[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70168-70169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27787]



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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 Redwood City Harbor Navigation 
Improvement Feasibility Study and Integrated EIS/EIR Redwood City and 
County of San Mateo, CA (SPN-2014-125242)

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to initiate the scoping process 
for the preparation of an integrated Feasibility Report and 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for proposed 
improvements to the existing navigation project at Redwood City Harbor 
and San Bruno Shoal.

DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held on December 10, 2014 at 
7:00 p.m. (PST). Submit comments concerning this notice on or before 
December 15, 2014.

ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting location is: the Redwood City Hall, 1017 
Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA 94063. Meeting will be held at the 
City Council Chamber Meeting Room. Mail written comments concerning 
this notice to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, 
Project Management Division, ATTN: SPN-2014-125242, 1455 Market Street, 
San Francisco, CA 94103-1398. 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: Katherine Reyes, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, San Francisco District, Project Management Division, ATTN: 
CESPN-PM-B, 1455 Market Street, San Francisco CA 94103-1398, (415) 503-
6847, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The primary 
Federal actions under consideration are dredging, channel realignment, 
dredged material placement, and transport of dredged material for the 
purpose of ocean placement.
    Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the 
Port of Redwood City will serve as Lead Agency in preparing an 
Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The Corps and the Port of Redwood 
City 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.
    Project Site and Background Information: The project site is 
located at Redwood City Harbor (RWC), and San Francisco Bay, CA. The 
harbor is located in San Mateo County, on the southwest side of San 
Francisco Bay, approximately 18 miles south of San Francisco. The 
project site includes the existing Federal navigation channel and 
turning basins at RWC, extending from the mouth of Redwood Creek to 
deep water in the San Francisco Bay, as well as the channel at San 
Bruno Shoal in San Francisco Bay. Both channels are authorized to a 
depth of 30 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW). It is the only deep-water 
port in South San Francisco Bay and was completed to its present-day 
authorized depth in 1965. The Port of Redwood City is the local sponsor 
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the Federal partner. The port 
maintains three berth facilities at a depth of 34 feet MLLW and a small 
facility to unload cement and aggregates via barge. Maritime activities 
include the export of recycled metal and the import of dry bulk 
building materials such as cement, bauxite, gypsum and aggregates.
    Proposed Action(s): The proposed action is to evaluate alternatives 
to improve the existing navigation project at RWC and San Bruno Shoal. 
The study is authorized by House Resolution 2511, adopted May 7, 1997 
``. . . in the interest of navigation improvements and related purposes 
at Redwood City Harbor, California, with particular reference to 
providing increased depths to accommodate new, larger vessels that now 
call on the port.''
    Issues: Potentially significant issues associated with the project 
may 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. 
Bair Island and Greco Island are adjacent to RWC and are within the 
NEPA scope of analysis due to potential project impacts. Bair Island is 
operated by the USFWS and is the site of an ongoing wetland restoration 
effort. The bay water around Bair Island and RWC is within the Don 
Edwards Marine Protected Area.
    Alternatives: Four alternative plans will be evaluated. Alternative 
1 would deepen the RWC and the San Bruno Shoal Channels. Alternative 2 
would deepen the RWC and San Bruno Shoal channels and implement 
measures to address shoaling including, realigning the turn into RWC 
channel, modifying the cross section of the RWC channel entrance and/or 
conducting advance maintenance. Alternative 3 would address shoaling by 
realigning the turn into RWC channel, modifying the cross section to 
the RWC channel entrance and/or conducting advance maintenance. 
Alternative 4 would be the no-action alternative, which would include 
continued maintenance of the authorized Federal channels to a depth of 
30 feet MLLW at RWC and San Bruno Shoal.
    Six dredge material placement sites are being evaluated. Multiple 
sites may be used depending on the quantity of material dredged from 
the channels and the capacity of the placement sites. The potential 
dredge material placement sites include:
    1. Ravenswood Pond Complex (Upland Beneficial Reuse Site).
    2. Eden Landing Pond Complex (Upland Beneficial Reuse Site).
    3. Alviso Pond Complex (Upland Beneficial Reuse Site).
    4. SF-11 Alcatraz (In-Bay Aquatic).
    5. Dumbarton Bridge--Passive Sediment Transport (In-Bay Aquatic).
    6. San Francisco Deep Ocean Disposal Site (SFDODS) (Ocean Aquatic).
    Scoping Process: The Corps is seeking participation and input of 
all interested federal, state, and local agencies, Native American 
groups, and other concerned private organizations or individuals on the 
scope of the draft EIS/EIR through this public notice. The purpose of 
the public scoping meeting is to solicit comments regarding the 
potential impacts, environmental issues, and alternatives associated 
with the proposed action to be considered in the draft EIS/EIR. The 
meeting place, date and time will be advertised in advance in local 
newspapers, and meeting announcement letters will be sent to interested 
parties. The final draft Integrated Feasibility Report and EIS/EIR is 
expected to be available for public review and comment in the

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summer of 2015 and a public meeting will be held after its publication.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-27787 Filed 11-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P