[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 62 (Thursday, April 2, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14965-14966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7380]


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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Nourishment of 25,000 Feet of Beach in Topsail 
Beach, Pender County, NC

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Wilmington District, 
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received a request for 
Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from the 
Town of Topsail Beach to conduct a one-time interim beach fill project 
to protect oceanfront development and infrastructure until such time 
that a Federally authorized shore protection project can be 
implemented. The Corps has prepared a Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement (FSEIS) in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA). This FSEIS was developed as a supplement to the West 
Onslow Beach and New River Inlet (Topsail Beach), NC, General 
Reevaluation Report (GRR) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
(USACE, 2008) prepared by the Wilmington District Corps of Engineers 
(USACE or the Corps) to evaluate resources and environmental 
considerations involved with the proposed Federal Beach nourishment 
project. The purpose of this supplement is to fully evaluate the 
potential impacts of the private action proposed as an addition to the 
Federal Project and to evaluate alternatives to the proposed action. 
The private action is proposed to respond to current, substantial 
erosion occurring along the oceanfront shoreline of the Town of Topsail 
Beach, NC. While Federal budget priorities have made it difficult to 
obtain funds for civil works projects in general and beach protection 
projects in particular, the projected earliest construction date for 
the Federal project is 2012. State and agency review and comment on 
Final GRR and EIS were completed in summer 2008. The Recommended Plan 
outlined in the Final GRR and EIS includes use of all the identified 
borrow sites over the next 50 years pending further investigations 
during the development of detailed plans and specifications. Given the 
current status of the GRR-EIS and the need for Congressional 
authorization, funding, preparation of plans and specifications, and 
right-of-way acquisition, the Federal project may not be implemented 
until Fiscal Year 2012, or possibly later. Accordingly, the Town of 
Topsail Beach would like to construct an interim beach fill project to 
protect its development and infrastructure during the period between 
now and the time the Federal project is constructed. In order to 
account for any possible delays in the construction of the Federal 
project, a construction date of 2016 was used in the development of the 
alternatives and economic analysis for the interim project. This would 
maintain the baseline conditions described in the Final GRR and FSEIS.

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding the FSEIS may be 
addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 
Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number SAW-2006-40848-071, Post Office 
Box 1890, Wilmington, NC 28402-1890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and FSEIS can be directed to Mr. Dave Timpy, Wilmington Regulatory 
Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4634.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project Description. The proposed project 
would be constructed as a one-time nourishment event that would protect 
oceanfront homes and the Town's infrastructures until the Federal 
project (West Onslow Beach and New River Inlet [Topsail Beach]) is 
constructed. The Applicant's Preferred Alternative is to place fill 
material within the oceanfront section of the Town located between 
Godwin Avenue on the south to a point 610 m (2,000 ft) northeast of 
Topsail Beach/Surf City town limits, southeast along a total ocean 
shoreline length of approximately 7.6 km (~ 4.7 mi). The proposed fill 
design consists of three sections: A 305 m (1,000 ft) transition on the 
south starting at a point opposite Godwin Avenue; a 6,700 m (22,000 ft) 
main fill section that extends to the Topsail Beach/Surf City town 
limits; and a 610 m (2,000 ft) northern transitional taper to the point 
of intersection with the existing beach. The main fill would consist of 
a horizontal berm constructed to an elevation of +1.8 m (6 ft) NAVD 
(+2.1m [7 ft] NGVD). The in-place volume of the beach fill could range 
from 800,000 cy to 975,000 cy. The applicant's preferred borrow area, 
Borrow Area X, is located offshore of New Topsail Inlet, an area which 
is not available for the construction of the Federal project due to its 
location within an area designated by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act 
(CBRA), more commonly known as a CBRA zone. Borrow Area X is also 
located landward of the 3-mile State territorial limit and would not 
require permits from the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS).
    The proposed construction for the one-time beach fill is scheduled 
to occur within the environmental dredging window of November 16, 2009 
through March 31, 2010.
    Borrow Area X has been modified throughout the Project Delivery 
Team (PDT) process in an effort to avoid and minimize potential impacts 
to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) (Figure 1). The original footprint of 
Borrow Area X including all five cuts was 151 acres. In

