[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 14 (Friday, January 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4145-4146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1505]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Public Information Meeting for the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Proposed Dredging of the Norfolk Harbor 
Channel in Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), and the Council on Environmental Quality regulations 
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (Title 40 Code of 
Federal Regulations Parts 1500-1508), the Department of the Navy 
(Navy), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 
has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on January 8, 2008, to 
evaluate the environmental consequences of deepening approximately five 
miles of the Norfolk Harbor Federal Navigational Channel in the 
Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, separating Norfolk and 
Portsmouth, Virginia. Dredging will extend from the Lamberts Point 
Deperming Station in the Lamberts Bend Reach south to the Norfolk Naval 
Shipyard (NNSY) in the Lower Reach. A Notice of Intent for this EIS was 
published in the Federal Register on September 19, 2006, (71 FR 54803).
    The Navy will conduct a public information meeting to receive oral 
and written comments on the DEIS. Federal, state, and local agencies 
and interested individuals are invited to be present or represented at 
the public information meeting. This notice announces the date and 
location of the public information meeting for this DEIS.

Dates and Addresses: An open house public information meeting is 
scheduled for February 11, 2009, between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the 
Renaissance Hotel, 425 Water Street, Portsmouth, VA. Information 
posters will be on display, and representatives from the Navy will be 
available to explain the proposal, answer questions, and receive 
comments from the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John D. Conway, Project Manager, 
Naval Facilities Southeast, NAS Jacksonville, Building 135N, Ajax 
Street, Jacksonville, FL 32212-0030 or telephone: 904-542-6159.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Norfolk Harbor Channel is the Federal 
Navigation Channel within the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in 
Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, Virginia. This channel is the only 
means of nuclear-class aircraft carrier (CVN) access to the Lamberts 
Bend Deperming Station and NNSY. The current average depth of the 
Norfolk Harbor Channel from Lamberts Bend to the Lower Reach at NNSY is 
maintained by the USACE Norfolk District, varying in depth from 
approximately 40 to 43 feet below mean lower low water (-40 to -43 feet 
MLLW). The existing channel depths are not sufficient to allow safe, 
unrestricted access by CVNs to the Lamberts Bend Deperming Station and 
NNSY and to avoid incidents of fouling and clogging of the cooling 
systems of the CVNs.
    The proposed action would occur solely within the Norfolk Harbor 
Channel's existing limits and deepen the heavily used waterway at 
Lamberts Bend to -50 feet MLLW, plus three feet of overdredge for a new 
depth-in-channel of -53 feet MLLW. The remainder of the channel (Port 
Norfolk, Town Point, and Lower Reaches) would be deepened to -47 feet 
MLLW plus three feet of overdredge for a new depth-in-channel of -50 
feet MLLW. Overdredge depth is typically needed to ensure project 
depths and allow a margin of accuracy. The proposed action would bring 
the Norfolk Harbor Channel in compliance with Naval Sea Systems Command 
(NAVSEA) water depth requirements for homeports and entrance channels 
to shipyards, providing CVNs with continuous safe and uninterrupted 
access to the Lamberts Point Deperming Station and NNSY.
    The DEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of two 
action alternatives and the No Action Alternative. Alternative A (the 
preferred alternative) would implement the proposed dredge depths for 
aircraft carriers for homeports and entrance channels to shipyards. 
Alternative B would involve a combination of partial deepening of the 
Norfolk Harbor Channel and operational restrictions based on tidal 
activity. It would represent an improvement over the existing situation 
in that with partial deepening, there is less likelihood of sediment 
from the river bottom fouling ship systems. However, with only the 
partial deepening, the carrier movements would still need to wait for 
high tide conditions to provide the needed water depths below the keel 
of the carriers. Under both alternatives, dredged materials would meet 
USACE sediment quality thresholds for disposal at the Craney Island 
Dredged Materials Management Area (CIDMMA).
    Under the No Action Alternative, no deepening of the Norfolk Harbor 
Channel would occur. The channel would continue to be available at the 
existing controlling dimensions and access to the deperming station and 
NNSY would remain restricted for use by carriers.
    The DEIS addresses potential environmental impacts on multiple 
resources, including but not limited to: water resources, air quality, 
noise,

[[Page 4146]]

biological resources, cultural resources, traffic, socioeconomics and 
environmental justice, general services, utilities and infrastructure, 
and environmental health and safety. With the exception of noise and 
aesthetics, no significant impacts are identified for any resource 
area. Potentially significant noise impacts may occur at one receptor 
(Town Point Park), depending on the actual dredge equipment to be used. 
The Navy's policy is to comply with local noise ordinances to the 
maximum extent practicable, therefore mitigation or minimization 
measures may be implemented, if needed, at Town Point Park. There is 
also a potential for cumulative visual impacts from implementation of 
the proposed action due to the need for the USACE to increase the 
height of dikes surrounding the containment cells at the CIDMMA to 
maintain capacity.
    The DEIS was distributed to Federal, State, and local agencies, 
elected officials, and interested individuals and organizations. The 
public comment period will end on March 2, 2009. Copies of the DEIS are 
available for public review at the following libraries: Norfolk Main 
Library, 235 East Plume Street, Norfolk, VA; Portsmouth Main Library, 
601 Court Street, Portsmouth, VA; Churchland Branch Library, 3215 
Academy Avenue, Portsmouth, VA; and the South Norfolk Memorial Library 
(Chesapeake Public Library System), 1100 Poindexter Street, Chesapeake, 
VA. The DEIS is also available for electronic public viewing at http://www.NorfolkdredgingEIS.com. An electronic copy of the DEIS may be 
requested by contacting Caren Hendrickson, Naval Facilities Engineering 
Command, Mid-Atlantic, telephone: 757-444-1030.
    Federal, State, and local agencies, and interested parties are 
invited to be present or represented at the public information meeting 
on February 11, 2009. To ensure they become part of the official 
record, written comments may be submitted at the public information 
meeting or mailed (with a postmark on or before March 2, 2009) to: Mr. 
John Conway, EIS Project Manager, Naval Facilities Engineering Command 
Southeast, NAS Jacksonville, Building 135N, Ajax Street, Jacksonville, 
FL, 32212-0030. Public comments may also be submitted online during the 
public comment period at http://www.NorfolkdredgingEIS.com under the 
``Send Us Your Comments Link''. All comments will be addressed in the 
Final EIS.

    Dated: January 15, 2009.
A. M. Vallandingham,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
 [FR Doc. E9-1505 Filed 1-22-09; 8:45 am]
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