[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 11, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13563-13564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05252]



[[Page 13563]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 208


Flood Control Regulations, Marshall Ford Dam (Mansfield Dam and 
Lake Travis), Colorado River, Texas

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is amending the rules 
regarding use and administration of Marshall Ford Dam (Mansfield Dam 
and Lake Travis), Colorado River, Texas. In 1997, the Lower Colorado 
River Authority (LCRA) completed repayment of the federal government's 
contribution for acquisition and construction costs related to 
Mansfield Dam. Subsequently, the United States Bureau of Reclamation 
(USBR) has relinquished all rights and obligations to the project. 
However, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the USBR are 
referenced as project stakeholders in the Flood Control Regulations. 
Amending the referenced regulations to update project ownership will 
eliminate the current discrepancy between the regulations and 
associated project documents. The Fort Worth District of the Corps and 
LCRA have finalized a revised water control plan for Lake Travis 
(Marshall Ford Dam, aka Mansfield Dam). There is no intent to publish 
the updated water control plan in the Federal Register. Amending the 
regulations to indicate that the water control plan has been superseded 
would eliminate the need to amend the regulations each time the water 
control plan is modified.

DATES: Effective Date: April 10, 2014.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CECW-SWD (Sandy Gore), 
441 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandy Gore at 202-761-5237 or by email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary

    The purpose of this action is to amend the regulations to reflect 
changes in ownership and responsibilities of flood control management 
of Marshall Ford Dam (Mansfield Dam and Lake Travis) by the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Lower Colorado River Authority 
(LCRA) and to clarify that the published water control plan has been 
superseded. Specifically, 33 CFR part 208 is amended:
    (A) A change in project ownership. The Corps is revising 33 CFR 
208.11(e) List of Projects, and 33 CFR 208.19, to indicate that the 
LCRA, is the responsible party for operating Marshall Ford Dam in the 
interest of flood control above elevation 714.
    (B) Revision of the Marshall Ford Dam (Mansfield Dam and Lake 
Travis) water control plan in 2012.
    (C) USACE intention to henceforth forego publication of the 
Marshall Ford Dam (Mansfield Dam and Lake Travis) water control plan in 
the Federal Register.
    (D) USACE and LCRA as sources for obtaining information regarding 
the most recently approved and therefore currently the effective water 
control plan.

Background

    Mansfield Dam was funded, planned, and built by the United States 
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) from February 1937 through September 1940. 
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) acquired the land for the 
project and paid for the majority of the costs related to the 
hydroelectric power facilities. The USBR was the project owner while 
LCRA was repaying the federal government contribution to the project. 
LCRA completed repayment in May 1997, and the USBR relinquished all 
rights and obligations to the project. USBR has formally requested 
USACE revise the water control manual (of which the water control plan 
is an integral part) and any other regulatory documents accordingly.
    As a result of Section 7 of the Flood Control Act of 1944, the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is responsible for prescribing a formal 
water control plan for regulation of the Lake Travis storage space 
allocated for flood control (elevation 681.0 to elevation 714.0). As 
per ER 1110-2-241, Use of Storage Allocated for Flood Control and 
Navigation at Non-Corps Projects (24 May 1990), paragraph 6.d.--Water 
Control Plan and Manual, the Corps of Engineers is responsible for 
developing the formal flood control regulation/water control plan, 
documenting the plan in a water control manual, and furnishing a copy 
of the manual to the project owner. A water control plan for Lake 
Travis was published in the Federal Register (33 CFR 208.19) in May of 
1951. Subsequently, 33 CFR 208 was amended in April 1976, and again in 
April 1979, by revising Section 208.19 to reflect revision of the water 
control plan. Each of these three respective water control plans, and 
Section 208.11, identifies the U.S. Department of the Interior and/or 
the USBR as stakeholders in the project.
    In 2012, based on results of a recent study, USACE--Fort Worth 
District and LCRA finalized a jointly supported revision of the water 
control plan for Lake Travis. There being no requirement for 
publication of the water control plan in the Federal Register, USACE 
plans to henceforth forego doing so. Also in 2012, USACE--Fort Worth 
District and LCRA agreed on a formal Letter of Understanding (LOU) and 
a Water Control Agreement (WCA) in accordance with ER 1110-2-241, Use 
of Storage Allocated for Flood Control and Navigation at Non-Corps 
Projects (24 May 1990). LCRA has agreed to sign the LOU and the WCA, 
and adopt the new water control plan, upon amendment of the CFR to 
indicate the last published water control plan (April 1979) has been 
superseded.
    The Corps published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on 23 
December 2013 (78 FR 77397). The Corps did not receive any comments in 
response to the proposed rule.

Administrative Requirements

Plain Language

    In compliance with the principles in the President's memorandum of 
June 1, 1998, (63 FR 31855) regarding plain language, this preamble is 
written using plain language. The use of ``we'' in this notice refers 
to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We have also used the active 
voice, short sentences, and common everyday terms except for necessary 
technical terms.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule does not impose any new information collection 
burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq. Therefore, this action is not subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as Amended by the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.

