[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 196 (Friday, October 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61187-61188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25859]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

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


Notice of Availability of Supplemental Information Report for 
Berryessa Creek Element, Coyote and Berryessa Creek, Flood Control 
Project, Santa Clara County, CA

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

ACTION: Public notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has prepared a 
Supplemental Information Report (SIR) to provide an update to the 
General Re-evaluation Report/Environmental Impact Statement (GRR/EIS) 
for the Berryessa Creek Element of the Coyote and Berryessa Creek, 
California, Flood Control Project (Project), that the Corps may be 
invoking the Clean Water Act (CWA) Sec.  404(r) exemption. The Project 
initially sought to obtain a water quality certification from the 
Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Region (RWQCB) 
pursuant to the CWA Sec.  401(a) (401 Certification). During the course 
of extensive coordination over the last six months, the RWQCB has 
stated that it may be unable or unwilling to issue a 401 Certification 
for the Project. Therefore, in an effort to preserve the ability to 
improve flood risk management in this area without excessive delay, the 
Corps may invoke 404(r) exemption in lieu of obtaining a 401 
Certification from the RWQCB.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cruz, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, San Francisco District, Plan Formulation Section, 1455 
Market Street, 17th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-1398, (415) 503-
6955, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The March 2014 Final GRR/EIS of the Project, 
and its accompanying CWA Sec.  404(b)(1) alternatives analysis, 
recommended the proposed design of a earthen trapezoidal channel 
section with varying bottom width and 2H:1V side slopes that provides 
protection against the one-percent annual chance exceedance flood event 
from I-680 in San Jose to Calaveras Boulevard in Milpitas (hereinafter 
``Project''). These environmental analyses determined the Project to be 
the National Economic Development Plan (NED), the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmentally preferable alternative, 
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Sec.  15126.6(e)(2) 
environmentally superior alternative, and the CWA Sec.  404 Least 
Environmental Damaging Practicable Alternative (LEDPA). The Corps' 
Director of Civil Works signed the Record of Decision (ROD) on May 29, 
2014.
    With the goal of promoting partnership, it has been the Corps' 
position to obtain 401 Certification for all its projects, regardless 
of the availability of 404(r) exemption. However, if the RWQCB is 
unable or unwilling to provide such a certification then the Corps will 
initiate 404(r) exemption procedures and acknowledge this in the 
appropriate NEPA document, which has been determined to be an SIR.
    Section 404(r) creates an exemption from the water quality 
certification requirement under Section 401(a) for projects (1) 
specifically authorized by Congress for which (2) an environmental 
impact statement has been created that (3) includes consideration of 
the 404(b)(1) guidelines, which (4) has been transmitted to Congress 
prior to the appropriation of construction funds. Congress authorized 
construction of the Project in the Water Resources Development Act of 
1990, Public Law 101-640, Sec.  101(a)(5), 103 Stat. 4604 (1990) and as 
stated above, the Corps completed the GRR/EIS in March 2014. The 
404(b)(1) Alternatives Analysis was included in the GRR/EIS as Appendix 
A: Part V. With the completion of this SIR, the Corps will officially 
transmit the updated GRR/EIS to Congress prior to the appropriation of 
construction funding. Once done, the Corps will have met all the 
requirements to utilize 404(r) exemption.
    The Corps is confident that the Project is fully conforming to all 
Federal and State laws, regulations, and requirements. In the absence 
of RWQCB issuing a 401 Certification, the Corps may use 404(r) 
exemption. In light of the fact that the Project meets all requirements 
of 404(r) exemption without any modifications, there are no substantial 
changes or new significant circumstances or information that would 
trigger the need for a supplement

[[Page 61188]]

to the GRR/EIS, as defined in section 1502.9(c) of the CEQ Regulations.

John C. Morrow,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2015-25859 Filed 10-8-15; 8:45 am]
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