[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40128-40129]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16027]



[[Page 40128]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Reaches 8, 9, and 10 Comprehensive Shoreline 
Stabilization Project in Palm Beach County, Florida

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 (Corps), Jacksonville 
District, has received two permit applications for Department of the 
Army permits under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 
U.S.C. 403) Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1344) 
from the Town of Palm Beach (Town) and Palm Beach County (County) to 
discharge fill in Waters of the United States for the purpose of 
shoreline stabilization. The two projects being considered and their 
Department of the Army file numbers are the Town of Palm Beach--Reach 8 
South (SAJ-2005-07908) and the Palm Beach County--Central Palm Beach 
County Comprehensive Erosion Control (SAJ-2008-04086). The projects 
overlap (i.e. had proposed the discharge of fill in the same location) 
along approximately 2,000 linear feet from approximately R-132 to R-134 
(see Location for further information) when initially submitted and now 
abut one another. The Corps determined that the proposed beach 
nourishment projects are connected actions and is evaluating the 
environmental effects of these connected actions together.
    The primary Federal involvement associated with the Proposed 
Activities is the discharge of fill within Waters of the United States 
and the construction of low profile groins within Navigable Waters of 
the United States. The proposed project site is a beach situated 
directly adjacent to extensive hardbottom resources and experiences 
year-round recreational usage. The Proposed Activities may result in 
localized shoreline accretion or erosion on the adjacent beach segments 
and potential adverse effects on federally listed species. Issuance of 
Federal authorizations for the Proposed Activities would constitute a 
``Major Federal Action.'' The Corps is preparing an EIS in compliance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to identify and 
assess the effects of the Proposed Action and its alternatives, 
including the No Action Alternative, in order to provide a basis for 
rendering an informed decision on the proposed project.
    The Corps' decision will be to either issue, issue with 
modifications, or deny Department of the Army permits for the Proposed 
Action. The Draft EIS (DEIS) is intended to be sufficient in scope to 
address federal, state, and local requirements and environmental issues 
concerning the Proposed Action and permit reviews.

DATES: The Corps plans to hold a public scoping meeting on August 12, 
2013, at 5:30pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting will be held at Town of Palm 
Beach Council Chambers, 2nd floor, Town Hall, 360 South County Road, 
Palm Beach, Florida.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the Proposed Action 
and Draft EIS should be directed to Mr. Garett Lips, Corps Regulatory 
Project Manager, by telephone at (561) 472-3519 or by email at 
[email protected]. Written comments should be addressed to 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: Mr. Garett Lips, 4400 PGA 
Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    a. Project Location, Background. The Corps will study the 
environmental impacts of the Proposed Action within Central Palm Beach 
County. The area between the Palm Beach Inlet and the South Lake Worth 
Inlet has been roughly divided into 11 beach segments known as 
``reaches'' to facilitate area location. Reaches 1-8 fall mainly within 
the Town of Palm Beach. Reaches 9-11 are associated with the Town of 
South Palm Beach, Town of Lantana, and Town of Manalapan. The Study 
Area comprises approximately 2.07 miles of shoreline and nearshore 
environment within the southern extent of Reach 8, throughout all of 
Reach 9, and the northern extent of Reach 10. The Florida Department of 
Environmental Projection (FDEP) utilizes range monuments (R-monuments), 
a statewide network of survey monuments, to more closely identify 
specific locations on the state's sandy beach shoreline. The northern 
limit of the Study Area is located at R-128+955 (south of Lake Worth 
Municipal Beach located within the Town) and extends south to R-138+551 
(the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Manalapan). The existing structural armoring 
in the Study Area includes rock revetments, concrete seawalls, steel 
sheet pile walls, a small wood retaining structure, a concrete ramp, 
and a concrete waffle revetment. The Town and the County have completed 
dune nourishments within the Study Area on several occasions and have 
planted native dune vegetation at several locations.
    b. Purpose and Need. The basic purpose of the Proposed Action is to 
stabilize the shoreline. The overall purpose is to stabilize the 
shoreline within the southern portion of Reach 8, all of Reach 9, and 
the northern portion of Reach 10.
    c. Prior EAs, EISs. The FDEP and the Corps, under the Coast of 
Florida Study, conducted an extensive offshore geotechnical 
investigation of the region which extended south to R-132, but did not 
cover the entire Study Area.
    The Corps issued a Notice of Intent for the Central Palm Beach 
County Comprehensive Erosion Control Project EIS on Monday, May 3, 
2010. The project was subsequently withdrawn and no authorization was 
issued.
    d. Proposed Action. The Applicants' Proposed Action is to construct 
beach nourishment and dune restoration projects between R-128+955 and 
R-138+551 with sand placement and the construction of seven (7) low 
profile, shore-perpendicular groins (groin field). All sand is proposed 
to be sourced from an upland sand mine. The Proposed Action consists of 
the following two projects:
    The Town of Palm Beach--South Reach 8 Project--does not include 
structures and extends from FDEP monument R-128+955 to R-134+135. The 
Town proposes to place approximately 74,300 cubic yards of beach 
quality sand in this area.
    Palm Beach County--Central Palm Beach County Comprehensive Erosion 
Control Project--includes construction of a groin field as well as sand 
placement between approximately R-135+195 and R-137. The groins would 
be located landward of the nearshore and offshore hardbottom. 
Approximately 75,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand is proposed to 
be placed between R-134+135 and R-135+551 to elevate the existing berm 
and help offset any potential impacts to downdrift beaches from capture 
of sand by the groins. The current proposed project does not include 
structures within Manalapan.
    Between 2000 and 2012, the quantity of the exposed hardbottom 
within the Study Area has varied significantly. Reach 8 has averaged 
6.28 acres of exposed hardbottom with a low of 0.45 acre and a high of 
11.37 acres. Reach 9 has averaged 6.94 acres with a low of 0.61 acre 
and a high of 18.77 acres. Reach 10 has averaged 20.86 acres with a low 
of 3.27 acres and a high of 38.48 acres. Construction of the 
Applicants' proposed projects would impact 0.6 acre

