[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51981-51983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21186]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement on the Construction and Operation of the Everglades 
Agricultural Area A1 Flow Equalization Basin, Palm Beach County, FL

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville

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District, is in the preapplication phase of its evaluation of the 
anticipated application from the South Florida Water Management 
District (SFWMD) for a U.S. Department of the Army (DA) permit under 
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for construction and operation of a 
Flow Equalization Basin (FEB) at the location of the Everglades 
Agricultural Area (EAA) A1 Reservoir project that was not fully 
constructed. The USACE regulates the discharge of dredged or fill 
material into Waters of the United States, including jurisdictional 
ditches and/or wetlands, associated with construction of any proposed 
action. The USACE anticipates a decision on the proposed activities 
would constitute a Major Federal Action in accordance with 40 CFR 
Section 1501.8. Based on the size of the project area, the current 
purpose for the site, and the potential environmental impacts, both 
individually and cumulatively, of the anticipated Proposed Action, the 
USACE intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to inform any final decision on the permit 
application. The USACE's decision will be to either issue, issue with 
modifications to the applicant's proposal, or deny Department of the 
Army permits for the Proposed Action.
    The Draft EIS is intended to be sufficient in scope to address 
federal and other requirements and environmental issues concerning the 
Proposed Action to support the Corps determination whether to issue a 
Section 404 permit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) 
and the U.S. Department of Interior (U.S. DOI) will be offered the 
option of being a cooperating agency on the EIS.

DATES: The USACE plans to hold a public scoping meeting September 6, 
2012, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting will be held at 3301 Gun Club 
Road, West Palm Beach, Florida 33406.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the Proposed Action 
and Draft EIS should be directed to Ms. Alisa Zarbo, (561) 472-3516 or 
by email at [email protected]. Written comments should be 
addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: Ms. Alisa Zarbo, 
4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, 33410, or by 
facsimile at (561) 626-6971.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    a. Background/Project Authorization. The USACE is preparing this 
Draft EIS in accordance with NEPA, Council of on Environmental Quality 
(CEQ) Regulations (40 CFR part1500 et seq.), and USACE provisions for 
implementing the procedural requirements of NEPA (33 CFR part 230, 
USACE Engineering Regulation ER 200-2-2). A primary purpose of a USACE 
Regulatory Program EIS is to provide a comnprehensive discussion of the 
significant environmental impacts of a proposal or project that may be 
the subject of a DA permit. The Draft EIS and Final EIS are used to 
inform the public and agency decision-makers of alternatives to an 
applicant's project and opportunities to avoid or minimize adverse 
impacts or enhance the quality of the human environment. The EIS is not 
a USACE regulatory decision document. It is used by agency officials in 
conjunction with other relevant information in a permit application 
file, including public and agency comments presented in the Final EIS, 
to inform the final decision on a permit application. In this instance, 
the SFWMD intends to submit a permit application to construct and 
operate a FEB on the site previously intended for the EAA A1 Reservoir 
known as the A1 Site. The purpose of the proposed action is to assist 
in meeting State of Florida water quality standards by attenuating peak 
stormwater flows and temporarily storing stormwater runoff from the 
central EAA which will improve inflow delivery rates to Stormwater 
Treatment Area (STA) 2 (including Compartment B) and STA 3/4. This 
project is anticipated to result in increased phosphorus removal 
performance in these STAs in order to meet State water quality 
standards.
    b. Need or Purpose. The purpose of the proposed action is to 
attenuate peak stormwater flows into Stormwater Treatment Areas 2 and 
3/4 to assist in meeting State water quality standards.
    c. Prior EAs, EISs. In 2006, an EIS was completed for the A1 
Reservoir site, which is expected to have the same footprint as the A1 
FEB site; however, the project purpose and intended use for the A1 FEB 
is different. This Draft EIS will include the project purpose, 
evaluation of the FEB and its potential effects, evaluation of 
alternatives, relevant history and data, an evaluation of downstream 
effects based on current state of the environment with the FEB, and a 
jurisdictional determination.
    d. Alternatives. An evaluation of alternatives to the proposed FEB 
project, including a No Action alternative will be performed. The Draft 
EIS will analyze reasonable alternatives to meet the project purpose 
and need. Alternatives will be determined through scoping, but are 
expected to include at a minimum the A1 Reservoir in addition to a ``no 
action'' alternative.
    e. Issues. The following issues have been identified for analysis 
in the Draft EIS. This list is preliminary and is intended to 
facilitate public comment on the scope of the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS 
will consider the effects on Federally listed threatened and endangered 
species, health and safety, socioeconomics, aesthetics, general 
environmental concerns, wetlands (and other aquatic resources), 
historic properties, cultural resources, fish and wildlife values, land 
use, transportation, recreation, water supply and conservation, water 
quality, energy needs, mineral needs, considerations of property 
ownership, and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people, and 
other issues identified through scoping, public involvement, and 
interagency coordination. At the present time, our primary areas of 
environmental concern are the loss of wetland functions and value, 
mitigation of such losses, the improvements in the downstream timing 
and delivery of water, and water quality. We expect to better define 
the issues of concern and define the methods that will be used to 
evaluate those issues through the scoping comment period.
    f. Scoping Process. CEQ regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) require an 
early and open process for determining the scope of a Draft EIS and for 
identifying significant issues related to the proposed action.
    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 Draft EIS. 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. (See DATES and 
ADDRESSES for meeting schedules)
    g. Public Involvement. The USACE invites Federal agencies, American 
Indian Tribal Nations, state and local governments, and other 
interested private organizations and parties to attend the public 
scooping meeting and to provide comments in order to ensure that all 
significant issues are identified

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and the full range of issues related to the permit request are 
addressed.
    h. Coordination. The proposed action is being coordinated with a 
number of Federal, state, regional, and local agencies including but 
not limited to the following: U.S. DOI, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. EPA, Florida Department of 
Environmental Protection, the federally recognized Native American 
Indian Tribes, Florida State Historic Preservation Officer, Palm Beach 
County, and other agencies as identified in scoping, public 
involvement, and agency coordination.
    i. Agency Role. The Corps will be the lead agency for the EIS. The 
U.S. EPA and the U.S. DOI will be asked to be cooperating agencies. The 
Corps expects to receive input and critical information from the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. EPA, and other federal, state, and 
local agencies.
    k. A1 FEB Draft EIS Preparation. It is estimated that the Draft EIS 
will be available to the public on or about December 2012. A Notice of 
Availability will be issued which will open the public comment period. 
Comments will be accepted during the Draft EIS public comment period 
which will last at least 30 days.

    Dated: August 21, 2012.
Donald W. Kinard,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-21186 Filed 8-27-12; 8:45 am]
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