[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51227-51229]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23977]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Drawdown and Habitat Enhancement of East Lake 
Tohopekaliga in Osceola County, Florida

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 (USACE), Jacksonville 
District, Cocoa Permits Section field office, has received a request 
for Department of the Army (DA) authorization, pursuant to Section 404 
of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act of 
1899, from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) 
for activities associated with the proposed drawdown, vegetation 
removal, and demucking of East Lake Tohopekaliga (ELT) to improve 
habitat conditions for fish and wildlife. The drawdown would require a 
deviation to the Water Control Plan for ELT and a DA permit for

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proposed fill in waters of the United States.

DATES: The USACE will hold a public scoping meeting for the Draft EIS 
on December 5, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Interested 
parties are invited to submit scoping comments to USACE by January 4, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting will be held at Osceola Heritage 
Park, 1875 Silver Spur Lane, Kissimmee, FL 34744. Scoping comments may 
be submitted by mail or hand-delivered to: Jeffrey S. Collins, U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, 
Suite 600, Cocoa, FL 32926. Comments may also be submitted by email to: 
[email protected]. All comments should include ``East 
Lake Tohopekaliga Drawdown Comments'' in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the Proposed Action 
and Draft EIS should be directed to Mr. Collins by telephone at (321) 
504-3771 or by email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Background/Project Authorization. USACE is preparing this Draft 
EIS in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations (40 Code of Federal 
Regulation [CFR] 1500 et seq.), and USACE provisions for implementing 
the procedural requirements of NEPA (33 CFR 230, USACE Engineering 
Regulation [ER] 200-2-2). A primary purpose of a USACE Regulatory 
Program EIS is to provide disclosure of the significant impacts of a 
proposal seeking a DA permit on the human environment. The Draft EIS 
and Final EIS are used to inform the public and agency decision-makers 
of alternatives to an applicant's project that may avoid or minimize 
impacts or enhance the quality of the human environment.
    The EIS will address all the requirements of NEPA including 
applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and executive orders. A 
partial list of statutes to be addressed in the EIS includes: Section 
404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) and Section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403); Coastal Zone Management 
Act; Clean Air Act; Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act; Endangered Species Act; Fish and Wildlife Coordination 
Act; National Historic Preservation Act; Archeological and Historic 
Preservation Act; and Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands. 
Additional authority is provided in 33 CFR 222.5, Water Control 
Management (ER 1110-2-240).
    2. Need or Purpose of Project. The purpose of the proposed activity 
is aquatic habitat improvement in ELT. Major contributors to 
deteriorating aquatic habitat in the ELT are water level stabilization 
and pollution from watershed development. Negative environmental 
changes include an increase in aquatic plant density and biomass, 
organic sediments, and a shift to invasive species. Dense bands of 
organic material have formed along the lakeshore and, combined with 
aquatic plants such as pickerelweed, cattail, and tussucks, form a 
barrier that keeps fish from shallow spawning areas. Decline in 
coverage of desirable aquatic vegetation negatively impact the 
diversity and abundance of forage organisms that depend on these plant 
communities. In turn, this directly contributes to reduced sport fish 
production and wading bird utilization.
    3. Project Description. East Lake Tohopekaliga is an approximately 
11,968-acre lake located in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. FWC is 
pursuing authorization from USACE, Jacksonville District Regulatory 
Division, to conduct a temporary drawdown of ELT to accomplish 
demucking and vegetation removal activities for purposes of littoral 
zone habitat enhancement. FWC proposes to draw down ELT in Osceola 
County from 57.0 National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) feet to 53.0 
NGVD feet. Four pumps (combined capacity of 400 cfs) are proposed to be 
used to drain ELT; pumps are required because gravity-fed conveyance 
becomes inefficient as the lower ELT stage approaches that of Lake 
Tohopekaliga. The proposed drawdown would begin in October-November 
2018, work conducted in February-May 2019, with the refill initiated in 
June 2019. Other proposed activities include:
    a. Modification of the Lake Tohopekaliga and ELT regulation 
schedules as established by the USACE Water Control Plan, to allow a 
temporary deviation in water levels in both lakes.
    b. Installation of sheet piling and a flood control pump in the 
canal between ELT and Fells Cove, and in the canal between ELT and Lake 
Runnymede. These constructed elements may be necessary to maintain 
normal lake stages upstream of the canals.
    c. Approximately 115 acres of littoral zone will be mechanically 
scraped along the east shore and consolidated into two 1-2 acre in-lake 
spoil islands. Woody vegetation within the scrape zone would be piled 
and burned.
    d. Vegetation on the west shore would be sprayed with herbicide and 
subsequently burned.
    4. Issues. Preliminary environmental and public interest factors 
have been identified and would be addressed in the EIS. Additional 
issues may be identified during the scoping process through commenting 
cooperating agencies and the public. USACE has preliminarily identified 
potential issues to include:
    a. Potential impacts to threatened and endangered species, 
particularly the Everglades snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis 
plumbeus).
    b. Required alteration of the Water Control Plan. The Master Water 
Control Manual for Kissimmee River-Lake Istokpoga Basin (USACE, 1994), 
which contains the relevant Water Control Plan, specifies coordination 
with USACE South Atlantic Division for review and approval of planned 
deviation requests.
    c. Potential impacts to navigation, both commercial and 
recreational.
    d. Potential aesthetic impacts to landowners with a viewshed of 
proposed disposal islands.
    e. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
    f. Potential impacts on waterborne recreation activities.
    g. Potential impacts to cultural resources.
    h. Potential economic impact on local businesses.
    i. Potential air quality during burning of woody debris.
    j. Potential water quality impacts during ELT drawdown, muck 
removal and creation of islands.
    k. Potential concern regarding downstream discharges resulting from 
the ELT Drawdown.
    l. Cumulative impacts of past, present and foreseeable future 
projects affecting ELT.
    5. Alternatives. The Draft EIS will analyze reasonable alternatives 
to meet the project purpose and need. These alternatives will be 
further developed during the scoping process and an appropriate range 
of alternatives, including the no federal action alternative, will be 
considered in the EIS. Other preliminary alternatives to be considered 
include: Effectuating ELT drawdown with pumps; ELT drawdown without 
pumps; disposing of spoil material by truck-hauling off-site; and 
disposing of spoil material using in-lake disposal islands.
    6. Scoping Process. USACE is furnishing this notice to advise other 
Federal and State agencies, affected

