[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 106 (Monday, June 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25810-25811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11535]


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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION


United States and Mexico; United States Section; Notice of 
Availability of a Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment: Flood 
Control Improvements to the Rio Grande Canalization Project From Vinton 
to Canutillo, El Paso County, Texas (Canutillo Phase II)

AGENCY: United States Section, International Boundary and Water 
Commission, United States and Mexico (USIBWC).

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Assessment (SEA).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality Final 
Regulations; and the United States Section, Operational Procedures for 
Implementing Section 102 of NEPA, published in the Federal Register 
September 2, 1981, (46 FR 44083); the United States Section hereby 
gives notice that the Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment and 
Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact for Flood Control 
Improvements to the Rio Grande Canalization Project

[[Page 25811]]

from Vinton to Canutillo, El Paso County, Texas (Canutillo Phase II) is 
available. An environmental impact statement will not be prepared 
unless additional information which may affect this decision is brought 
to our attention within 30-days from the date of this Notice.
    Public Comments: USIBWC will consider substantive comments from the 
public and stakeholders for 30 days after the date of publication of 
this Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
    Please note all written and email comments received during the 
comment period will become part of the public record, including any 
personal information you may provide. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their 
entirety.
    Comments and requests for public hearings should be sent to: 
Elizabeth Verdecchia, Natural Resources Specialist, USIBWC, 4171 N. 
Mesa, C-100; El Paso, Texas 79902. Telephone: (915) 832-4701, Fax: 
(915) 493-2428, email: [email protected].
    Background: This Draft SEA analyzes the potential impacts of 
constructing a flood control improvement project along the Rio Grande 
located within a portion of the Rio Grande Canalization Project (RGCP) 
protective levee system in El Paso County, Texas along approximately 
5.6 miles on the east bank from just north of Vinton Road Bridge, south 
through the Canutillo area, and downstream to Borderland Bridge.
    The purpose is to construct a flood control structure with the 
following objectives: (1) Eliminate levee deficiencies within the 
Vinton to Canutillo reach and provide flood protection to withstand the 
100-year flood with a minimum of 2 feet freeboard; (2) Maintain the 
design flood capacity of the RGCP; and 3) Enable the USIBWC to obtain 
accreditation of levees by the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA).
    In the Final Environmental Assessment on Flood Control Improvements 
to the Rio Grande Canalization Project, dated December 2007, the USIBWC 
proposed to conduct flood control improvements along approximately 52-
miles of east and west levees within the RGCP. The proposed action 
included the construction of a new flood control structure in the 
Canutillo Area; however, details of the proposed structure had not been 
developed and were therefore not analyzed in the 2007 EA.
    This Draft SEA evaluates potential environmental impacts of the No 
Action Alternative and the Preferred Alternative. The Preferred 
Alternative calls for the construction of a combination of 3 miles of 
new earthen levees on the floodplain and 2.6 miles of concrete 
floodwall where limited right of way or physical space exists between 
the river and the railroad. The Preferred Alternative would also 
require the construction of a floodgate at the Canutillo Bridge, eleven 
drainage structures on ephemeral streams with bank stabilization 
(including modification of one existing drainage structure and 
construction of ten new drainage structures). Scour protection blankets 
would be required on some sections of the earthen levee that are close 
to the river bank. Permits would be required from the Burlington 
Northern Santa Fe Railroad for work within the railroad right of way. 
An Individual Permit would be required from the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers for dredge and fill of Waters of the United States, per the 
Clean Water Act Sections 404 and 401. Six additional alternatives were 
considered and evaluated in previous analyses but were either found to 
not meet the purpose and need or were impractical.
    Potential impacts on natural, cultural, and other resources were 
evaluated. While the Preferred Alternative does have adverse impacts to 
riparian vegetation, Waters of the United States, and access to the 
river for recreation, the USIBWC has proposed mitigation to restore 
over 35 acres of native riparian habitat on the floodplain. Mitigation 
would be part of required permits for construction. A Mitigated Finding 
of No Significant Impact has been prepared for the Preferred 
Alternative based on a review of the facts and analyses contained in 
the SEA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Verdecchia, Natural 
Resources Specialist, USIBWC, 4171 N. Mesa, C-100; El Paso, Texas 
79902. Telephone: (915) 832-4701, Fax: (915) 493-2428, email: 
[email protected].
    Availability: The electronic version of the Draft SEA is available 
from the USIBWC Web page: https://www.ibwc.gov/EMD/EIS_EA_Public_Comment.html.

    Dated: May 16, 2017.
Matt Myers,
Chief Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-11535 Filed 6-2-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7010-01-P