[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29618-29619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12048]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


The Release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the 
Announcement of a Public Hearing for the Figure Eight Island Inlet and 
Shoreline Management Project, on Figure Eight Island, New Hanover 
County, NC

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, 
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received a request for 
Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from 
Figure Eight Beach Homeowners' Association (HOA) to install a terminal 
groin structure along Rich Inlet and to conduct a supplemental beach 
nourishment on approximately 2.0 miles of oceanfront beach and 1,800 
linear feet of back barrier shoreline to protect residential homes and 
infrastructures along the central and northern sections of Figure Eight 
Island. The terminal groin structure will be placed perpendicular on 
the northern tip of the island along the shoulder of Rich Inlet; and 
the proposed source of the material for the nourishment will be dredged 
from Nixon Channel, a back barrier channel. In case the quantity of 
material from Nixon Channel is not sufficient, material pumped from (3) 
nearby upland disposal islands will be used to supplement the 
nourishment needs. The majority of the material will be disposed within 
the fillet area, or down shore, of the groin. Pending storm events and 
shoreline changes, maintenance, or periodic nourishment, of the beach 
is proposed a maximum of once every five years. Nixon Channel and the 
upland disposal islands are the proposed material sources for the 
periodic maintenance, or renourishment, events.

DATES: The Public Hearing will be held at Ogden Elementary School 
Assembly Hall located at 3637 Middle Sound Loop Road, on June 7, 2012 
at 6:30 p.m. Written comments on the Draft EIS and the proposed project 
must be received at (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. on June 22, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding the Draft EIS may 
be addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 
Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number 2006-41158, 69 Darlington 
Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403. Copies of the Draft EIS can be reviewed, 
after it's posting on May 23, 2012, on the Corps homepage at, http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/WETLANDS/Projects/index.html, under Figure Eight 
Island Inlet and Shoreline Management Project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and DEIS and/or to receive CD or written copies of the Draft EIS can be 
directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, 
telephone: (910) 251-4811.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Project Purpose and Need. Figure Eight Beach HOA has addressed 
the continuing oceanfront erosion problems associated with Rich Inlet 
and Nixon Channel erosion hot-spot on the estuarine side of the island 
over the past several decades. Past actions to protect the shorelines 
have provided some protection, however they are seeking a longer term 
solution to handle shoreline erosion in order to protect the island's 
$1,189,810,926 (based on the 2007 reappraisal) assessed property tax 
value. Their stated needs of the project are the following: (1) Reduce 
erosion along approximately 2.0 miles of oceanfront and 0.34 miles of 
back barrier shorelines, (2) Provide short-term protection to 
imminently threatened residential structures over the next five years, 
(3) Provide long-term protection to homes and infrastructure over the 
next 30 years, (4) Maintain the tax value of homes, properties, and 
infrastructure, (5) Use beach compatible material, (6) Maintain 
navigation conditions within Rich Inlet and Nixon Channel, (7) Maintain 
recreational resources, and (8) Balance the needs of the human 
environment with the protection of existing natural resources.
    2. Proposed Action. Within the Town's preferred alternative, the 
installation of the terminal groin is the main component in the 
protection of the oceanfront shoreline. The location of the structure 
will be just north of the existing homes along the shoulder of Rich 
Inlet. Its total length is approximately 1,600 feet, which 
approximately 700 feet will project seaward of the existing mean high 
water

[[Page 29619]]

shoreline. The landward 900-foot anchor section would extend across the 
island and terminate near the Nixon Channel Shoreline. This section 
will be constructed of 14,000 to 18,000 square feet of sheet pile 
wrapped with rock. Although engineering design plans are not finalized, 
basic construction design of the seaward 700-foot part of the structure 
will be in the form of a typical rubble (rock) mound feature supported 
by a 1.5-foot thick stone foundation blanket. Crest height or elevation 
of this section is estimated to be +6.0 feet NAVD for the first 400 
feet and would slope to a top elevation of +3.0 feet NAVD on the 
seaward end. Approximately 16,000 tons of stone would be used to 
construct the terminal groin. The concept design of the structure is 
intended to allow littoral sand transport to move over, around, and 
through the groin once the accretion fillet has completely filled in.
    Construction of the terminal groin will be kept within a corridor 
varying in width from 100 feet to 200 feet. Within this corridor, a 40-
70 foot wide trench will be excavated to a depth of -2.5 feet NAVD in 
order to construct the foundation of the landward section. The 
approximate 6,000 cubic yards of excavated material will be replaced on 
and around the structure once it's in place. Material used to build the 
groin will be barged down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW), 
through Nixon Channel, and either offloaded onto a temporary loading 
dock or directly onto shore. It will then be transported, via dump 
trucks, within the designated corridor to the construction site.
    Material used for nourishment will be dredged, using a hydraulic 
cutterhead plant, from a designated borrow site within Nixon Channel, 
which has been previously used for beach fill needs. Approximately 
289,800 cubic yards will be required for both the oceanfront (224,800 
cubic yards) and the Nixon Channel shoreline (65,000 cubic yards) fill 
areas. Beach compatible material from (3) upland disposal islands would 
serve as a contingency sediment source.
    Engineer modeling results have shown that periodic nourishment will 
be required approximately once every five years to maintain the beach 
and Nixon Channel shorelines. The combined estimated maintenance needs 
for both areas are 175,800 cubic yards of material every five years, 
equivalent to approximately 35,200 cubic yards per year. This material 
will come from the designated Nixon Channel borrow site and the (3) 
upland disposal areas.
    3. Alternatives. Several alternatives have been identified and 
evaluated through the scoping process, and further detailed description 
of all alternatives is disclosed in Section 3.0 of the Draft EIS. The 
applicant's preferred alternative, Alternative 5B, is to install a 
terminal groin structure, to conduct initial supplemental beach 
nourishment, and to implement a periodic beach nourishment plan over a 
30-year period.
    4. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting was held on March 1, 
2007 and a Project Delivery Team (PDT) was developed to provide input 
in the preparation of the EIS. The PDT comprised of local, state, and 
federal government officials, local residents and nonprofit 
organizations.
    The COE is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under 
the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 
and with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and Endangered Species Act. Additionally, the EIS assesses 
the potential water quality impacts pursuant to Section 401 of the 
Clean Water Act, and is coordinated with the North Carolina Division of 
Coastal Management (DCM) to insure the projects consistency with the 
Coastal Zone Management Act. The COE is coordinating closely with DCM 
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 Draft EIS has been designed to consolidate both NEPA 
and SEPA processes to eliminate duplications.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-12048 Filed 5-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P