[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11086-11087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4307]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Revised Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Brunswick County Beaches, NC, Coastal Storm Damage 
Reduction Project

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Wilmington District 
(Corps) is currently conducting a General Reevaluation Report (GRR) for 
the Brunswick County Beaches, NC, Coastal Storm Damage Reduction (CSDR) 
Project. The Corps intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the impacts of the proposed CSDR 
alternatives to reduce coastal storm damages from beach erosion in the 
towns of Holden Beach, Oak Island, and Caswell Beach, North Carolina. 
An array of structural, non-structural, and no action alternatives are 
being evaluated. Current analyses suggest that the dune and berm beach 
fill alternative maximizes net CSDR benefits for the project area 
beaches and provides additional environmental and recreation benefits. 
An offshore borrow area has been identified within the Southwestern 
portion of Frying Pan Shoals (FPS) (located off the coast of Cape Fear, 
North Carolina) to provide beach compatible sediment for the 50-year 
life of the project.
    The DEIS is being prepared in accordance with the requirements of 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and 
will address the relationship of the proposed action to all other 
applicable Federal and State Laws and Executive Orders.

DATES: The earliest the DEIS will be available for public review would 
be August 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and DEIS can be answered by Mr. Doug Piatkowski, Environmental 
Resources Section; U.S. Army Engineer District, Wilmington; 69 
Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403; telephone: (910) 
251-4908; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Previous Notice of Intent (NOI) publication. This notice is a 
revision of an August 26, 2003, NOI (68 FR 51257) to prepare a DEIS and 
is prepared in response to changes in the proposed action, availability 
of new information relative to the proposal and associated impacts, and 
the significant amount of time which has passed since the last NOI.
    2. Authority. Federal improvements for CSDR along a segment of the 
ocean shoreline in Brunswick County, North Carolina, were authorized by 
the Flood Control Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89-789). The most applicable 
text is copied below.

    The project for hurricane-flood control protection from Cape 
Fear to the North Carolina--South Carolina State line, North 
Carolina, is hereby authorized substantially in accordance with the 
recommendations of the Chief of Engineers in House Document Numbered 
511, Eighty-ninth Congress.

    3. Project Purpose. The project purpose is reduction of damages 
from beach erosion for the towns of Caswell Beach, Oak Island (the 
former towns of Long Beach and Yaupon Beach have been incorporated as 
the Town of Oak Island), and Holden Beach, North Carolina. If 
implemented, the project would also enhance the beach area available 
for recreation use and provide habitat for a variety of plants and 
animals.
    Significant environmental resources to be addressed in the DEIS 
include, but are not limited to: (1) Endangered and threatened species; 
(2) Marine and estuarine resources; (3) Upland beach and dune 
resources; (4) Fish and wildlife and their habitats; (5) Essential Fish 
Habitat (EFH) and Cape Fear Sandy Shoals; (6) Water and air quality; 
(7) Socioeconomic resources; (8) Cultural

[[Page 11087]]

resources; and (9) Hazardous Toxic Radioactive Waste.
    4. Alternatives. Project alternatives being evaluated consist of an 
array of structural and non-structural alternatives and no action. 
Structural alternatives include ``soft'' structures such as beach fill 
(i.e., beach nourishment) and ``hard'' structures such as breakwaters, 
seawalls, and groins. An array of ``soft'' structure beach fill 
alternatives are being evaluated, including berm only and multiple dune 
elevation and berm width combinations. The use of ``hard'' structures 
will be addressed within the updated planning paradigm in the state of 
North Carolina and relative to compliance with the Federal Coastal Zone 
Management Act. Non-structural alternatives considered include 
relocation of structures and acquisition and demolition of structures. 
Based upon analyses completed to date, the proposed action consists of 
a dune and berm beach fill alternative. The currently proposed beach 
fill alternative for Oak Island and Caswell Beach is a 14-foot-dune and 
75-foot-berm extending along approximately 4.5 miles of total 
shoreline. The proposed beach fill alternative for Holden Beach is a 
14-foot-dune and 50-foot-berm extending along approximately 4.2 miles 
of shoreline. The estimated total volume of beach compatible sediment 
needed for the 50-year project life, including initial construction and 
nourishment intervals, is approximately 42 million cubic yards.
    Several inshore, offshore, and upland borrow sites were initially 
investigated for quantity and quality of beach compatible sediment to 
support the project. The currently proposed borrow site for initial 
construction and nourishment intervals is located along the 
southwestern portion of FPS, the cape associated shoals located 
southeast of Bald Head Island, North Carolina. The limits of the borrow 
area extend between 1-5 miles offshore and at depth contours between -
10 and -30 feet.
    5. Scoping. On January 24, 2000, in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7, 
a scoping letter was sent to agencies, interest groups, and the public 
requesting identification of significant resources and issues of 
concern with respect to the proposed project. Considering the duration 
of time that had past and the decision to prepare an EIS based on 
comments received during the initial scoping effort, a second scoping 
letter was sent on 6 December 2004. All scoping comments received to 
date have been documented in the report and have been considered in the 
formulation of project alternatives. Additional scoping meetings have 
not been requested and are not anticipated at this time.
    All affected federal, state, and local agencies, affected Indian 
tribes, and other interested private organizations and parties having 
an interest in the study are, hereby, notified of this revised NOI to 
prepare a DEIS.
    6. Cooperating Agencies. The Corps is the lead agency for this 
project. Cooperating agency status has been initiated with the Bureau 
of Ocean Energy Management since the offshore limits of the proposed 
borrow area at FPS extend into the Outer Continental Shelf.

Steven A. Baker,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. 2012-4307 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P