[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 13 (Friday, January 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4136-4137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00993]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan, Missouri River, United 
States

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), as amended, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Kansas 
City and Omaha Districts, intend to prepare the Missouri River Recovery 
Management Plan (Plan) with integrated Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or 
questions about the proposed Plan, please contact Ms. Lisa Rabbe, 
Project Manager, by telephone: (816) 389-3837, by mail: 601 E. 12th 
Street, Kansas City, MO 64106, or by email: 
[email protected], or Mr. Randy Sellers, Project Manager, by 
telephone: (402) 995-2689, by mail: 1616 Capitol Avenue, Omaha, NE 
68102-4901, or by email: 
[email protected]:[email protected]. For 
inquiries from the media, please contact the USACE Kansas City District 
Public Affairs Officer (PAO), Mr. David Kolarik by telephone: (816) 
389-3486, by mail: 601 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106, or by 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through preparation of the Plan and EIS, 
USACE will develop a range of alternatives for the purposes of Missouri 
River recovery and mitigation. This federal action includes activities 
on the Missouri River and is designed to assist in the recovery of 
Missouri River species protected under the Federal Endangered Species 
Act (ESA). Mitigation actions address USACE's requirements pursuant to 
the 1958 Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (Pub. L. 85-624), section 
601(a) of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1986, and 
section 334(a) and (b) of the WRDA of 1999, and Section 3176 of the 
WRDA 2007.
    Section 3176 of WRDA 2007 expanded the USACE's authority to include 
recovery and mitigation activities on the Missouri River in the upper 
basin states of Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The 
combination of recovery and mitigation activities is commonly referred 
to as the Missouri River Recovery Program.
    In accordance with 40 CFR 1502.4 (c), this EIS will evaluate all 
proposals or parts of proposals similar in nature such that, in effect, 
they represent a single course of action. The Missouri River Recovery 
Management Plan EIS will assess and, where appropriate, supplement or 
update prior analysis made pursuant to the requirements listed above. 
The EIS will assess the cumulative effects and alternatives to 
accomplish the purposes of the ESA, the 1958 Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act (Pub. L. 85-624), section 601(a) of the Water 
Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1986, and section 334(a) and (b) of 
the WRDA of 1999, and Section 3176 of the WRDA 2007. The federal 
actions which implement those authorities have been combined into one 
program and are being assessed together to effectively and efficiently 
carry out the multiple goals associated with the authorizations. 
Additionally to be addressed in this EIS, the USACE has received a 
proposal from the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee, 
recommending the agency perform an effects analysis and adaptive 
management of potential management actions on ESA listed species. 
Addressing this proposal will result in an analysis of management 
alternatives and adaptive management actions to benefit these species, 
and thus requires supporting environmental effects analyses which will 
be included in this Environmental Impact Statement.

[[Page 4137]]

    The Missouri River Recovery Management Plan with integrated EIS 
will be narrower than the scope and purpose of the study from section 
5018(a) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (Missouri River 
Ecosystem Restoration Plan). That study included the additional purpose 
of ecosystem restoration and was inclusive of the entire Missouri River 
watershed, including tributaries, while this plan and EIS will focus 
exclusively on the purposes of recovery and mitigation and be limited 
primarily to the areas and objectives prescribed in the authorities 
listed above.
    Scoping. Multiple phases of public, agency and Tribal government 
scoping meetings will be conducted throughout the Missouri River basin. 
Additional scoping phases are planned in order to address a preliminary 
range of alternatives and eventually to publish and solicit input on a 
draft EIS. Dates for these scoping phases have not yet been determined. 
General concerns, issues and needs related to the plan will be obtained 
throughout all scoping phases. Further information regarding when and 
where scoping meetings will be held as well as how written comments and 
suggestions concerning the EIS may be submitted will be found online at 
http://www.moriverrecovery.org when that information is available.

    Dated: January 10, 2013.
Randy Sellers,
Project Manager.
[FR Doc. 2013-00993 Filed 1-17-13; 8:45 am]
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