[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 214 (Friday, November 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76936-76937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26699]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and 
Intent To Conduct Public Scoping Meetings for the Upper Susquehanna 
River Basin Comprehensive Flood Damage Reduction Study, New York

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act

[[Page 76937]]

(NEPA), the Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 
will prepare a Feasibility Report and EIS comprehensively evaluating 
flood-risk management (FRM) needs and opportunities in the upper 
Susquehanna River Basin in New York.

DATES: The public scoping meeting dates are:
    1. November 21, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the Hubbard 
Auditorium of the Tioga County Office Building.
    2. November 22, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Town of 
Chenango Community Meeting Room.
    3. November 30, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. in the Village of Sidney.

ADDRESSES: Two scoping meetings will be held in the Village of Owego on 
Monday, November 21, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the Hubbard 
Auditorium of the Tioga County Office Building, 56 Main Street. Two 
scoping meetings will be held in the Town of Chenango on Tuesday, 
November 22, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Town of Chenango 
Community Meeting Room at 1529 Upper Front Street (NY Route 12). One 
meeting will be held on November 30, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. in the Village 
of Sidney in the Memorial Public Library located at 8 River Street.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed scoping 
meetings, requests to be placed on the project information distribution 
list, information requests or written comments on the scope of the EIS 
and the comprehensive FRM study can be addressed to Mr. David W. 
Robbins, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENAB-PL-P, 10 S. Howard 
Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, telephone 410-962-0685; email address: 
[email protected]. Please contact me if you wish to speak at 
the meetings or should you have special needs (sign language 
interpreters, access needs) at the above address. Information about the 
study, including public scoping meetings, is available at the study Web 
site http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/USRB_Feasibility_Study/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Notice initiates formal scoping for the 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), provides information on the 
nature of the proposed Project, invites participation in the EIS 
process, and identifies potential environmental effects to be 
considered. It also invites comments from interested members of the 
public, tribes, and agencies on the scope of the EIS and announces 
upcoming public scoping meetings. Comments should address (1) feasible 
alternatives that may better achieve the Project's need and purposes 
with fewer adverse impacts and (2) any significant environmental 
impacts relating to the alternatives.
    Scoping meeting information will be posted online by Baltimore 
District via Web site postings and social media. Meeting information 
will be provided electronically via the study's Web page and in printed 
form to local libraries, government offices, as well as mailed to 
interested public.
    For all meetings, staff will be available to answer questions. All 
interested parties are invited to speak at the public meetings. The 
public scoping peiod will begin on the date of publication of this 
Notice and will continue through 30 days following the last public 
scoping meeting.
    The study was authorized by a Resolution of the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, on 24 September, 2008. The upper 
Susquehanna Basin includes the portions of Tioga, Broome, Chenango, 
Cortland, Otsego, Delaware, Schoharie, Herkimer, Oneida, Madison, 
Onondaga, Tompkins, Schuyler, and Chemung Counties in the Susquehanna 
River Watershed of New York upstream of the Chemung River confluence 
near Waverly. The upper Susquehanna River Basin repeatedly experiences 
flooding damages, with recent notable events occurring in 2006 and 
2011. USACE is undertaking the FRM study in partnership with the New 
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).
    USACE and NYSDEC are seeking public input to identify areas with 
flooding concerns which may be of interest to address in the context of 
the study, and learn of area-specific considerations important in 
formulating any FRM plans. Study efforts will be coordinated with the 
Federal Emergency Management Area (FEMA), the U.S. Geological Survey 
(USGS), as well as other Federal and state agencies and local 
governments.
    An initial conceptual effort will be completed using existing 
information to identify areas of the basin that currently do not have 
FRM infrastructure in place and screen these areas for FRM needs and 
opportunities. The study will evaluate the level of FRM currently 
provided by existing FRM infrastructure under current conditions and 
projected future conditions. Within the study area, there are 20 
existing USACE FRM projects, as well as other non-Federal FRM projects. 
The study will investigate FRM strategies to reduce flood risk, as well 
as reduce residual risk in areas with existing FRM infrastructure. 
Structural and non-structural FRM will be considered. Hydrologic and 
hydraulic modeling will be developed for the majority of the 
Susquehanna River main stem and major tributaries in the basin to aid 
plan formulation.
    The study will be conducted in compliance with applicable federal 
laws including the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the 
Clean Air Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the 
National Historic Preservation Act, and the Farmland Protection Policy 
Act. All appropriate compliance documentation will be obtained and 
included as part of the EIS. It is currently anticipated that the study 
will take three years and may lead to the implementation of one or more 
FRM projects. The EIS is expected to be publicly released in Spring 
2018.

David W. Robbins,
Acting Chief, Civil Project Development Branch, Planning Division.
[FR Doc. 2016-26699 Filed 11-3-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P