts pursuant to Section 
401 of the Clean Water Act, and will be coordinated with the North 
Carolina Division of Coastal Management (DCM) to determine the projects 
consistency with the Coastal Zone Management Act. The COE will closely 
work with DCM through the EIS to ensure the process complies with all 
State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requirements. It is the COE and 
DCM's intentions to consolidate both NEPA and SEPA processes to 
eliminate duplications.
    6. Availability of the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is expected to be 
published and circulated sometime in early 2007, and a public hearing 
will be held after the publication of the Draft EIS.

    Dated: October 6, 2006.
John E. Pulliam, Jr.,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. 06-8562 Filed 10-6-06; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 3710-GN-M