[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23668-23669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9578]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a 
20-Year Dredged Material Management Plan for the Atlantic Intracoastal 
Waterway from Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, to the Georgia-Florida 
Stateline

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 is the lead Federal agency 
for an evaluation of the maintenance dredging of the Atlantic 
Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) from Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, 
southward to the Georgia-Florida state line. The Corps' Savannah 
District intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) to analyze the impacts of the maintenance dredging of this 
portion of the AIWW, including disposal of dredged materials. The DEIS 
will update the project's 1976 EIS and will analyze the impacts that 
have occurred from periodic dredging events since 1976 to provide a 
baseline for evaluating projected impacts from implementing a new 
Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) over the next 20 years. The 
DEIS will evaluate the anticipated 20-year dredging needs and 
alternative disposal options, including using existing upland confined 
disposal areas and Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites (ODMDS), 
establishing new ODMDS, constructing new upland confined disposal 
areas, constructing confining structures on existing marsh disposal 
areas, and using open water disposal areas. In accordance with 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Corps of 
Engineers hereby notifies the public that it is beginning preparation 
of a DEIS.

[[Page 23669]]


DATES: Questions or written comments about the proposed action and DEIS 
should be provided by May 21, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to Mr. Charles W. Seyle, US Army Corps of 
Engineers, Savannah District, ATTN: PD, Post Office Box 889, Savannah, 
GA 31402 or email: [email protected]. This Notice of Intent 
will be available on the internet at: http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Charles W. Seyle at 912-652-6017.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background. The AIWW between Savannah, 
Georgia, and Fernandina, Florida, was initially authorized by the 
Congress in 1882. The River and Harbor Act of 1937 provided for a 7-
foot protected route around St. Andrew Sound, Georgia, and for a 12-
foot channel between Beaufort, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. In 
1938, a 12-foot channel was authorized between Savannah and Fernandina, 
Florida. The widths of the AIWW were to be 90 feet in land cuts and 150 
feet in open waters. In addition to providing for the 12-foot channel 
between Beaufort and Fernandina, Congress imposed upon local interests 
the responsibility to furnish all lands or easements necessary for the 
7-foot St. Andrews Sound channel and all necessary rights-of-way and 
dredged sediment disposal areas for new work and subsequent maintenance 
of the 12-foot channel between Beaufort and Fernandina. Work on the 12-
foot channel between Beaufort and Fernandina was completed in 1941.
    Savannah District, US Army Corps of Engineers records provide 
historical dredging information between 1942 and 2011. These records 
show that many of the 36 defined AIWW reaches from Port Royal Sound, 
South Carolina, and the Georgia-Florida border are naturally 12 feet 
deep or deeper and have not required dredging since construction of the 
waterway in the 1940s. Twenty of the reaches require periodic dredging, 
and of these, five require dredging every 1 to 5 years. The 
southernmost Georgia reach is located near the U.S. Naval Submarine 
Base at Kings Bay, Georgia, and the Navy is responsible for maintaining 
this reach. Consequently, no Corps action will be analyzed in the DEIS 
for that reach.
    During previous dredging events along several reaches of the AIWW, 
dredged material that was primarily fine-grained silt was pumped onto 
unconfined saltmarsh disposal sites or into existing confined saltmarsh 
disposal sites. Material that was primarily coarse-grained sand was 
deposited in approved open-water disposal areas. State natural resource 
agencies have requested that the Corps discontinue placement of fine-
grained dredged material on unconfined saltmarsh sites. The proposed 
DEIS would examine unconfined sediment placement on saltmarsh sites and 
identify locations where it would no longer be used and where its use 
may still be the least damaging practicable disposal method. The DMMP 
proposes to use a combination of new and existing disposal sites, open-
water placement of sandy dredged material, and ODMDS for disposal of 
AIWW dredged material over the next 20 years.
    The DEIS will examine a wide range of environmental resource areas 
including, but not limited to, air quality, traffic, noise, biological 
resources, cultural resources, socio-economic resources, wetlands, land 
use, hazardous and toxic substances, and cumulative environmental 
effects.
    Significant issues to be analyzed in the DEIS will include 
potential impacts to water quality, marine and estuarine resources, 
wetlands, endangered species, cultural resources, commercial maritime 
interests, and recreational boating. Additional resources and 
conditions may be identified as a result of the scoping process 
initiated by this Notice of Intent (NOI).
    All reasonable alternatives will be analyzed in the DEIS. The range 
of alternatives will include, but are not limited to:
     No Action (status quo);
     Use existing confined dredged material containment areas;
     Use existing Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites;
     Establish new Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites;
     Construct new confined dredged material containment areas.
    The DMMP will identify disposal alternatives for several of the 
critical reaches and the impacts of each of these alternatives will be 
analyzed in the DEIS. As a result of information developed during the 
DEIS scoping process, other alternatives may be considered. The DEIS 
will analyze each alternative's impact on the natural and cultural 
environments along the AIWW and the surrounding area. Mitigation 
measures to avoid or reduce environmental impacts will also be 
considered in the DEIS. The DEIS is presently scheduled for release in 
Summer 2012. However, this date may change. Notification of the 
availability of the document will be published in the Federal Register 
and local newspapers.
    Scoping Process: The Corps of Engineers invites tribal, federal, 
state and local agencies and the public to participate in the scoping 
process for preparation of the DEIS. The scoping process will help 
identify additional reasonable alternatives, potential environmental 
impacts, and key issues of concern to be analyzed in the DEIS.

    Dated: April 13, 2012.
William G. Bailey,
Chief, Planning Division, Savannah District, US Army Corps of 
Engineers.
[FR Doc. 2012-9578 Filed 4-19-12; 8:45 am]
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