[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 235 (Friday, December 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 74150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28826]



[[Page 74150]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact 
Statement for Commercial Dredging of Construction Aggregate From the 
Missouri River in Missouri and Kansas

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) is preparing an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the direct, indirect, 
and cumulative effects of continued commercial dredging of sand and 
gravel from the Missouri River in Missouri and Kansas. The proposed 
dredging will occur in a navigable waterway and the portion of dredged 
material that is too coarse or too fine to be used will be discharged 
back into the river, thereby requiring Department of the Army (DA) 
authorization under Section 10 of the River and Harbors Act and Section 
404 of the Clean Water Act. Commercial dredging in the Missouri River 
has been ongoing for more than 50 years but has increased from 
approximately 1.3 million tons per year in 1974 to approximately 8 
million tons in 2006. The current DA permits for six Missouri River 
commercial dredging operations will expire December 31, 2009 and those 
six operations and four proposed operations have applied for new DA 
permits to dredge up to 12.435 million tons per year beginning in 2010.

DATES: Scoping meetings will be held:
    1. January 6, 2009, 4 to 8 p.m., Jefferson City, Missouri.
    2. January 7, 2009, 4 to 8 p.m., Cottleville, Missouri (St. Louis 
area).
    3. January 8, 2009, 4 to 8 p.m., Kansas City, Missouri.

ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting locations are:
    1. January 6, 2009 in the Art Gallery at the Missouri River 
Regional Library, 214 Adams Street, Jefferson City, Missouri.
    2. January 7, 2009 in the auditorium at the St. Charles Community 
College, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, Cottleville, Missouri.
    3. January 8, 2009 in the Lobby Courtyard at the KCI-Expo Center, 
11730 N. Ambassador Dr., Kansas City, Missouri.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions and comments regarding the 
proposed action and EIS should be addressed to Mr. Cody S. Wheeler, 
Regulatory Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 601 East 12th 
Street, Room 706, Kansas City, MO 64106; (816) 389-3739; 
[email protected]. For special needs (visual or hearing 
impaired, Spanish translation, etc.) requests during the scoping 
meetings, please call Cody Wheeler by December 22, 2008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The COE will be conducting public scoping 
meetings at three locations (see DATES and ADDRESSES) to describe the 
proposed activity, preliminary alternatives, the NEPA compliance 
process, and to solicit input on the issues and alternatives to be 
evaluated and other related matters. Written comments for scoping will 
be accepted until February 10, 2009. The COE has prepared a scoping 
announcement to familiarize agencies, the public and interested 
organizations with the proposed Project and potential environmental 
issues that may be involved. The scoping announcement includes a list 
of the dredgers' requested annual extraction tonnage and the requested 
dredging reaches. Copies of the scoping announcement will be available 
at the public scoping meetings or can be requested by mail.
    The applicants include the following currently authorized dredgers: 
Holliday Sand and Gravel Company (St. Joseph and Kansas City, 
Missouri); Con-Agg of MO, LLC (Columbia, Missouri); Capital Sand 
Company, Inc. (Jefferson City, Missouri); Hermann Sand & Gravel, Inc. 
(Hermann, Missouri); J.T.R. Inc (Jotori Dredging, St. Louis, Missouri); 
and Limited Leasing Company (formerly St. Charles Sand Company, St. 
Louis, Missouri). Applicants not currently authorized to dredge include 
The Master's Dredging Company, Inc. (Kansas City, Missouri); Kaw Valley 
Sand and Gravel, Inc. (Kansas City, Missouri); Muenks Brothers 
Quarries, Inc. (Loose Creek, Missouri); and Edward N. Rau Contractor 
Company (Washington, Missouri). The final EIS will also apply to future 
applications for similar dredging operations on the Missouri River in 
Missouri and Kansas.
    The COE has documented significant degradation or down-cutting of 
the river bed in areas where dredging has been concentrated. Bed 
degradation may disable water intake structures, initiate tributary 
head cuts, promote bank and levee instability, undermine pipelines and 
bridge piers, increase encroachment of the high bank, eliminate aquatic 
habitat and create navigation hazards. Some of these effects have 
already been observed in some areas. Reaches that are not obviously 
affected may have structures vulnerable to failure during floods or 
other catastrophic events.
    The EIS will be prepared according to the COE's procedures for 
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as 
amended, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c), and consistent with the COE's policy to 
facilitate public understanding and review of agency proposals. As part 
of the EIS process, a full range of reasonable alternatives including 
the proposed dredging and no dredging will be evaluated.
    The COE has invited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geologic Survey, the Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Department of 
Conservation, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the 
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Kansas Geologic Survey 
to be contributing agencies in the formulation of the EIS.

    Dated: November 26, 2008.
Cody S. Wheeler,
Regulatory Project Manager, Regulatory Branch.
[FR Doc. E8-28826 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P