[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 84 (Monday, May 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23253-23254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10236]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Central Palm Beach County Comprehensive Erosion 
Control Project in Palm Beach County, FL

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Jacksonville 
District, intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) to address potential impacts associated with the construction of 
groins and segmented emergent breakwaters and placement of truck hauled 
sand along the coastline of the Towns of Palm Beach, South Palm Beach, 
Lantana, and Manalapan. The Corps will be evaluating a Department of 
the Army permit for the work under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors 
Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. As part of the permit 
process, the Corps is evaluating the environmental effects associated 
with construction of the breakwaters and groins and the sand placement. 
The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management 
(County) is the permit applicant seeking to implement the Proposed 
Action.
    The primary Federal involvement associated with the Proposed Action 
is the discharge of fill within Waters of the United States and the 
construction of breakwaters and groins within Navigable Waters of the 
United States. Because of the extensive hardbottom resources 
immediately adjacent to the beach, the high recreational uses of the 
project area, the potential to cause down drift erosion, and other 
environmental impacts including potential adverse effects to Federally 
listed species, the Corps will prepare an EIS in compliance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to render a final decision on 
the County's permit application. The Corps' decision will be to either 
issue or deny a Department of the Army permit for the Proposed Action. 
The Draft EIS is intended to be sufficient in scope to address Federal, 
State, and local requirements and environmental issues concerning the 
Proposed Action and permit reviews.

DATES: A public scoping workshop will be held on, or about, May 27, 
2010 from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: The public scoping workshop will be held at the Town of 
South Palm Beach Town Hall, 3577 South Ocean Boulevard, South Palm 
Beach, Florida. The workshop will give agencies and the public an 
opportunity to receive more information on the Proposed Action, 
alternatives, and to provide comments and suggestions on the scope of 
the EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the Proposed Action 
and Draft EIS should be directed to Mr. Eric Reusch, Corps Regulatory 
Project Manager, by telephone at (561) 472-3529 or by e-mail at 
[email protected]. Written comments should be addressed to 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: Mr. Eric Reusch, 4400 PGA 
Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 34410 or by facsimile 
at (561) 626-6971.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    a. Project Site and Background Information. The study area 
comprises approximately 1.3 miles of shoreline and nearshore 
environment within four municipalities including the Town of Palm 
Beach, Town of South Palm Beach, Town of Lantana, and Town of 
Manalapan. The northern limit of the project is located at Florida 
Department

[[Page 23254]]

of Environmental Protection (FDEP) monument R132 (Town of Palm Beach) 
and extends south to the Ritz Carlton Hotel (R138+400') located in 
Manalapan. The shoreline in this area has experienced long-term 
erosion, and waves have impacted the coastal armoring during major 
storms. Existing structural armoring in the project area includes rock 
revetments, concrete seawalls, steel sheet pile walls, a small wood 
retaining structure, a concrete ramp, and a concrete waffle revetment. 
Erosion currently threatens the structural integrity of several 
buildings within the project reach. The County has nourished the 
project area dune toes on several occasions and has planted native dune 
vegetation at several locations. Due to the narrow beach profile, much 
of this effort has been lost to erosion.
    b. Purpose and Need. The overall project purpose is to stabilize 
and restore the shoreline adjacent to the Towns of Palm Beach, South 
Palm Beach, Lantana, and Manalapan.
    c. Proposed Action. Palm Beach County proposes to construct 18 
emergent breakwaters placed parallel to the shoreline at a depth of 
about -8 feet. The breakwaters would be located seaward of the 
nearshore hardbottom and landward of the offshore hardbottom. In 
addition, a series of four short groins are proposed for the Lantana 
Municipal Beach. Construction of these structures would help maintain 
sand on the beach by reducing the amount of wave energy reaching the 
shoreline. The project also proposes elevating the existing berm with 
the placement of truck-hauled sand in order to offset any potential 
impacts to downdrift beaches from capture of sand by the breakwaters 
and groins.
    d. Alternatives. An evaluation of alternatives to the Proposed 
Action initially being considered includes a ``no action'' alternative, 
beach nourishment and dune restoration through filling activities, 
groins, segmented submerged breakwaters, upland coastal structural 
reinforcement/replacement, and combinations of these alternatives, as 
well as analyzing other reasonable alternatives developed through the 
project scoping process.
    e. Draft EIS Scoping Process. The Corps is furnishing this notice 
to advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Federally 
recognized Tribes, and the public of our intentions. This notice 
announces the initiation of a 30-day scoping period which requests the 
public's involvement in the scoping and evaluation process of the DEIS. 
Stakeholders will be notified through advertisements, public notices 
and other means. All parties who express interest will be given an 
opportunity to participate in this process. The process allows the 
Corps to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and 
an opportunity to provide reasonable alternatives to be included in the 
Draft EIS. The Corps invites comments from all interested parties to 
ensure that all significant issues are identified and the full range of 
issues related to the permit request are addressed. We will accept 
written comments until 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice. (See DATES and ADDRESSES.)
    f. Significant Issues. The DEIS will analyze the following: 
Aesthetics/visual quality, agricultural resources, air quality, 
biological resources, cultural resources, cumulative impacts, 
environmental justice, flood protection, geology/soils, growth 
inducement, land use/planning, noise/vibration, public health and 
safety, public services/utilities, recreation, socioeconomics, 
threatened and endangered species, traffic/circulation, water resources 
including wetlands, and other issues identified through scoping, public 
involvement, and interagency coordination. The Corps will conduct an 
environmental review of the Proposed Action in accordance with the 
requirements of NEPA, 1969 as amended, (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 
implementing regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1500 
et seq.), Corps Procedures for Implementing NEPA (33 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Section 230 et seq.), NEPA Implementation Procedures for 
the Regulatory Program (33 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 325, 
Appendix B), and with other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, 
policies, and procedures of the Corps for compliance with those 
regulations. The Proposed Action, through the Corps permit review 
process, will require consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act and the Magnunson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. Additionally, the proposed action would involve 
evaluation for compliance with the Section 404(b) (1) Guidelines of the 
Clean Water Act; Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; 
Water Quality Certification pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water 
Act; certification of State lands, easements and right of ways; and 
determination of Coastal Zone Management Act consistency.
    g. Availability of the Draft EIS (DEIS). The Corps currently 
expects the DEIS to be made available to the public on or about January 
2011. A public meeting will be held during the public comment period 
for the DEIS. Written comments will be accepted at the meeting.

Donald W. Kinard,
Chief, Regulatory Division, Jacksonville District.
[FR Doc. 2010-10236 Filed 4-30-10; 8:45 am]
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