[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2013-2014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-367]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental 
Impact Statement for Modification of the Coos Bay Navigational Channel, 
Coos County, OR

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Portland District 
will be the lead agency for a combined Draft Feasibility Study/
Environmental Impact Statement (FS/EIS) for Coos Bay Channel 
Modifications in Coos County, Oregon. The FS/EIS is being prepared by 
the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay (Port) under the authority 
granted by section 203 of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 
1986.

DATES: All parties are invited to participate in the scoping process to 
determine the range of issues and alternatives to be addressed. A 
public scoping meeting will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2008, from 
4-8 p.m. at the City of North Bend Community Center, 222 Broadway 
Street, North Bend, OR 97459. In addition, written comments will also 
be accepted until February 15, 2008, at the address listed below or at 
the project Web site: http://www.CoosBayChannelEIS.com. The Corps 
expects the Draft FS/EIS to be made available to the public in March 
2009. A public hearing will be held during the public comment period 
for the Draft FS/EIS.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Programs and Project 
Management Division, Planning Branch, P.O. 2946, Portland, OR 97208-
2946.

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Eric Bluhm, who can be reached by 
telephone at (503) 808-4759, by fax at (503) 808-4736, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Project Site and Background Information. The project site is in 
Coos Bay, located on the central/south coast of Oregon. The Coos Bay 
Federal Navigation Project was originally authorized by the River and 
Harbor Act of March 1879. The Federal Navigation Project was last 
modified by the Corps in 1997, with a channel configuration of 
approximately 37 feet deep and 300 feet wide from the ocean inlet to a 
railroad bridge at River Mile (RM) 9.2, and continuing at 400 feet wide 
upstream to RM 15.0.
    2. Proposed Action. The proposed Federal actions are to modify the 
Coos Bay Navigational Channel from the entrance at the Pacific Ocean to 
the railroad bridge located at approximately river mile (RM) 9.2 and to 
provide ecosystem restoration in the vicinity of Coos Bay. The channel 
would be deepened and widened to accommodate large container vessels, 
and a vessel turning basin would be added for vessel maneuvering. 
Maintenance dredging of the channel and inlet, and possible 
modifications to the jetties would also be part of the Federal proposed 
action. Dredged material could be disposed at a variety of locations 
including ocean, nearshore, and at the shoreline.
    Other, non-Federal but inter-dependent and inter-related actions 
proposed by the Port include developing an inter-modal container 
terminal on the North Spit of Coos Bay and making improvements to the 
railway corridor from the North Spit to Eugene, Oregon to transport 
goods off-loaded from container vessels.
    3. Purpose of and Need for the Project. The purposes of the 
proposed Federal action are: (1) To respond to growing needs for 
capacity for large

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container vessels at ports on the West Coast of the U.S.; (2) to 
provide economic benefits to the national economy by accommodating 
large container vessels, thereby reducing costs of transporting goods 
among Pacific Rim countries and maintaining U.S. competitiveness in the 
global marketplace; (3) to improve security for international movement 
of goods by developing an additional facility for large container 
vessels in a new location on the U.S. West Coast; (4) to improve safety 
and efficiency of navigation in the Coos Bay Navigational Channel by 
providing a larger area for vessel handling and maneuvering; and (5) to 
have a net beneficial effect on the estuarine ecosystem in the vicinity 
of Coos Bay.
    The project is needed to accommodate large container vessels, which 
are used by Pacific Rim shippers transporting a wide variety of 
consumer goods as well as import production commodities for 
manufacturing firms, and U.S. produced goods for export. The volume of 
container traffic has increased significantly during the past ten 
years, and growth is expected to remain strong. Ocean carriers are 
responding to the growth opportunities by using larger and larger 
vessels. Currently, the average vessel calling at U.S. West Coast ports 
carries 6,500 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), but vessels capable of 
carrying 12,000 TEUs are becoming more common. The larger vessels can 
transport containers more efficiently and at lower costs than smaller 
vessels. For navigation safety, a navigational channel should be at 
least 10 percent deeper than the draft of the largest vessels that 
utilize the channel, as well as wide enough to allow safe vessel 
maneuvering. Existing Coos Bay port facilities are not accessible to 
many larger ships because of depth and width limitations in the 
navigational channel.
    In addition to deep-draft harbors, large container vessels require 
ports with terminals that are large enough to accommodate the 
containers once they are off-loaded, and that are connected to a 
railway system to move the containers on land. Currently, only five 
ports on the U.S. west coast (Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, 
California; and Tacoma and Seattle, Washington) can accommodate these 
large container vessels, and additional capacity is needed. Container 
vessel traffic will likely exceed the capacity of existing terminals by 
2015, if not sooner. In addition, should one of the existing deep-draft 
ports be significantly damaged (for example, by a natural disaster), it 
could have a major impact on the national economy. Coos Bay is 
geographically separated from the other deep-draft ports and, 
therefore, would be unlikely to be damaged by the same event affecting 
another major West Coast port.
    Past development and resource extraction within and near Coos Bay 
have negatively affected the local ecosystem. Impacts have included 
habitat degradation and loss, declines in fish and wildlife 
populations, spread of invasive species, and diminished water quality, 
among others. Ecosystem restoration is needed to offset the effects of 
the proposed channel modifications and development, as well as some of 
the effects of past actions.
    5. Alternatives. In addition to a no action alternative (no 
modifications to the Coos Bay Navigational Channel other than for 
maintenance) the FS/EIS will evaluate alternatives with channel depths 
at increments between the currently authorized 37-foot depth and a 
depth of 51 feet.
    6. Issues. Numerous potential environmental issues will be 
addressed in the FS/EIS, and additional issues may be identified during 
the scoping process. Issues initially identified include:
    (a) Impacts on biological resources, including species listed under 
Federal and State Endangered Species Acts and State sensitive species.
    (b) Geological issues, including dredging and stabilization of fill 
areas;
    (c) Impacts on water and sediment quality;
    (d) Land use and planning issues;
    (e) Impacts on traffic and transportation systems, including marine 
navigation, railroads, roads, and the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport 
at North Bend;
    (f) Social and economic impacts;
    (g) Potential noise impacts;
    (h) Impacts on air quality;
    (i) Impacts on public facilities and services;
    (j) Impacts on visual resources;
    (k) Public health and safety issues;
    (l) Impacts on recreation;
    (m) Cultural Resources; and
    (n) Cumulative effects.
    7. Coordination. The proposed action is being coordinated with the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 
and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. Consultation will also be 
done with NMFS under section 305(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
concerning Essential Fish Habitat, Marine Mammal Protection Act. 
Consultation will also be done with the State Historic Preservation 
Officer.
    8. Other Environmental Review and Consultation. The proposed action 
will involve evaluation for compliance with guidelines pursuant to 
section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act; application (to the State of 
Oregon) for Water Quality Certification pursuant to section 401 of the 
Clean Water Act; certification of state lands, easements, and rights of 
way; and determination of Coastal Zone Management Act consistency.

    Dated: December 21, 2007.
Thomas E. O'Donovan,
Col, En, Commanding.
[FR Doc. E8-367 Filed 1-10-08; 8:45 am]
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