[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 159 (Friday, August 18, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39417-39418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17483]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Coos Bay Channel Modification Project

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District intends to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the 
potential environmental effects of approving the Oregon International 
Port of Coos Bay's (OIPCB) proposed Coos Bay Channel Modification 
Project. The OIPCB proposes to widen and deepen the Coos Bay Federal 
Navigation Project from the ocean to river mile (RM) 8.2 to improve 
navigation efficiency, reduce shipping transportation costs and 
facilitate the shipping industry's transition to larger, more efficient 
vessels.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments on or 
before October 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Portland District (PM-E), P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR 97208-2946, or at 
the project Web site: http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/coast/coos-bay/channel-modification. All comments should include ``Coos Bay Channel 
Modification Project EIS'' in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and draft EIS can be addressed to: Dr. Ann Hodgson, by mail, telephone 
(503) 808-4663, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Previous Withdrawn Action. The Corps 
published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and Feasibility Study 
for a previous proposal to modify the Coos Bay Federal Navigation 
Project on January 11, 2008 (73 FR 2013). The channel modification 
described in 2008 was proposed under the authority of Section 203 of 
the Water Resources Development Act of 1986; however, the proposal was 
withdrawn and a draft EIS was not prepared.
    2. Proposed Action. The OIPCB is requesting approval to construct 
the Coos Bay Channel Modification Project. If approved, the OIPCB would 
construct the project without any federal cost sharing (i.e., the OIPCB 
would pay 100 percent of the cost of construction). The proposed 
project requires Department of the Army authorization under: Section 
204 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, as amended (33 
U.S.C. 2232); Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 
U.S.C. 408, commonly referred to as Section 408), Section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403); Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344); and Section 103 of the Marine 
Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as amended (33 
U.S.C. 1413).
    Section 204 authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through 
the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, to grant approval 
to non-federal entities to design and construct improvements to Corps 
navigation projects. This section also provides that the Secretary 
shall be responsible for the operation and maintenance of those 
improvements if the Secretary determines the improvements are 
economically justified, environmentally acceptable and certifies the 
project was constructed in accordance with applicable permits and 
engineering and design standards.
    Section 408 authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through 
the Chief of Engineers, to grant permission for the alteration or 
occupation or use of Corps Civil Works projects (e.g., a federal 
navigation project) if the Secretary determines that the activity will 
not be injurious to the public interest and will not impair the 
usefulness of the project.
    Section 10, Section 404, and Section 103 authorizes the Secretary 
of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to issue permits to 
authorize work in navigable waters of the U.S., to authorize the 
discharge of dredged of fill material into waters of the U.S., and to 
authorize the transport of dredged material for the purpose of dumping 
it into ocean waters, respectively.
    The Corps, as the lead agency for compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), has determined the above-listed 
actions require the preparation of an EIS. The following state and 
federal agencies may participate as cooperating agencies for the 
preparation of the EIS: The Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Coast 
Guard, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of 
Land Conservation and Development, Oregon Department of Environmental 
Quality. In addition, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower 
Umpqua, and Siuslaw, Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, and the 
Coquille Indian Tribe may participate as cooperating entities on the 
preparation of the EIS.
    3. Project Site and Background. The project site is in Coos Bay, 
located on the southern coast of Oregon. The Coos Bay Federal 
Navigation Project was originally authorized by the Rivers and Harbors 
Act of March 1879. The Coos Bay Federal Navigation Project includes two 
entrance jetties, the two navigation channels, two turning basins, and 
pile dikes. The current channel configuration from the ocean entrance 
to the navigation channel is -47 feet deep, the channel transitions to 
-37 feet deep between RM 0 to RM 1, then maintains -37 feet deep from 
RM 1 to RM 15.0. The main channel has a nominal width of 300 feet wide 
from the ocean inlet to RM 9.2. At RM 9.2, the channel widens to 400 
feet and continues at that width to RM 15.0; from RM 15.0 through RM 
17.0, the channel decreases to -22 feet deep and 150 feet wide. 
Advanced

