[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19054-19055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7315]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the
Proposed University of California Merced and University Community
Project, Corps Permit Application Number 199900203
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The University of California, Merced (University) and
University Community Land Company (UCLC) LLC have submitted an
application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) under the Clean
Water Act Section 404 and River and Harbor Act Section 10 for a
proposal to construct an approximately 810-acre campus and an
associated University Community in Merced County. The Proposed Action
is located in eastern Merced County, east of Lake Road and Yosemite
Lake, approximately 2 miles northeast of the City of Merced,
California.
The Proposed Action consists of three major components: the 810-
acre Campus; the 870-acre Community North; and the 1,245-acre Community
South. The University controls the land that comprises the campus.
University Community Land Company, LLC (UCLC), a not-for-profit
corporation, owns the land that comprises Community North. LWH Farms,
LLC
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owns the land that comprises Community South. The University is
currently preparing an amendment to its Long Range Development Plan to
guide the development of the proposed campus. The proposed campus and
Community North would consist of the following five districts: Academic
Core; Gateway District; Student Neighborhoods; University Community
Town Center; and University Community Neighborhoods. Community South
would be developed in accordance with the previously adopted University
Community Plan, which designates the Community South area for Multiple
Use Urban Development and agricultural uses.
The Campus and the northern portion of the University Community
would affect 76.6 acres of the waters of the United States, including
vernal pools and other wetlands. The primary federal involvement is the
fill materials within waters of the United States, work and structures
in affecting navigable waters of the United States, and potential
impacts on the human environment from such activities.
DATES: The Corps and the University will jointly conduct a public
scoping meeting that will be held on Wednesday April 23, 2008.
ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting will be held in the California Room at
UC Merced, located at 5200 N. Lake Road, Merced, CA 95340.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nancy Haley, (916) 557-7731, e-
mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested parties are invited to submit
written comments on the permit application on or before April 28, 2008.
Scoping comments should be submitted within the next 60 days, but may
be submitted at any time prior to publication of the Draft EIS. To
submit comments on this notice or for questions about the proposed
action and the Draft EIS, please contact Nancy Haley, 1325 J Street
(Room 1480), Sacramento, CA 95814-2922. Parties interested in being
added to the Corps' electronic mail notification list for the
University can register at: http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/regulatory/register.html. Please refer to Identification Number 200601050 in any
correspondence.
The University and UCLC have submitted an application for a
Department of the Army permit. Because the campus and Community North
are immediately adjacent to each other, the land use planning of these
two areas is closely integrated and the actions are connected. The
overall purpose of the Proposed Action is to establish a major research
university in Merced County that would ultimately support 25,000 full-
time equivalent students with an associated community needed to support
the university. Projections by the California Department of Finance and
the University indicated that a new campus is needed to accommodate
near-term enrollment demand and an enrollment of 25,000 students in the
long term. An adjacent community is needed to support the university by
providing housing and other amenities.
To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
Corps is requiring the preparation of an EIS prior to rendering a final
decision on the University and UCLC's permit application. The Corps may
ultimately make a determination to permit or deny the Proposed Action
or permit or deny modified versions of the Proposed Action. The EIS
will also provide the technical basis for the Corps to use in its
preparation of its 404(b)(1) Guidelines compliance document as part of
the Record of Decision (ROD). To comply with the requirements of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the University will
prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the UC Merced and
University Community project. The Corps and the University have agreed
to jointly prepare an EIS/EIR for the Proposed Action in order to
optimize efficiency and avoid duplication.
The EIS/EIR will include alternatives to the Proposed Action that
will meet both NEPA and CEQA requirements. The alternatives will also
meet the requirements of CWA Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. At this time
it is expected that the joint EIS/EIR will evaluate the following
alternatives: (1) No Action Alternative; (2) Proposed Action; (3)
Yosemite Avenue Alternative (formerly referred to as Alternative 20);
(4) Downtown Merced Alternative; (5) Bellevue Ranch Alternative
(formerly referred to as Off-Site Alternative 2); (6) Previously
Proposed Campus and Community; and (7) No Build Alternative.
The Corps' public involvement program includes several
opportunities to provide oral and written comments. Affected federal,
state, local agencies, Indian tribes, and other interested private
organizations and parties are invited to participate. The EIS/EIR will
address several potential environmental issues including: Impacts to
waters of the United States, including vernal pools and other wetlands;
aesthetics, agricultural resources; air quality, cultural resources;
geology and soils; hazards and hazardous materials; hydrology and water
quality; land use and planning; noise and vibration; navigation; public
health and safety; public services and utilities; recreation;
socioeconomics; traffic and transportation. Additional issues may be
identified during the scoping process.
The Corps has initiated formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act for
federally threatened and endangered species that may be affected by the
Proposed Action. In addition, the Corps will consult with the State
Historic Preservation Officer under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act regarding potential impacts to sites listed,
or eligible for listing, on the National Register for Historic Places.
The joint lead agencies expect the Draft EIS/EIR to be made
available to the public in August, 2008. A public hearing will be held
during the public comment period for the Draft EIS/EIR.
Dated: March 27, 2008.
James A. Porter,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Deputy District Enginee.
[FR Doc. E8-7315 Filed 4-7-08; 8:45 am]
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