[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 218 (Friday, November 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58616-58617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27262]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Proposed Construction of Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir in Fannin 
County, TX

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District (USACE) has 
received an application for a Department of the Army Permit under 
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) from the North Texas Municipal 
Water District (NTMWD) to construct Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir. 
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the USACE has determined that issuance of 
such a permit may have a significant impact on the quality of the human 
environment and, therefore, requires the preparation of an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
    The USACE intends to prepare an EIS to assess the direct, indirect, 
and cumulative environmental, social, and economic effects of issuance 
of a Department of the Army permit under Section 404 of the CWA for 
discharges of dredged and fill material into waters of the United 
States (U.S.) associated with the construction of the proposed water 
supply reservoir. In the EIS, the USACE will assess potential impacts 
associated with a range of alternatives. The preparation of an EIS 
begins with a scoping process to determine the issues to be addressed 
in the EIS.
    The NTMWD provides wholesale treated water supply, wastewater 
treatment, and regional solid waste services to 45 member cities and 
customers in a service area covering all or parts of Collin, Dallas, 
Denton, Fannin, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, and Rockwall Counties in north 
central Texas. The Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir, if constructed, 
would be a non-federal project constructed, owned and operated by 
NTMWD.

DATES: A Public Scoping Meeting will be held December 8, 2009, from 3 
p.m. to 8 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The Public Scoping Meeting location is Fannin County Multi-
Purpose Complex, 700 FM 87, Bonham, Texas 75418, approximately 1.5 
miles west of Bonham off Highway 56.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or questions 
about the proposed action and EIS, please contact Mr. Andrew R. Commer, 
Supervisory Regulatory Project Manager, by letter at Regulatory Office, 
CESWT-RO, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1645 South 101st East Avenue, 
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128-4609; by telephone at 918-669-7400; by electronic 
mail [email protected]. For special needs (visual or hearing 
impaired, Spanish translator, etc.) requests during scoping meetings, 
please contact Andrew Commer by November 24, 2009.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Description of Proposed Project: The proposed reservoir dam 
would be located in Bois d'Arc Creek, in the Red River watershed, 
approximately 15 miles northeast of the town of Bonham,

[[Page 58617]]

between Farm-to-Market (FM) Road 1396 and FM Road 409, in Fannin 
County, TX. The proposed project site consists of 17,068 acres. 
Approximately 38 percent of the project site is cropland, 37 percent is 
bottomland hardwoods and riparian woodlands. The remaining 25 percent 
is mostly upland deciduous forest.
    The purpose of the proposed project is to impound the waters of 
Bois d'Arc Creek and its tributaries to create a new 16,641 acre water 
supply reservoir for NTMWD. Approximately 427 acres would be required 
for the construction of the dam and spillways. NTMWD has requested the 
right to impound up to 367,609 acre-feet of water, to produce an 
estimated firm yield of 126,200 acre-feet of water per year. State 
population projections show the NTMWD service population to increase 
from 1.6 million to 3.3 million by 2060. The Lower Bois d'Arc Creek 
Reservoir would provide a new water supply to help meet this increasing 
demand.
    Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Dam would be about 10,400 feet in 
length and would have a maximum height of about 90 feet. The design top 
elevation of the embankment would be 553.5' msl with a conservation 
pool elevation of 534.0' msl controlled by a service spillway at 
elevation 534.0' msl with a crest length of 150 feet. The service 
spillway would be located at the right (east) abutment of the dam. 
Required low-flow releases would be made through a 36-inch diameter 
low-flow outlet. An emergency spillway would also be located in the 
right abutment of the dam. The emergency spillway would be a 1,400-foot 
wide uncontrolled broad crested weir structure with a crest elevation 
of 541' msl. This elevation was selected to contain the 100-year storm 
such that no flow passes through the emergency spillway during this 
event.
    Raw water from the reservoir would be transported by 29 miles of 
90-inch pipeline to a proposed water treatment plant near the City of 
Leonard in southwest Fannin County. To allow the NTMWD the ability to 
treat water from Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir at its existing 
facilities in Wylie, TX, 14 miles of 66-inch pipeline would also extend 
from the water treatment plant to an outfall on Pilot Grove Creek, a 
tributary of the East Fork of the Trinity River, to deliver raw water 
to Lake Lavon, in the Trinity River basin.
    Construction of the dam and impoundment of the water within the 
normal pool elevation of 534' msl would result in direct fill impact or 
inundation of approximately 120 acres of perennial streams, 99 acres of 
intermittent streams, 87 acres of open water, 4,602 acres of forested 
wetlands, 1,223 acres of herbaceous wetlands, and 49 acres of shrub 
wetlands.
    2. Alternatives: Alternatives available to the USACE are to: (1) 
Issue the Department of the Army permit; (2) issue the Department of 
the Army permit with special conditions; or (3) deny the Department of 
the Army permit. Alternatives available to NTMWD include: (1) Construct 
Lower Bios d'Arc Creek Reservoir as proposed; (2) construct Lower Bois 
d'Arc Creek Reservoir as proposed by NTMWD, with modifications; (3) 
developing or acquiring other water supply sources; or (4) no action. 
As part of the EIS process, a full range of reasonable alternatives, 
including the applicant's preferred alternative, will be evaluated.
    3. Scoping and Public Involvement: A public notice for the Section 
404 CWA permit application was issued on the proposal on October 14, 
2008 soliciting comments from federal, state, and local agencies and 
officials, interested individuals and the general public. The 30-day 
comment period was extended by 30 days until December 12, 2008 to 
afford ample opportunity for public and agency comment on this project. 
A public Scoping Meeting will be held regarding the proposed action to 
seek public comments on the proposed project and its potential effects 
to the human environment (See DATES AND ADDRESSES). The USACE will be 
conducting the public scoping meeting to describe the project, 
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 January 9, 
2010.
    4. Significant Issues: Issues to be given analysis in the EIS are 
likely to include, but will not be limited to: The effects of the lake 
on the immediate and adjacent property owners, nearby communities, 
downstream hydraulics and hydrology, wetlands, surface water quality 
and quantity, groundwater quality and quantity, geological resources, 
vegetation, fish and wildlife, federally-listed threatened and 
endangered species, soils, prime farmland, noise, light, aesthetics, 
historic and pre-historic cultural resources, socioeconomics, land use, 
public lands, public roads, air quality, and the effects of 
construction of related facilities.
    5. Cooperating Agencies: The USACE has invited the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. 
Forest Service, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Parks 
and Wildlife Department, Texas Historical Commission, and Texas Water 
Development Board to be Cooperating Agencies (CA) in the formulation of 
the EIS. No decisions have been made on CA status at this time. 
Regardless of final CA status decisions, these agencies, as well as 
other federal, tribal, state, and local governmental entities are 
expected to be involved in the review and comment of the Draft EIS.
    6. Additional Review and Consultation: Compliance with other 
Federal and State requirements that will be addressed in the EIS 
include, but are not limited to, state water quality certification 
under Section 401 of the CWA, protection of water quality under the 
Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, protection of air quality 
under the Texas Air Quality Act, protection of endangered and 
threatened species under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and 
protection of cultural resources under Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act.
    7. Availability of Draft EIS: The Draft EIS is projected to be 
available by September 2010. There will be a public comment cycle (a 
public meeting(s) and opportunity for public hearing) following the 
release of the Draft EIS.

David A. Manning,
Chief, Regulatory Office.
[FR Doc. E9-27262 Filed 11-12-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P