[[Page 39418]]

maintenance dredging and allowable overdepth dredging (standard 
practice on deep draft navigation channels) results in a depth 
approximately five feet deeper than the authorized depth. The secondary 
channel, known as the Charleston Channel, is not included in the 
proposed project.
    4. Project Description. The OIPCB proposes to deepen and widen the 
navigation channel from the ocean to approximately RM 8.2. The project 
would require the dredging and disposal of approximately 18 million 
cubic yards of material (sand and rock) to deepen and widen the 
navigation channel. The proposed navigation channel configuration would 
be -45 feet deep with a nominal width of 450 feet wide. The entrance to 
the navigation channel at the ocean would have a nominal width of 1,280 
feet and an authorized depth of 57 feet MLLW at its offshore entrance. 
The channel width would transition to a width of 450 feet at RM 1; this 
narrowing is continuous from the offshore entrance until RM 1. Upstream 
of RM 1, the proposed channel would have a nominal width of 450 feet 
and an authorized depth of 45 feet MLLW. The proposed project design 
would also accommodate advance maintenance dredging and allowable 
overdepth dredging of approximately five feet deeper than the proposed 
depths. The modified channel would have a vessel-turning basin 
extending from RM 7.3 to RM 7.8. At its full width, the proposed 
vessel-turning basin is 1,400-feet-long and 1,100-feet-wide, with an 
authorized depth of 37 feet MLLW. The portion of the channel that 
intersects this turning basin will have an authorized depth of 45 feet 
MLLW. The Port proposes to dispose of this dredged material at a newly 
proposed Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site located approximately two 
miles offshore of the navigation channel entrance. The proposed 
disposal site would have an area of approximately 1,850 acres in water 
depths ranging from -140 to -320 feet deep. The channel modification 
project would include improvements to the North Jetty to alleviate 
impacts from the entrance channel widening, deepening, and lengthening, 
and to retard erosion at Log-Spiral Bay, by placing rock at the jetty 
toe and by increasing the size of the rock along the jetty head. The 
channel modification would also include the relocation and expansion of 
aids to navigation by relocating and installing new fixed and floating 
channel and range markers. The Corps will be responsible for the 
operation and maintenance of these improvements if the Secretary 
determines the improvements are economically justified, environmentally 
acceptable and certifies the project was constructed in accordance with 
applicable permits and engineering and design standards.
    5. Alternatives. The draft EIS will evaluate a range of reasonable 
alternatives. Alternatives may include, but are not limited to, no 
action, alternative channel widths and depths, and alternative dredged 
material disposal locations.
    6. Other Environmental Reviews and Consultations. Other 
environmental reviews and consultations for the proposed project may 
include, but is not limited to, Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, 
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, Section 305 of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Section 307 of the 
Coastal Zone Management Act, and Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.
    7. Scoping Process and Public Comments. The Corps will conduct 
public scoping (40 CFR 1501.7) to determine the scope of issues (40 CFR 
1508.25) to be addressed in the draft EIS and to identify the 
significant issues related to the proposed project. All interested 
parties including individuals; organizations; local, state, and federal 
agencies; and tribes and tribal governments are invited to participate 
in the scoping process for the draft EIS, which will analyze numerous 
issues in depth. These issues include, but are not limited to: 
Navigation, socioeconomics, fish and wildlife, water quality, safety, 
shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, and cultural and historic 
resources. Scoping comments also will be used to develop possible 
project alternatives. Additional project information is available 
online at: www.nwp.usace.army.mil/coast/coos-bay/channel-modification. 
All parties are invited to participate in the scoping process to 
determine the range of issues and alternatives to be addressed. A 
public scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 13, 2017, 
from 3-7:30 p.m. at the Coos Bay Public Library, 525 Anderson Ave., 
Coos Bay, OR 97420. The Corps expects the Draft EIS to be made 
available to the public in March 2018.

John D. Cunningham,
Major, Corps of Engineers Deputy District Commander.
[FR Doc. 2017-17483 Filed 8-17-17; 8:45 am]
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