[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2072-2073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-690]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8762-2]


Request for Amendment of Designation Prohibiting Discharges of 
Dredged or Fill Material to the Bayou aux Carpes Clean Water Act 
Section 404(c) Site, Louisiana

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: In 1985, EPA prohibited the discharge of dredged or fill 
material to wetlands in the Bayou aux Carpes Swamp pursuant to Section 
404(c) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). On November 4, 2008, the New 
Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) requested 
that EPA modify that designation to accommodate discharges to the Bayou 
aux Carpes wetlands associated with post-Katrina upgrades to the West 
Bank and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Levee system in Jefferson 
Parish, Louisiana. EPA solicits written public comment on that request 
and will hold a public hearing for receipt of comments.
    Public Hearing: The public hearing will be held in the District 
Assembly Room at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District 
office, 7400 Leake Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118. The public hearing 
will commence at 6 p.m. on February 11, 2009, and will end when all 
comments have been received. During the hearing, any member of the 
public may submit written comments or present comments verbally.
    Public Comments: In addition to providing comments at the public 
hearing, written comments on the CWA Section 404(c) modification 
request may be submitted to EPA for 30 days following the date of this 
notice. Comments should be addressed to Ms. Barbara Keeler (6WQ-EC), 
EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202-2733. All comments 
should directly address whether the 1985 Bayou aux Carpes CWA Section 
404(c) EPA Final Determination should be modified as requested by the 
Corps.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding this matter, 
contact Ms. Barbara Keeler by phone at (214) 665-6698 or by e-mail at 
[email protected]. Copies of the modification request and 
supporting documentation are available online at: http://www.nolaenvironmental.gov/nola_public_data/projects/usace_levee/docs/original/ModificationLetterToEPA4Oct08.pdf. Additional project 
information may be found at: http://www.nolaenvironmental.gov/projects/usace_levee/IER.aspx?IERID=12.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bayou aux Carpes CWA Section 404(c) site 
is located approximately ten miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana, on 
the West Bank of Jefferson Parish. The site covers approximately 3200 
acres, including about 3000 acres of wetlands subject to federal 
jurisdiction under the CWA. The area is bounded on the north by the 
east-west Old Estelle Pumping Station Outfall Canal, on the east by 
Bayou Barataria (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway), on the south by Bayou 
Barataria and Bayou des Familles, and on the west by State Highway 3134 
and the ``V-Levee.'' Immediately across State Highway 3134 to the west 
of the site is the Barataria Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical 
Park and Preserve.
    Section 404(c) of the CWA authorizes EPA to restrict or prohibit 
the use of a wetland area as a disposal site for dredged or fill 
material if the discharge will have unacceptable adverse effects on 
municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas (including 
spawning and breeding areas), wildlife, or recreational areas. EPA 
published a CWA Section 404(c) Final Determination prohibiting, with 
three exceptions, future discharges of dredged or fill material to 
wetlands in the Bayou aux Carpes site at 50 FR 47267 (November 15, 
1985). Since then, the Agency has received two other requests for 
modification.
    In connection with initial construction of the West Bank Hurricane 
Protection Levee, the Corps requested that EPA modify its CWA Section 
404(c) designation to allow extension of the toe of the ``V-Levee''

[[Page 2073]]

into the protected Bayou aux Carpes area. The Corps stated that such a 
modification would result in significant cost savings to the government 
and would affect only a relatively small part of the area protected by 
the Section 404(c) designation. EPA summarily denied that request and 
in 1988 the Corps modified the levee alignment to avoid discharges to 
the Bayou aux Carpes CWA Section 404(c) area.
    In 1992, Shell Pipeline Corporation requested that EPA amend the 
designation to allow the discharge of dredged and fill material to 
wetlands in the Bayou aux Carpes CWA Section 404(c) area in connection 
with emergency reconstruction of a leaking pipeline. After notifying 
interested parties of the request via Federal Register publication and 
coordinating with the Corps and other agencies, EPA granted the 
request, publishing the decision at 57 FR 3757 (January 31, 1992). EPA 
concluded that relocating the pipeline to non-wetlands was infeasible 
from the perspectives of engineering and public safety, and that the 
work would have only minimal and temporary effects on the wetlands at 
issue.
    The request noticed today was submitted by the Corps and is 
associated with proposed improvements to the West Bank and Vicinity 
Hurricane Protection Levee system. By way of a letter dated November 8, 
2008, the Corps requested that the designation be modified to allow 
construction of an earthen berm and floodwall in an area disturbed by 
dredged material discharges predating the 1985 404(c) designation. The 
construction area is located along the west bank of the Gulf 
Intracoastal Waterway, or Bayou Barataria, from its junction with the 
Old Estelle Pumping Station Outfall Canal to a point at which the Corps 
proposes to construct a sector gate across the Waterway. As described 
in the modification request, the berm and floodwall would be 14 to 16 
feet high and would occupy an area no greater than 4,200 linear feet by 
100 linear feet. No more than ten acres of wetlands in the Bayou aux 
Carpes CWA Section 404(c) site would be affected and other design and 
construction features have been incorporated to minimize impacts to the 
wetlands.
    The Corps is currently gathering baseline data to evaluate 
potential wetland mitigation options and other project features to 
improve the existing hydrology of the Bayou aux Carpes site. The Corps 
has committed to constructing those features if the analyses indicate 
that they would be ecologically beneficial. Discharges of dredged or 
fill material associated with such construction would require no 
additional modification to the CWA Section 404(c) designation, which 
contains an exception for approved habitat enhancement projects.
    Additional information on the Corps project and its relationship to 
the Bayou aux Carpes site may be found in the alternative National 
Environmental Policy Act document, known as Individual Environmental 
Report 12 (IER 12), which is posted online at: http://www.nolaenvironmental.gov/projects/usace_levee/IER.aspx?IERID=12.
    The public hearing referenced above will be jointly conducted by 
EPA Region 6 and the Corps. At the hearing, EPA will receive comments 
on the Corps request to EPA to modify the Bayou aux Carpes CWA Section 
404(c) designation and the Corps will receive comments on IER 
12.
    After considering all comments submitted, EPA Region 6 will 
transmit to the EPA Office of Water in Washington, DC, a written 
recommendation on whether the CWA Section 404(c) modification request 
should be granted or denied. The Assistant Administrator for Water will 
make the final decision and publish a notice of its availability in the 
Federal Register.

    Dated: January 6, 2009.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. E9-690 Filed 1-13-09; 8:45 am]
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