[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 336-338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-33215]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of NEPA Public Scoping Meeting Information for the Great 
Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (``GLMRIS'')

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In a November 16, 2010, Federal Register Notice (75 FR 69983), 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Chicago District announced in 
a notice of intent that it will prepare a feasibility report and an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for GLMRIS, and it will host a 
public scoping meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on December 15, 2010. In a 
December 8, 2010, Federal Register Notice (75 FR 76447), USACE 
announced the metropolitan locations where USACE would be hosting nine 
(9) additional public scoping meetings for GLMRIS. The December 8, 
2010, notice did not include specific meeting details. This notice 
announces the venues, dates and times of these nine (9) public scoping 
meetings and also announces USACE's intent to host two (2) additional 
public scoping meetings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and New Orleans, 
Louisiana.
    USACE, in consultation with other federal agencies, Native American 
tribes, state agencies, local governments and non-governmental 
organizations, is conducting a feasibility study of the options and 
technologies that could be applied to prevent aquatic nuisance species 
(ANS) transfer between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins 
through aquatic pathways.

DATES: Until March 31, 2011, USACE will be accepting public comments on 
the scope of GLMRIS. Please refer to the ``Scoping and Public 
Involvement'' section below for instructions on how to submit public 
comments, the dates of

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the upcoming public scoping meetings and other meeting information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or 
questions about GLMRIS, please contact USACE, Chicago District, Project 
Manager, Mr. David Wethington, by mail: USACE, Chicago District, 111 N. 
Canal, Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60606, or by e-mail: 
[email protected].
    For media inquiries, please contact the USACE, Chicago District, 
Public Affairs Officer, Ms. Lynne Whelan, by mail: USACE, Chicago 
District, 111 N. Canal, Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60606, by phone: (312) 
846-5330 or by e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Background. USACE, in consultation with other federal agencies, 
Native American tribes, state agencies, local governments and non-
governmental organizations, is conducting GLMRIS. For GLMRIS, USACE 
will explore options and technologies, collectively known as ANS 
controls, that could be applied to prevent ANS transfer between the 
basins through aquatic pathways. Potential ANS controls may include, 
but are not limited to, hydrologic separation of the basins, waterway 
modifications, selective barriers, etc.
    USACE will conduct a comprehensive analysis of ANS controls and 
will analyze the effects an ANS control or combination of ANS controls 
may have on current uses of: (1) The Chicago Area Waterway System 
(CAWS), the only known continuous aquatic pathway between the Great 
Lakes and Mississippi River basins; and (2) other aquatic pathways 
between these basins. For the CAWS, current waterway uses include, but 
are not limited to: Flood risk management; commercial and recreational 
navigation; recreation; water supply; hydropower; and conveyance of 
effluent from wastewater treatment plants and other industries. 
Additionally, this study will identify mitigation measures or 
alternative facilities necessary to offset and address impacted 
waterway uses and current significant natural resources.
    USACE will conduct GLMRIS in accordance with NEPA and with the 
Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and 
Related Land Resource Implementation Studies, Water Resources Council, 
March 10, 1983.
    2. Scoping and Public Involvement. USACE will accept comments 
related to GLMRIS until March 31, 2011. Note, USACE will only consider 
comments that disclose the first name, last name and zip code of the 
commenter.
    All forms of comments received during the scoping period will be 
weighted equally. Using input obtained during the scoping period, USACE 
will refine the scope of GLMRIS to focus on significant issues, as well 
as eliminate issues that are not significant from further detailed 
study.
    Comments may be submitted in the following ways:
     GLMRIS project Web site: Use the Web comment function 
found at http://www.glmris.anl.gov;
     NEPA Scoping Meeting: USACE is hosting scoping meetings 
and asks those who want to make oral comments to register on the GLMRIS 
project Web site at http://www.glmris.anl.gov. Those registering to 
make oral comments through the project Web site may be given a 
preference over those that register to make oral comments at the 
meeting. The on-line registration for each individual meeting will 
close one (1) day prior to that meeting date. Each individual wishing 
to make oral comments shall be given three (3) minutes, and a 
