[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11199-11200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04736]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Beaver Lake Master Plan and Shoreline 
Management Plan and Environmental Assessment To Investigate Potential 
Significant Impacts, Either Positive or Negative, to Beaver Lake's 
Authorized Purposes of Flood Risk Management, Hydropower, Water Supply, 
Recreation, and Fish and Wildlife

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) is being prepared 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Council on 
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR, 1500-1517), and the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) implementing regulation, Policy 
and Procedures for Implementing NEPA, Engineer Regulation (ER) 200-2-2 
(1988). The study is being conducted in accordance with the 
requirements of 36 CFR 327.30, dated July 27, 1990 and ER 1130-2-406, 
dated October 31, 1990. The EA will evaluate potential impacts 
(beneficial and adverse) to socioeconomic conditions, cultural and 
ecological resources, recreation, aesthetics, infrastructure, lake 
water quality, terrestrial and aquatic fish and wildlife habitats, 
federally-listed threatened and endangered species, and cumulative 
impacts associated with past, current, and reasonably foreseeable 
future actions at Beaver Lake.
    Following the public scoping period and after consideration of all 
comments received during scoping, USACE will prepare a Draft EA. The 
Draft EA will be made available for public review and comment. Based on 
the EA analysis, USACE will either issue a Finding of No Significant 
Impact or announce its intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS). If USACE determines that an EIS is needed, either 
during preparation of the EA or after completing the EA, USACE will 
issue in the Federal Register a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 
EIS. In that case, the current scoping process would serve as the 
scoping process that normally would follow an NOI to prepare an EIS. 
USACE would not solicit additional scoping comments but would consider 
any comments on the scope of the EA received during this scoping 
process in preparing the EIS.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Mr. Craig Hilburn, Chief of 
Environmental Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Planning and 
Environmental Division, Environmental Branch, Little Rock District, 
P.O. Box 867, Little Rock, AR 72203-0867. Comments will be accepted 
through April 5, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions or comments regarding 
the Draft Beaver Lake Master Plan and Shoreline Management Plan EA, 
please contact Mr. Craig Hilburn, (501) 324-5735 or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Beaver Lake: Beaver Lake is a multiple purpose water resource 
development project primarily for flood risk management, municipal and 
industrial water supply, and hydropower generation. Additional purposes 
include water recreation, and fish and wildlife management, to the 
extent that those additional purposes do not adversely affect flood 
risk management, power generation, or other authorized purposes of the 
project (Flood Control Act of 1944 as amended in 1946, 1954, 1958, 
1962, 1965 and 1968 and the Water Resources Act of 1992). Beaver Lake 
is a major component of a comprehensive plan for water resource 
development in the White River Basin of Missouri and Arkansas. 
Additional beneficial uses include increased power output of

[[Page 11200]]

downstream power stations resulting from the regulated flow from the 
Beaver Lake project.
    2. Study Location: The Beaver Lake Civil Works project on the White 
River is situated in northwest Arkansas (Benton, Carroll, Madison, and 
Washington counties). The total area contained in the Beaver project, 
including both land and water surface, consists of 38,138 acres, 
including 1,432 acres in flowage easement. The region is characterized 
by plateaus, ridges, and valleys featuring oak-hickory forests with 
scattered shortleaf pine. When the lake is at the top of the 
conservation pool, the water area comprises 28,252 acres and 473 miles 
of shoreline within fee. The shoreline is irregular with topography 
ranging from steep bluffs to gentle slopes.
    3. Study History: The Beaver Lake Master Plan was originally 
approved December 13, 1963. An updated Master Plan was approved in 
October 1969. There have been 23 supplements to this plan, all of which 
are incorporated into the current Master Plan, approved in April 1976. 
The Beaver Lake Shoreline Management Plan was first approved in October 
1975 and revised to the currently approved plan in April 2008. Updates 
to these plans are necessary due to several factors, including updates 
in Corps policies/regulations, current and projected future demands on 
fixed resources, and increases in environmental and management issues 
that have created sustainability concerns.
    4. Scoping/Public Involvement. Public meetings will be held at the 
following locations and times: Tuesday, March 15, 2016, 4-7 p.m., 
Hilton Garden Inn--Fayetteville, 1325 North Palak Drive, Fayetteville, 
AR; Wednesday March 16, 2016, 4-7 p.m., Best Western Inn of the Ozarks 
Conference Center, 207 W. Van Buren, Eureka Springs, AR; Thursday March 
17, 2016, 4-7 p.m., Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville, 211 SE Walton 
Boulevard, Bentonville, AR.
    The Public Scoping process provides information about the study to 
the public, serves as a mechanism to solicit agency and public input on 
alternatives and issues of concern, and ensures full and open 
participation in Scoping and review of the Draft EA. Comments received 
as a result of this notice, public meetings, and news releases will be 
used to assist the preparers in identifying potential impacts to the 
quality of the human or natural environment. The Corps invites other 
Federal agencies, Native American Tribes, State and local agencies and 
officials, private organizations, and interested individuals to 
participate in the Scoping process by forwarding written comments to 
(see ADDRESSES). Interested parties may also request to be included on 
the mailing list for public distribution of announcements and 
documents.
    5. Issues/Alternatives: The EA will evaluate effects from a range 
of alternatives developed to address potential environmental concerns 
of the area. Anticipated issues to be addressed in the EA include 
impacts on: (1) Hydropower, (2) flooding, (3) recreation, (4) water 
supply, (5) fish and wildlife resources and habitats, and (6), other 
impacts identified by the public, agencies or USACE studies.

Courtney W. Paul,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2016-04736 Filed 3-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P