    The RFA generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory 
flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice-and-comment 
rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act or any 
other statute unless the agency certifies that the final rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. Small entities include small businesses, small organizations 
and small governmental jurisdictions.
    For purposes of assessing the impacts of this final rule on small 
entities, a small entity is defined as: (1) A small

[[Page 13564]]

business based on Small Business Administration size standards; (2) a 
small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of a city, county, 
town, school district, or special district with a population of less 
than 50,000; or (3) a small organization that is any not-for-profit 
enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not 
dominant in its field.
    After considering the economic impacts of this final rule on small 
entities, we believe that this action will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The final 
rule is consistent with current agency practice, does not impose new 
substantive requirements, and therefore would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Congressional Review Act

    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as amended by 
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 
generally provides that before a final rule may take effect, the agency 
promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy 
of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States. We will submit a report containing this 
final rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. 
House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United 
States. This final rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 208

    Dams, Flood control, Intergovernmental relations, Reservoirs.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Corps amends 33 CFR 
part 208 as follows:

PART 208--FLOOD CONTROL REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for 33 CFR part 208 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  Sec. 7, 58 Stat. 890; 33 U.S.C. 709.


0
2. Amend Sec.  208.11(e) as follows:
0
a. Revise the entry for ``Marshall Ford Dam & Res'' on the ``List of 
Projects'' table; and
0
b. Revise footnote 4.


Sec.  208.11  Regulations for use of storage allocated for flood 
control or navigation and/or project operation at reservoirs subject to 
prescription of rules and regulations by the Secretary of the Army in 
the interest of flood control and navigation.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                                                    List of Projects
                                                 [Non-Corps projects with Corps Regulation Requirements]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       Elev limits feet        Area in acres
                               State              Stream \1\    Project    Storage          M.S.L.        ---------------------- Authorizing     Proj.
     Project name \1\ (1)       (2)   County (3)      (4)       purpose    1000 AF  ----------------------              Lower     legis.\3\    owner \4\
                                                                \2\ (5)      (6)     Upper (7)  Lower (8)  Upper (9)     (10)        (11)        (12)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
Marshall Ford Dam & Res......  TX     Travis....  Colorado R  F.........      779.8      714.0      681.0      29060      18955  PL 73-392..  LCRA
                                                              NEIM......      810.5      681.0      618.0      18955       8050  PL 78-534..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Cr--Creek; CS--Control Structure; Div--Diversion; DS--Drainage Structure; FG--Floodgate; Fk--Fork; GIWW--Gulf Intercoastal Waterway; Lk--Lake; L&D--
  Lock & Dam; PS--Pump Station; R--River; Res--Reservoir.
\2\ F--Flood Control; N--Navigation; P--Corps Hydropower; E--Non Corps Hydropower; I--Irrigation; M--Municipal and/or Industrial Water Supply; C--Fish
  and Wildlife Conservation; A--Low Flow Augmentation or Pollution Abatement; R--Recreation; Q--Water Quality or Silt Control.
\3\ FCA--Flood Control Act; FERC--Federal Energy Regulatory Comm; HD--House Document; PL--Public Law; PW--Public Works; RHA--River & Harbor Act; SD--
  Senate Document; WSA--Water Supply Act.
\4\ Appl Pwr--Appalachian Power; Chln PUD--Chelan Cnty PUD 1; CLPC--CT Light & Power Co; Dgls PUD--Douglas Cnty PUD 1; DWR--Department of Water
  Resources; EB-MUD--East Bay Municipal Utility Dist; GRD--Grand River Dam Auth; Grnt PUD--Grant Cnty PUD 2; Hnbl--city of Hannibal; LCRA--Lower
  Colorado River Authority; M&T Irr--Modesto & Turlock Irr; Mrcd Irr--Merced Irr; NEPC--New England Power Co; Pgnt P&L--Pugent Sound Power & Light; Ptmc
  Comm--Upper Potomac R Comm; Rclm B--Reclamation Board; Rkfd--city of Rockford; Sttl--city of Seattle; Tac--City of Tacoma; Vale USBR--50% Vale Irr 50%
  USBR; WF&CWID--City of Wichita Falls and Wichita Cnty Water Improvement District No. 2; WMEC--Western MA Electric Co; YCWA--Yuba City Water Auth; Yolo
  FC&W--Yolo Flood Control & Water Conserv Dist.

* * * * *

0
3. Revise Sec.  208.19 to read as follows:


Sec.  208.19  Marshall Ford Dam and Reservoir (Mansfield Dam and Lake 
Travis), Colorado River, Texas.

    In the interest of flood control, the Lower Colorado River 
Authority (LCRA) shall operate the Marshall Ford Dam and Reservoir in 
accordance with the water control plan of regulation most recently 
approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), effective on the 
date specified in the approval. Information regarding the most recently 
approved water control plan of regulation may be obtained by contacting 
the LCRA offices in Austin, Texas, or the offices of the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth Engineer District, in Fort Worth, Texas.

    Dated March 6, 2014.

    Approved by:
James C. Dalton,
Chief of Engineering and Construction, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
[FR Doc. 2014-05252 Filed 3-10-14; 8:45 am]
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