stenographer will document oral comments;
     Mail: Mail written comments to GLMRIS Scoping, 111 N. 
Canal, Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60606. Comments must be postmarked by 
March 31, 2011; and
     Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand delivered to the 
Chicago District, USACE office located at 111 N. Canal St., Suite 600, 
Chicago, IL 60606 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Comments must be 
received by March 31, 2011.
    At the scoping meetings, USACE will provide informational materials 
about the study's authorities and USACE study process. The meetings 
will begin with a presentation regarding the study followed by an oral 
comment period. During each meeting, USACE will also collect written 
comments on comment cards and computer terminals.
    In addition to the meeting held on December 15, 2010, in Chicago, 
Illinois, USACE will host NEPA public scoping meetings from 2 p.m. to 8 
p.m. at the following locations:
    1. Tuesday, January 11, 2011: Buffalo Conference Center, 2 Fountain 
Plaza, Buffalo, NY.
    2. Thursday, January 13, 2011: Great Lakes Science Center, 601 
Erieside Avenue, Cleveland, OH.
    3. Thursday, January 20, 2011: McNamara Alumni Center, University 
of Minnesota, 200 Oak Street, S.E., 35, Minneapolis, MN.
    4. Tuesday, January 25, 2011: Northeast Wisconsin Technical 
College, 2740 West Mason Street, Green Bay, WI.
    5. Thursday, January 27, 2011: The Hagerty Conference Center, NMC 
Great Lakes Campus, 715 E. Front Street, Traverse City, MI.
    6. Tuesday, February 1, 2011: Tangeman University Center, 
University of Cincinnati, 2766 UC Main Street, Cincinnati, OH. For 
driving directions to the parking garage, please use ``W. Corry St. at 
Jefferson Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45221'' as your destination address. 
Continue west on W. Corry St. until you reach the CCM parking garage.
    7. Thursday, February 3, 2011: Ann Arbor Marriott-Ypsilanti at 
Eagle Crest, 1275 South Huron Street, Ypsilanti, MI.
    8. Tuesday, February 8, 2011: National Great Rivers Museum 
(Adjacent to Melvin Price Locks and Dam), 2 Locks and Dam Way, 
Alton, IL.
    9. Thursday, February 10, 2011: Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 
Mulberry Street, Vicksburg, MS.
    Please see the GLMRIS project Web site at http://www.glmris.anl.gov 
for driving directions, if you wish to register to make an oral comment 
at one of these meetings, and for more information regarding the 
meeting including a meeting agenda.
    In addition to the above-listed locations, USACE is also planning 
to host NEPA public scoping meetings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and New 
Orleans, Louisiana. Specific meeting places and dates will be announced 
in a subsequent Federal Register notice, the GLMRIS project Web site, 
electronic media and news releases.
    Comments received during the scoping period will be posted on the 
GLMRIS project Web site and will become a part of the EIS. You may 
indicate that you do not wish to have your name or other personal 
information made available on the Web site. However, USACE cannot 
guarantee that information withheld from the Web site will be 
maintained as confidential. Requests for disclosure of collected 
information will be handled through the Freedom of Information Act. 
Comments and information, including the identity of the submitter, may 
be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed. Submissions should not 
include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as 
confidential.
    If you require assistance under the Americans with Disabilities 
Act, please contact Ms. Lynne Whelan via e-mail at 
[email protected] or phone at (312) 846-5330 at least seven 
(7) working days prior to the meeting to request arrangements.
    3. Significant Issues. Issues associated with the proposed study 
are likely to include, but will not be limited to: Significant natural 
resources such as ecosystems and threatened and

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endangered species, commercial and recreational fisheries; current 
recreational uses of the lakes and waterways; ANS effects on water 
users; effects of potential ANS controls on current waterway uses such 
as flood risk management, commercial and recreational navigation, 
recreation, water supply, hydropower and conveyance of effluent from 
wastewater treatment plants and other industries; and statutory and 
legal responsibilities relative to the lakes and waterways.
    4. Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The 
date that the draft EIS will be made available is contingent upon 
sufficient allocation of funding for the study. Draft EIS availability 
will be announced to the public in the Federal Register in compliance 
with 40 CFR 1506.9 and 1506.10.
    5. Authority. This action is being undertaken pursuant to the Water 
Resources and Development Act of 2007, Section 3061, Public Law 110-
114, 121 STAT. 1121, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 
42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq., as amended.

    Dated: December 28, 2010.
Susanne J. Davis,
Chicago District, Corps of Engineers.
[FR Doc. 2010-33215 Filed 1-3-11; 8:45 am]
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