[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14613-14614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5644]


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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION, UNITED STATES AND MEXICO


Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact for Improvements to the Mission and 
Common Levee Systems, in the Lower Rio Grande Flood Control Project, 
Located in Hidalgo County, TX

AGENCY: United States Section, International Boundary and Water 
Commission (USIBWC), United States and Mexico.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment (EA) 
and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality Final 
Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508); and the United States 
Section's Operational Procedures for Implementing Section 102 of NEPA, 
published in the Federal Register September 2, 1981, (46 FR 44083); the 
United States Section hereby gives notice that the Final Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Improvements to the 
Mission and Common Levee Systems, in the Lower Rio Grande Flood Control 
Project, located in Hidalgo County, Texas are available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gilbert G. Anaya, Supervisory 
Environmental Protection Specialist; Environmental Management Division; 
United States Section, International Boundary and Water Commission; 
4171 N. Mesa, C-100; El Paso, Texas 79902. Telephone: (915) 832-4702, 
e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The USIBWC is considering raising the 12.0-mile Mission Levee 
System and the 5.3-mile Common Levee System to meet current flood 
control requirements. The proposed action would increase the height of 
the levee up to 8 feet depending on location. The height increase would 
also result in expansion of the levee footprint by lateral extension of 
the structure. Levee footprint increases for both the Mission and 
Common Levee systems would occur within the USIBWC right-of-way and 
extend primarily toward the riverside of the existing levee. Along 
sections of the Mission Levee System, structural improvements such as 
slurry walls may be required in segments with

[[Page 14614]]

seepage potential. In an approximate 1-mile reach, a mechanically 
stabilized earth structure would be built along the existing levee 
crown to avoid footprint extension beyond the existing right-of-way 
easements. A number of natural resources management areas are located 
near or adjacent to the levee system, including units of the Lower Rio 
Grande Valley Wildlife Refuge System and the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley 
State Park.
    The Environmental Assessment assesses potential environmental 
impacts of the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. Potential 
impacts on natural, cultural, and other resources were evaluated and 
mitigation measures were incorporated into the Proposed Action. A 
Finding of No Significant Impact was issued for the Proposed Action 
based on a review of the facts and analyses contained in the 
Environmental Assessment.
    The USIBWC is authorized to construct, operate, and maintain any 
project or works projected by the United States of America on the Lower 
Rio Grande Flood Control Project (LRGFCP) as authorized by the Act of 
the 74th Congress, Sess. I Ch. 561 (H.R. 6453), approved August 19, 
1935 (49 Stat. 660), and codified at 22 U.S.C. Section 277, 277a, 277b, 
277c, and Acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto. The LRGFCP 
was constructed to protect urban, suburban, and highly developed 
irrigated farmland along the Rio Grande delta in the United States and 
Mexico.
    The USIBWC, in cooperation with the TPWD, prepared this Final 
Environmental Assessment for the proposed action of raising the Mission 
and Common Levee Systems located in Hidalgo County, Texas to improve 
flood control. These two adjacent levee systems are part of the LRGFCP 
that extends approximately 180 miles from the Town of Pe[ntilde]itas in 
south Texas to the Gulf of Mexico. The Mission Levee extends 
approximately 12 miles along the Rio Grande, downstream from the Town 
of Pe[ntilde]itas. The Common Levee System, approximately 5.3 miles 
long, consists of the Common Levee and Anzalduas Dike, which connects 
the Common Levee to Anzalduas Dam.

Availability

    Electronic copies of the Final EA and FONSI are available from the 
USIBWC Home Page at http://www.ibwc.state.gov.

    Dated: March 16, 2007.
Susan Daniel,
General Counsel.
 [FR Doc. E7-5644 Filed 3-27-07; 8:45 am]
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