[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43868-43869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17489]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Modification Study Report

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 (NEPA), the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Corps) intends to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Whittier 
Narrows Dam Safety Modification Study (DSMS). Whittier Narrows Dam is 
located approximately 12 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, Los 
Angeles County, CA. The DSMS will evaluate alternatives to remediate 
safety concerns such as dam settling, seismic damages, and seepage. The 
DSMS will identify risk reduction measures that would be implemented to 
reduce life loss and property damage downstream in the event of a dam 
failure.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Background Information. Construction of Whittier Narrows Dam was 
completed in 1957 as an integral component of the Los Angeles County 
Drainage Area system of dams and channelized rivers authorized by 
Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1936. After almost 60 years of 
settlement and damage from seismic events, the Corps has determined 
that the Whittier Narrows Dam has a high risk of failure due to 
significant seismic, seepage, and hydrologic issues. The DSMS and EIS 
would identify and evaluate alternatives to remedy these deficiencies. 
In the interim, the Corps has implemented several measures including: 
emergency management preparedness, remote monitoring, increased 
inspections, pre-positioning of materials for flood fighting, and 
updated flood mapping.
    2. Preliminary Alternatives. The DSMS and EIS will identify and 
evaluate an array of remediation alternatives including: (1) Raising 
the crest elevation of the dam by 5 feet with a 5 foot high parapet 
wall on top of the crest; (2) constructing a weir in the embankment to 
allow smaller flood events to flow over the weir; (3) placing a 
fuseplug by taking out a section of the embankment and filling it with 
a concrete wall that would break at a lower elevation of water; and (4) 
removing sediment and deepening Santa Fe Dam Basin which is located 
upstream of the Whittier Narrows Dam to increase upstream holding 
capacity.
    3. Preliminary NEPA Scope of Analysis. The EIS will also evaluate 
the impacts of alternatives on environmental resources. Resources 
initially identified in the NEPA scope of analysis as potentially 
significant without implementation of mitigation measures include, but 
are not limited to: water quality, noise and vibration, air quality, 
socioeconomics and environmental justice, land use, recreation, visual 
and aesthetic resources, traffic and transportation, historical and 
cultural resources, vegetation and wildlife, and special status 
species.
    4. NEPA Scoping Meeting: A public scoping meeting is preliminarily

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scheduled to be held in September 2013. The Corps will notify the 
public through local newspapers in advance of the meeting.
    For Additional Information Contact: Questions or comments regarding 
the Whittier Narrows Dam DSMS, including requests to be placed on the 
mailing list may be submitted by mail to Ms. Deborah Lamb, U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, CESPL-PD-RL, 915 Wilshire 
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90017-3401; or by email to 
[email protected].

DATES: Submit NEPA scoping comments on or before 31 August 2013.

    Dated: July 3, 2013.
R. Mark Toy,
Colonel, US Army, Commander and District Engineer, Los Angeles 
District.
[FR Doc. 2013-17489 Filed 7-19-13; 8:45 am]
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