[[Page 14966]]

response to concerns of the resource agencies the applicant modified 
Borrow Area X to relocate the landward edge of the borrow area further 
seaward to minimize any potential modification to the ebb tidal delta 
of New Topsail Inlet and the adjacent oceanfront and estuarine 
shorelines. The modified impact area within Borrow Area X was reduced 
to 127 acres, and minimized the proposed EFH impacts by 24 acres.
    A summary of the modifications to Borrow Area X include: (1) The 
landward cuts (cuts one (1) and two (2)) have been eliminated, (2) the 
landward edge of cut three (3) has been moved 100 feet seaward in order 
to further avoid and minimize potential impacts to the ebb-tidal delta, 
and (3) cut six (6) has been added seaward of cut three (3) to account 
for the loss of volume. Cut six contains 126,950 cy of beach compatible 
sand which would result in a net loss of 42,566 cy from Borrow Area X. 
The total volume of material in Borrow Area X once modifications are 
taken into account totals 1,583,236 cy. However, the volume needed to 
maintain the design beach fill totals 1,286,000 cy.
    Geotechnical Investigations. The offshore sand search 
investigations included bathymetric surveys, sidescan sonar surveys, 
seismic surveys, cultural resource surveys, vibracore collection and 
analysis, and ground-truth diver surveys to verify existence or non-
existence of hard bottoms. The results of the offshore investigations 
coupled with the compatibility of the sand resource area, native beach 
sand, and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) were used to define the selected 
borrow area. The applicants preferred borrow area, Borrow Area X, was 
further modified to reflect resource agency comments. All sediment 
compatibility assessments were based on State of North Carolina 
sediment compatibility standards that went into effect in February 
2007.
    Beach Fill Surveys & Design. Typical cross-sections of the beach 
along the Topsail Beach project area was surveyed. Nearshore profiles 
will extend seaward to at least the 30-foot NAVD depth contour. The 
total volume of beach fill to be placed in front of the existing 
development and infrastructure will be based on an evaluation of 
erosion of the project area from 2002 through the expected construction 
date of the Federal project. Additional offshore and inshore data for 
Lea/Hutaff Island were also obtained along the northern 5,000 feet of 
the island. This data was used in the evaluation of possible impacts 
associated with the removal of sediment from the selected offshore 
borrow area and for future impact evaluations following project 
implementation through the use of numerical modeling.
    ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE COORDINATION & PERMITTING. The USACE 
prepared a General Reevaluation Report--Environmental Impact Statement 
(GRR-EIS) for the larger Federal shore protection project (June 2006). 
The Final GRR and EIS were released for public and agency review and 
comment in the summer of 2008. The interim beach fill project will be 
subject to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act and the North Carolina's State Environmental Policy Act 
(SEPA).
    Preliminary coordination with the USACE--Wilmington District 
resulted in a determination that a Department of the Army Individual 
Permit will be needed for project compliance with Sections 10 and 404. 
Similarly, coordination with the North Carolina Division of Coastal 
Management (NCDCM) determined that the project would require evaluation 
through SEPA. A Major Permit under the Coastal Area Management Act was 
issued by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management on February 
27, 2009.
    2. Issues of particular concern. There are several potential 
environmental issues that are addressed in the FSEIS. Additional issues 
may be identified during the public review process. Issues initially 
identified as potentially significant include:
    a. Potential impact to marine biological resources (benthic 
organisms, passageway for fish and other marine life) and Essential 
Fish Habitat (EFH), particularly hardbottoms.
    b. Potential impact to Federally threatened and endangered marine 
mammals, birds, fish, and plants.
    c. Potential impacts to water quality.
    d. Potential increase in erosion rates to adjacent beaches.
    e. Potential impacts to navigation, commercial and recreational.
    f. Potential impacts to private and public property.
    g. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
    h. Potential impacts to recreational and commercial fishing.
    i. The compatibility of the material for nourishment.
    j. Potential economic impacts.
    4. Alternatives. Several alternatives were considered for the 
proposed project. These alternatives were further formulated and 
developed during the scoping process and an appropriate range of 
alternatives, including the No Action and Non Structural alternative, 
are considered in the Final Supplemental EIS.
    5. Scoping Process. Project Delivery Team meetings were held to 
receive comments and assess concerns regarding the appropriate scope 
and preparation of the FSEIS. Federal, State, and local agencies and 
other interested organizations and persons participated in these 
Project Delivery Team meetings.
    The COE also consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination 
Act, and with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and Endangered Species Act. The FSEIS has been revised in 
accordance with the comments submitted by these agencies. Additionally, 
the FSEIS has assessed the potential water quality impacts pursuant to 
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, and is being coordinated with NCDCM 
to determine the projects consistency with the Coastal Zone Management 
Act.
    6. Availability of the Final Supplemental EIS (FSEIS). The FSEIS 
has been published and circulated, and is available for review at the 
office of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, Regulatory 
Division Office located at 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, North 
Carolina.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-7380 Filed 4-1-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P