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federally recognized Tribes, and the public of the proposed project. 
This notice announces the initiation of a 30-day scoping period which 
requests the public's involvement in the scoping and evaluation process 
of the Draft EIS. A public scoping meeting (see DATES) will be held to 
receive public comment and address public concerns concerning the scope 
of issues and level of analysis to be considered in preparation of the 
Draft EIS. Participation in the public meeting by federal, state and 
local agencies and other interested organizations and persons is 
encouraged. A detailed description of the study area will be developed 
following the scoping meeting, at which time USACE will determine the 
final study area for the EIS.
    7. Public Involvement. The USACE invites Federal agencies, American 
Indian Tribal Nations, state and local governments, and other 
interested private organizations and parties to attend the public 
scooping meeting and to provide comments in order to ensure that all 
significant issues are identified and the full range of issues related 
to the permit request are addressed.
    8. Coordination. The proposed action is being coordinated with a 
number of Federal, state, regional, and local agencies including but 
not limited to the following: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. 
National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, federally 
recognized Native American Indian Tribes, Florida State Historic 
Preservation Officer, Osceola County, the City of St. Cloud, and other 
agencies as identified in scoping, public involvement, and agency 
coordination.
    9. Agency Role. The USACE will be the lead agency for the EIS. The 
USACE expects to receive input and critical information from federal, 
state and local agencies (see Coordination), either as commenting or 
cooperating agencies.
    10. Draft EIS Preparation. The Draft EIS is expected to be 
published and circulated in late spring 2018. A Notice of Availability 
will be issued, which will open the public comment period. Comments 
will be accepted during the Draft EIS public comment period, which will 
last approximately 30 days.

    Dated: October 24, 2017.
Donald W. Kinard,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-23977 Filed 11-2-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P