[[Page 40129]]

of intertidal and subtidal hardbottom in Reach 8 and 1.05 acres of 
nearshore hardbottom in Reaches 9 and 10 based on in-water surveys 
conducted in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
    e. Alternatives. An evaluation of alternatives to the Applicants' 
Proposed Action initially being considered includes a No Action 
alternative; beach nourishment and dune restoration through filling 
activities, groins, upland coastal structural reinforcement/
replacement, and combinations of these alternatives; alternatives that 
would avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to the aquatic resources; 
alternative practices or analysis methods for minimizing or evaluating 
cumulative effects of shoreline stabilization; and other reasonable 
alternatives that will be developed through the project scoping process 
which may also meet the identified purpose and need.
    f. Issues. The following issues have been identified for analysis 
in the DEIS. This list is preliminary and is intended to facilitate 
public comment on the scope of the DEIS. The DEIS will consider the 
effects on Federally listed threatened and endangered species, 
Essential Fish Habitat, cumulative impacts, geology/soils, 
environmental justice, socioeconomic issues, traffic/circulation, 
noise/vibration, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands 
and other aquatic resources, historic properties, cultural resources, 
fish and wildlife values, recreation, air quality, water quality, 
considerations of property ownership, sediment budget, in general, the 
needs and welfare of the people, and other issues identified through 
scoping, public involvement, and interagency coordination. At the 
present time, the primary areas of concern are the loss of hardbottom 
and coral habitat, adequate characterization of impacts, mitigation of 
the loss of aquatic resources, the proposed projects' effect on 
fisheries and essential fish habitat and on Federally-listed threatened 
and endangered species, the potential effect of structures on downdrift 
beaches, and potential cumulative effects. The issues of concern and 
the methods used to evaluate those issues will be defined through the 
scoping process.
    g. Scoping Process. CEQ regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) require an 
early and open process for determining the scope of an 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 45-day scoping 
period which requests the public's involvement in the scoping and 
evaluation process of the DEIS. 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)
    h. Public Involvement. The Corps invites Federal agencies, American 
Indian Tribal Nations, state and local governments, and other 
interested private organizations and parties to attend the public 
scoping meetings and provide comments in order to ensure that all 
significant issues are identified and the full range of issues related 
to the permit request are addressed.
    i. 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. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. 
National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida State 
Historic Preservation Officer, local cities, and other agencies as 
identified in scoping, public involvement, and agency coordination.
    j. Agency Role. The Corps will be the lead agency for the EIS. The 
Corps expects to receive input and critical information from the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal, state, and local 
agencies.
    k. Availability of the Draft EIS. The Corps currently expects the 
DEIS to be made available to the public by April 2014. A public meeting 
will be held during the public comment period for the DEIS. Written 
comments will be accepted at the meeting.

Donald W. Kinard,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2013-16027 Filed 7-2-13; 8:45 am]
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