[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 198 (Friday, October 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 62224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25202]



[[Page 62224]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Revise Scope of Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Updating the Water Control Manual for the Apalachicola-
Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin To Account for the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Ruling and a June 2012 Legal Opinion 
of the Corps' Chief Counsel Regarding Authority To Accommodate 
Municipal and Industrial Water Supply From the Buford Dam/Lake Lanier 
Project

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
(Corps), Mobile District, intends to revise the scope of the 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Water Control Manual (WCM) 
updates for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin in 
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, in light of a June 2011 decision of the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a June 2012 legal 
opinion of the Corps' Chief Counsel regarding authority to accommodate 
municipal and industrial water supply from the Buford Dam/Lake Lanier 
project. The Corps is updating the water control plans and manuals for 
the ACF Basin in order to improve operations for authorized purposes to 
reflect changed conditions since the manuals were last developed. The 
revised EIS will also consider, along with operations for all 
authorized purposes, an expanded range of water supply alternatives 
associated with the Buford Dam/Lake Lanier project, including current 
levels of water supply withdrawals and additional amounts that Georgia 
has requested from Lake Lanier and downstream at Atlanta. In all other 
respects, the scope of the EIS for the WCM updates will remain as 
described in the Updated Scoping Report, Environmental Impact 
Statement, Update of the Water Control Manual for the Apalachicola-
Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin, in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia 
(March 2010), available at http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/pa/acf-wcm/docs.htm, the Corps solicits comments from interested persons regarding 
the scope of the EIS for the WCM updates.

DATES: The public comment period will commence with publication of this 
notice, and will end 60 days after its publication. This notice will 
also be distributed to those who commented during the original scoping 
comment periods of October-December 2008 (see 72 FR 63561 [November 9, 
2007], 73 FR 9780 [February 22, 2008], 73 FR 54391 [September 19, 
2008]), and November-December 2009 (see 74 FR 59965 [November 19, 
2009]). This distribution will occur by mail and/or email on or about 
the date of this notice. No additional public scoping meetings are 
planned. Comments on the scope of the EIS, including concerns, issues, 
or proposed alternatives that should be considered in the EIS, should 
be submitted in writing to (see ADDRESSES) and will be accepted 
throughout the public comment period. Comments may also be submitted by 
using the electronic comment form at: http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/pa/acf-wcm/form.htm.

ADDRESSES: To facilitate the Master Water Control Manual update, a 
support contract has been awarded to Tetra Tech, Inc. for preparation 
of the EIS and additional scoping. Please mail written comments to 
Tetra Tech, Inc., 61 St. Joseph Street, Suite 550, Mobile, AL 36602-
3521.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the manual update or 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process should be directed to: 
Mr. Brian Zettle, Biologist, Environment and Resources Branch, Planning 
and Environmental Division, U.S. Army Engineer District-Mobile, Post 
Office Box 2288, Mobile, AL 36628-0001; Telephone (251) 690-2115; or 
delivered by electronic facsimile at (251) 694-3815; or email: 
[email protected]. You may also request to be included on 
the mailing list for public distribution of notices, meeting 
announcements and documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps is updating the water control 
plans and manuals for the ACF Basin in order to improve operations to 
reflect changed conditions since the manuals were last developed. As 
explained in a November 2009 Federal Register Notice of Intent, 74 FR 
59965 (November 19, 2009), and in the March 2010 Updated Scoping 
Report, the Corps previously narrowed the scope of the EIS for the WCM 
update to exclude from consideration certain water supply operations at 
the Buford Dam/Lake Lanier project that would have violated a July 2009 
district court order. In June 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Eleventh Circuit vacated that 2009 district court order and directed 
the Corps to determine its legal authority to operate the Buford Dam/
Lake Lanier Project to accommodate water supply withdrawals. See In re 
Tri-State Water Rights Litigation, 644 F.3d 1160 (11th Cir. 2011). In 
compliance with the Eleventh Circuit's order, the Chief Counsel issued 
a legal opinion on June 25, 2012 (available at http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/2012ACF_legalopinion.pdf), concluding that the 
Corps has the legal authority to accommodate both current and increased 
levels of water supply withdrawals from Lake Lanier and downstream at 
Atlanta. The Chief Counsel's legal opinion does not dictate what 
operational decisions will be made, with regard to water supply or 
otherwise, but it does establish certain analytical principles that 
will be taken into account as the Corps makes its final operational 
decisions at the conclusion of the WCM update process. Such decisions 
will be made in light of all applicable authorities, and will be guided 
by the legal principles articulated in the Chief Counsel's June 25, 
2012 opinion.
    In light of this legal opinion and the Eleventh Circuit's ruling, 
it is appropriate for the Corps to consider a broader range of water 
supply alternatives, including both current levels of water supply 
withdrawals and increased withdrawals, from Lake Lanier and downstream 
at Atlanta, that have been determined to be within the Corps' legal 
authority to implement. All other scoping aspects described in the 
March 2010 Updated Scoping Report remain the same. Information on the 
ACF River Basin and the Master Water Control Manual Update process will 
be posted on the Mobile District Web page as it becomes available: 
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil.

Steven J. Roemhildt,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Commander.
[FR Doc. 2012-25202 Filed 10-11-12; 8:45 am]
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