[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 242 (Friday, December 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67180-67181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30120]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


The Release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) 
for the Proposed Construction of the Western Wake Regional Wastewater 
Management Facilities, Which Includes Regional Wastewater Pumping, 
Conveyance, Treatment, and Discharge Facilities To Serve the Towns of 
Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville, as Well as the Wake County 
Portion of Research Triangle Park (RTP South) in North Carolina

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, 
Regulatory Division has been reviewing the request for Department of 
the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act 
from the Town of Cary, acting as the lead applicant for the Western 
Wake Regional Wastewater Management Facilities Project Partners 
(Western Wake Partners), to construct Regional Wastewater Management 
Facility. The proposed project consists of regional wastewater pumping, 
conveyance, treatment, and discharge facilities to serve the Towns of 
Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville, as well as the Wake County 
portion of Research Triangle Park (RTP South), NC.
    The project is being proposed by the Western Wake Partners to 
provide wastewater service for planned growth and development in the 
project service area and to comply with two regulatory mandates. One 
regulatory mandate has been issued by the North Carolina Environmental 
Management Commission (EMC), and the second regulatory mandate has been 
issued by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural 
Resources (NC DENR).

DATES: Written comments on the Final EIS will be received until January 
19, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding the Final EIS may 
be addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 
Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number 2005-20159, 69 Darlington 
Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403. Copies of the Final EIS can be reviewed 
on the Wilmington District Regulatory homepage at, http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/wetlands/projects/ww-wtp, or contact Ms. Gwen 
Robinson, at (910) 251-4494, to receive written or CD copies of the 
Final EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and Final EIS can be directed to Mr. Henry Wicker, Project Manager, 
Regulatory Division, telephone: (910) 251-4930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Project Description. The proposed project consists of regional 
wastewater pumping, conveyance, treatment, and discharge facilities to 
serve the Towns of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville, as well 
as RTP South. The purpose of the project is to provide wastewater 
service for planned growth and development in the project service area 
and to comply with two regulatory mandates. One regulatory mandate has 
been issued by the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission 
(EMC), and the second regulatory mandate has been issued by the North 
Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR). 
Regulatory Mandate No. 1--Interbasin Transfer: The Towns of Apex, Cary, 
and Morrisville, as well as RTP South, obtain their drinking water from 
Jordan Lake in the Cape Fear River Basin and discharge treated effluent 
to locations in the Neuse River Basin. Obtaining water from one basin 
and discharging it to another river basin is referred to as an 
interbasin transfer (IBT), which requires a permit from the EMC. In 
July 2001, the EMC granted the Towns of Apex, Cary, and Morrisville, as 
well as Wake County (on behalf of RTP South), an IBT certificate to 
withdraw water from the Cape Fear River Basin and transfer the water to 
the Neuse River Basin. However, as a condition of approval, the IBT 
certificate issued by the EMC requires the local governments to return 
reclaimed water to the Cape Fear River Basin after 2010. As a result, 
the local governments have initiated activities to plan, permit, 
design, and construct wastewater transmission, treatment, and disposal 
facilities in order to comply with the terms and conditions of the IBT 
certificate issued by the EMC. The facilities that are described and 
evaluated in the environmental impact statement (FEIS) are needed to 
comply with the IBT certificate terms and conditions.

[[Page 67181]]

    Regulatory Mandate No. 2--Nutrient Enrichment for Harris Lake: The 
Town of Holly Springs currently has a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) 
that discharges to Utley Creek, which is a tributary to Harris Lake in 
the Cape Fear River Basin. Representatives from NCDENR have directed 
the Town of Holly Springs to remove the Town's wastewater discharge 
from Utley Creek due to nutrient enrichment issues in Utley Creek and 
downstream in Harris Lake. In addition, NCDENR has encouraged Holly 
Springs to participate with Apex, Cary and Morrisville on a regional 
wastewater management program that will allow Holly Springs to remove 
the Town's discharge from Utley Creek after 2010. Thus, Holly Springs 
is participating with Apex, Cary and Morrisville in the planning, 
permitting, design and construction of regional effluent disposal 
facilities in order to comply with the mandate issued by NCDENR to 
remove its discharge from Utley Creek. The regional effluent disposal 
facilities that will be described and evaluated in the FEIS are needed 
to comply with the NCDENR mandate.
    The proposed project was reviewed to address a number of issues 
which includes an alternatives analyses, direct environmental impacts, 
secondary and cumulative environmental impacts, environmental justice 
concerns, endangered species, and potential project costs.
    2. Proposed Action. The proposed action is to construct a regional 
wastewater pumping, conveyance, treatment, and discharge facility to 
serve the Towns of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville, as well 
as RTP South in North Carolina. The Towns have cooperated together to 
develop the proposal, and each town will be responsible for the permits 
for their part of the proposed project. It is anticipated there will be 
4 permit requests to construct the whole project. Future requests for 
Department of the Army authorization for other sections of the project 
will be submitted once the final plans have been completed.
    This request for Department of the Army authorization consists of 
the construction of a regional wastewater system that includes the 
construction of influent conveyance facilities, a new water reclamation 
facility (WRF), and new effluent conveyance facilities in western Wake 
County and Chatham County, North Carolina to serve the Towns of Apex, 
Cary, and Morrisville and RTP South. The proposed WRF site is north of 
US 1 and just south of Old US 1 between New Hill-Holleman and Shearon 
Harris Roads. The WRF would be constructed in two phases to a proposed 
treatment capacity of 30-million gallons per day (mgd). The Town of 
Holly Springs Utley Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) has already 
been approved to expand to 6 MGD and will share the 38 MGD outfall to 
the Cape Fear River. The effluent line will leave the WRF in Wake 
County and enter Chatham County to the discharge point located on the 
Cape Fear River downstream of Buckhorn Dam in Chatham County.
    As a result of the construction activities related to this permit 
request from Western Wake Partners, there will be temporary and 
permanent impacts to wetlands and streams. The total permanent impact 
of the proposed project is 509 of linear feet (lf) of stream (329 lf of 
perennial and 180 lf intermittent) and 1.8 acres of wetlands. The total 
temporary impact of the proposed project is 1,924 lf of stream (1,115 
lf of perennial and 809 lf of intermittent) and 6.8 acres of wetlands. 
Most of these impacts are along the influent transmission lines.
    4. Alternatives. An extensive alternatives analysis was performed 
and reviewed by the Project Delivery Team (PDT). This included the 
evaluation of wastewater management options; wastewater discharge 
options; WRF site alternatives; conveyance alternatives and wastewater 
outfall options. Many alternatives were identified and evaluated 
through the scoping process, and further detailed description of all 
alternatives is disclosed in Section 2 of the FEIS.
    5. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting was held on April 19, 
2007 and a Project Delivery Team (PDT) was developed to provide input 
in the preparation of the EIS. The PDT was comprised of representatives 
from local, state, and federal government agencies, the Western Wake 
Partners, Wake County, Chatham County, and the New Hill Community.
    The Draft EIS was released for public comment from March 13, 2009 
to April 27, 2009. Also, a Public Hearing was held at the City of Apex 
Town Hall, North Carolina, on April 14, 2009 for public input on the 
proposed project and Draft EIS. The comments from the public hearing 
and written comments on the Draft EIS were incorporated into the FEIS. 
During this process, the COE coordinated closely with the North 
Carolina Division of Water Quality Construction Grants and Loans 
Section in the development of the EIS to ensure the process complies 
with State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requirements, as well as the 
NEPA requirements. The FEIS has been designed to consolidate both NEPA 
and SEPA processes to eliminate duplications.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-30120 Filed 12-17-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P