[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 70 (Friday, April 11, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20191-20192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08245]


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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 121-131 [Yang Ming] Container 
Terminal Redevelopment Project at the Port of Los Angeles, City and 
County of Los Angeles, California (SPL-2013-00810-TS).

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to initiate a 45-day scoping 
process for preparation of an Enviornmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
the Los Angeles Harbor Department (LAHD) Berths 121-131 [Yang Ming] 
Container Terminal Redevelopment Project.

DATES: Submit comments concerning this notice on or before May 25, 
2014. A public scoping meeting will be held on May 8, 2014 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-2013-00810-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-2013-00810-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 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.

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 403; 33 U.S.C. 1344; 33 U.S.C. 1413.

    1. Project Site and Background Information. The project site is 
located in the West Basin area of the Port of Los Angeles. The site is 
within the Port of Los Angeles Community Plan area in the City and 
County 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 to optimize the container-handling efficiency and capacity at 
Berths 121-131, and to accommodate berthing and servicing of the 
largest container ships that may call at the Port of Los Angeles. The 
existing 186-acre terminal is operated by Yang Ming, Inc. under a lease 
agreement (LAHD Permit No. 787).
    2. Proposed Action. The LAHD has proposed to redevelop the existing 
container terminal in two phases and the following actions require a 
Department of the Army permit. Phase 1 would take place at Berths 126-
129 and would include: Demolition and reconstruction of 1,260 linear 
feet of concrete wharf and supporting rock dike; 10 new 100-120-foot 
gantry cranes (this measurement represents the spread of the crane leg 
supports); dredging of approximately 400,000 cubic yards (cy) of 
sediment. Phase 2 would take place at Berths 121-126 and would include: 
Demolition and reconstruction of 1,400 linear feet of concrete wharf 
and supporting rock dike; 10 new 100-120-foot gantry cranes; cut 3.7 
acres of land and backfill 2.1 acres of waters of the United States for 
wharf realignment and angle point transition; dredging of approximately 
500,000 cy of sediment. The depth of the proposed dredging areas would 
increase from -45 feet to -53 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) with an 
overdredge allowance of two feet, for a total depth of -55 feet MLLW. 
Dredged material would be beneficially reused, disposed at the Berths 
243-245 confined disposal facility (CDF), or the LA-2 ocean disposal 
site. Construction activities for Phase 1 are scheduled to begin in 
2016, would take approximately 24 months to complete and may be phased 
to maintain terminal operations during construction. Construction 
activities for Phase 2 have not been scheduled. Addition or expansion 
of backland facilities, such as on-dock rail, does not require a Corps 
permit; however all indirect and cumulative impacts associated with the 
proposed project will be evaluated in the EIS/EIR in accordance with 
NEPA.
    3. Issues: Potentially significant impacts associated with the 
proposed project may include: Aesthetics/visual impacts, air quality 
emissions, biological resource impacts, environmental justice, geologic 
impacts related to seismicity, hazards and hazardous materials, water 
quality, noise, traffic and transportation, socioeconomics, 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

[[Page 20192]]

scoping meeting 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. The Draft EIS/EIR is expected to be available for public review 
and comment in 2015, and a public meeting will be held after its 
publication.

    Dated: March 27, 2014.
David J. Castanon,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2014-08245 Filed 4-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P