[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20624-20625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07968]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Conduct Scoping Meeting for the Berths 212-224 [YTI] Container Terminal 
Project at the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California 
(SPL-2013-0113-TS)

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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    Authority:  33 U.S.C. 403; 33 U.S.C. 1344; 33 U.S.C. 1413.
SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to initiate the scoping process 
for preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Los 
Angeles Harbor Department (LAHD) Berths 212-224 [YTI] Container 
Terminal Improvement Project.

DATES: Submit comments concerning this notice on or before May 6, 2013. 
A public scoping meeting will be held on April 23, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. 
(PST).

ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting location is: Los Angeles Harbor 
Department, Board of Harbor Commissioners Hearing Room, 425 S. Palos 
Verdes Street, San Pedro, CA 90731.
    Mail written comments concerning this notice to: U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Los Angeles District, Regulatory Division, Ventura Field 
Office, ATTN: SPL-2013-00113-TS, 2151 Alessandro Drive, Suite 110, 
Ventura, CA 93001. Comment letters should include the commenter's 
physical mailing address, the project title and the Corps file number 
in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theresa Stevens, Ph.D., U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Regulatory Division, Ventura 
Field Office, ATTN: SPL-2013-00113-TS, 2151 Alessandro Drive, Suite 
110, Ventura, CA 93001, (805) 585-2146, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Corps is requiring the preparation 
of an

[[Page 20625]]

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to any permit action. The 
Corps may ultimately make a determination to permit or deny the 
proposed project or a modified version of the proposed project. The 
primary Federal concerns are dredging, dredged material disposal, 
addition of permanent structures in and over navigable waters of the 
U.S., and transport of dredged material for the purpose of ocean 
disposal.
    Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the 
LAHD will serve as Lead Agency in preparing an Environmental Impact 
Report (EIR) for its consideration of development approvals within its 
jurisdiction. The Corps and LAHD have agreed to jointly prepare a Draft 
EIS/EIR to optimize efficiency and avoid duplication. The Draft EIS/EIR 
is intended to be sufficient in scope to address the Federal, state and 
local requirements and environmental issues concerning the proposed 
activities and permit approvals.
    1. Project Site and Background Information. The project site is 
located on Terminal Island within in an industrial area of the East 
Basin region of the Port of Los Angeles. The site is within the Port of 
Los Angeles Community Plan area in the City of Los Angeles, adjacent to 
the communities of San Pedro and Wilmington, and approximately 20 miles 
south of downtown Los Angeles. The purpose of the project is to improve 
marine shipping and maritime commerce by optimizing the container-
handling efficiency and capacity at Berths 212-224, accommodate 
berthing and loading/unloading the largest container ships, and 
increase on-dock rail facilities to accommodate projected peak 
increases in container movement into and out of the terminal at Berths 
212-224 resulting from the handling of larger ships.
    2. Proposed Action: The LAHD has proposed to redevelop the existing 
container terminal at Berths 212-224. Yusen Terminals Inc. [YTI] 
operates the existing 185-acre container terminal under a lease 
agreement (LAHD Permit No. 692). The proposed project would result in 
dredging of approximately 25,000 cubic yards of sediment from Berths 
212-224 to increase depth at existing berths; disposal of dredged 
material at either an offshore site (LA-2), confined disposal facility 
(CDF), or other approved location; wharf improvements including 
installation of new subsurface sheet pile and king piles to stabilize 
the existing wharf prior to dredging, installation of four new 100-
gauge and modification (i.e., heightening, additional boom length) of 
six existing gantry cranes for a total of 14 operational cranes at full 
build-out; and backland improvements such as additional on-dock rail, 
paving, cold-planing, etc., on approximately 160 acres of the site.
    3. Issues: Potentially significant issues associated with the 
project include: Aesthetics/visual impacts, air quality emissions, 
biological resource impacts, environmental justice, geologic impacts 
related to seismicity, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and 
water quality, noise, traffic and transportation, and cumulative 
impacts from past, present and reasonably foreseeable future projects.
    4. Alternatives. The Draft EIS/EIR will include a co-equal analysis 
of several alternatives. Project alternatives will be further developed 
during this scoping process. Additional alternatives that may be 
developed during scoping will also be considered in the Draft EIS/EIR.
    5. Scoping Process. The Corps and LAHD will jointly conduct a 
public scoping meeting for the proposed project to receive public 
comment regarding the appropriate scope and preparation of the Draft 
EIS/EIR. Participation by Federal, state, and local agencies and other 
interested organization and persons is encouraged. This meeting will be 
conducted in English and Spanish.
    6. Electronic Access and Filing Addresses: Comments may be 
submitted by electronic mail (email) to: 
[email protected]. Electronic mail comments should include 
the commenter's physical or electronic mailing address, the project 
title and the Corps file number.
    7. The Draft EIS/EIR is expected to be available for public review 
and comment in the fall 2013, and a public meeting will be held after 
its publication.

    Dated: March 19, 2013.
David J. Castanon,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2013-07968 Filed 4-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P