[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 44 (Monday, March 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10038-10039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4931]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft and Final Second Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement for Reach 1A on the Herbert Hoover Dike 
Major Rehabilitation Project, Martin and Palm Beach Counties

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The purpose of the project is to reconstruct and rehabilitate 
Reach 1A of the Herbert Hoover Dike to prevent catastrophic failure of 
the system to retain the waters of Lake Okeechobee. On July 8 2005, the 
Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued a 
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for the Major 
Rehabilitation actions proposed for Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD), Reach 
One. Herbert Hoover Dike is the levee that completely surrounds Lake 
Okeechobee. On September 23, 2005, a Record of Decision was signed 
adopting the preferred alternative as the Selected Plan for Reach One.
    As plans and specifications were developed for Reach 1, it became 
apparent that the cut-off wall with seepage berm alternative would not 
work for all of Reach 1. The alternative for Reach 1A will be a 
combination of one or more of the following features dependent on the 
geology and adjacent land factors with the cut-off wall: Seepage Berm, 
Relief Trench, Soil Replacement Wedge, Relief Wells, Drainage Feature 
and Sand Columns. Reach 1A of the HHD extends for approximately 4.6 
miles within Martin and Palm Beach Counties, from the St. Lucie Canal 
at Port Mayaca, south to the 10A culvert. The final full design of the 
cutoff wall and landside rehabilitation feature will include lands 
outside of the existing ROW. Therefore it is necessary to update the 
July 2005 SEIS for Reach 1A to include these new landside 
rehabilitation features and any impacts to lands outside of the 
existing ROW. Two separate draft and final SEIS's will be developed for 
the four Subreaches: An SEIS for Subreach 1A will be completed first 
and a second SEIS for

[[Page 10039]]

Subreaches 1B, 1C, and 1D will be completed when designs (anticipated 
late 2009) are available. This study is a cooperative effort between 
the Corps and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Planning Division, 
Environmental Branch, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William Porter at (904) 232-3206 
or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: a. The proposed action will be the selected 
plan described in the July 2005 Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (SEIS) with the additional action of implementing the 
landside rehabilitation features as needed based on geology and 
adjacent land factors. The proposed action will not affect the 
Regulation Schedule for Lake Okeechobee. Land may have to be acquired 
outside of the existing right-of-way (ROW) and this SEIS will account 
for any impacts that result due to acquisition of additional real 
estate.
    b. Alternatives to be considered separately for each subdivision of 
Reach 1 are dependent upon the geology and adjacent land factors with 
the cut-off wall. Reach 1 is divided into Subreaches A, B, C and D. The 
alternatives to be implemented include one or more of the following 
features: Seepage Berm, Relief Trench, Soil Replacement Wedge, Relief 
Wells, Sand Column and Drainage Feature.
    c. A scoping letter will be used to invite comments on alternatives 
and issues from Federal, State, and local agencies, affected Indian 
tribes, and other interested private organizations and individuals. A 
scoping letter was sent in October 2007 in anticipation of writing a 
single EIS for Reach 1. An additional scoping letter will be sent out 
in March 2009 to address the change in the process of completing the 
Reach 1 Environmental Impact Statements. A scoping meeting is not 
anticipated.
    d. A public meeting will be held after release of each of the Draft 
Second Supplemental EIS's. The public meeting is anticipated to be held 
in late 2009 for Reach 1A in Clewiston, FL. The exact location, date, 
and times will be announced in a public notice and local newspapers.
    e. A Major Rehabilitation Evaluation Report (MRR) was approved by 
Congress in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2000 that 
addressed the need to repair the aging dike.

    Dated: February 23, 2009.
Eric P. Summa,
Chief, Environmental Branch.
 [FR Doc. E9-4931 Filed 3-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P