[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52041-52042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24395]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Availability of Norfolk Harbor Navigation Improvements Draft 
General Reevaluation Report/Environmental Assessment

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in association with 
the nonfederal sponsor, the Virginia Port Authority, an agent of the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, announces the availability of the Norfolk 
Harbor Navigation Improvements Draft General Reevaluation Report/
Environmental Assessment (GRR/EA) for public review and comment. The 
purpose of this Draft GRR/EA is to identify whether the original 
authorized plan is still in the federal interest and to evaluate 
alternatives that have the potential to improve the current and future 
operational efficiency of commercial vessels currently using the 
Norfolk

[[Page 52042]]

Harbor. Channel deepening and widening alternatives were evaluated as 
well as the No Action/Future Without Project Alternative. Pursuant to 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the 
USACE developed the draft GRR/EA to examine and assess the impacts of 
the project alternatives and determined that implementation of the 
Proposed Action would have not have significant impacts.
    This study was authorized by Section 216 of the Flood Control Act 
of 1970 (Pub. L. 91-611), which authorizes the review of completed 
federal projects in the interest of navigation and related purposes to 
determine the feasibility of further port deepening.

DATES: The Draft GRR/EA is available for a 30-day review period. 
Written comments, pursuant to the NEPA, will be accepted until the 
close of public review at the close of business on December 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or questions from the public may be 
submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, ATTN: 
Ms. Kimberly Koelsch, Planning Branch, Environmental Analysis Section 
(CENAO-WR-PE), Norfolk, VA 23510 or via email to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kimberly Koelsch, U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, Norfolk District, VA 23510, 757-201-7837 or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The document is available at the following 
locations:
    (1) USACE Norfolk Harbor and Channels Deepening Project Web site: 
http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/Norfolk-Harbor-Channel-Deepening/.
    (2) Slover Public Library, 235 East Plume Street, Norfolk, VA 
23510.
    (3) Copies may also be requested in writing at (see ADDRESSES).
    Proposed Action. The Study Area is located in Hampton Roads, a 25 
square-mile natural harbor serving port facilities in the cities of 
Norfolk, Newport News, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Hampton in 
southeastern Virginia. The study area consists of a network of 
federally-improved channels extending from Atlantic Ocean Channel to 
Lamberts Bend (on the Elizabeth River). The project has not been 
constructed, nor is it maintained, to its authorized depth.
    The Action Alternative consists of constructing and maintaining the 
following features:
     Deepening the Atlantic Ocean Channel to a required depth 
of approximately 59 feet.
     Deepening the Thimble Shoal Channel to a required depth of 
approximately 56 feet.
     Widening the Thimble Shoal Channel Meeting Areas (one on 
each side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel) to approximately 1,200 
feet (an additional 200 feet from current conditions) and deepening 
where necessary to a required depth of 56 feet.
     Deepening Anchorage F to a required depth of approximately 
55 feet.
     Deepening the Norfolk Harbor Channel to a required depth 
of approximately 55 feet.
     Deepening the Newport News Channel to a required depth of 
approximately 55 feet.
     Associated Operations and Maintenance Activities.
    Implementation of the Preferred Alternative would have the 
potential to impact water quality, benthic resources, cultural 
resources, floodplains, federally listed threatened and endangered 
species, marine mammals, and other natural resources. The Proposed 
Action must be located in a floodplain in order to use the Craney 
Island Dredged Material Management Area (CIDMMA) as a dredged material 
placement site. The Proposed Action will adhere to the 8-step process 
as outlined under Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management.
    Alternatives. The Draft GRR/EA considers a reasonable range of 
widening and deepening alternatives in the project channels, meetings 
areas, and anchorages to meet the proposed action's purpose and need. 
It also incorporates measures to avoid and minimize impacts to 
threatened and endangered species, fish and wildlife species, estuarine 
and marine habitat, and other resources. In response to problems and 
opportunities, a range of alternatives was evaluated through an 
iterative screening and formulation process, resulting in 
identification of a Preferred Alternative.
    Public Involvement. On September 22, 2015, a Notice of Intent to 
publish an EA was published, along with information on a NEPA public 
scoping meeting on September 25, 2015. A Federal Register Notice was 
also published to announce the initiation of the feasibility study and 
also the public NEPA scoping meeting. As part of the public involvement 
process, all affected federal, Commonwealth of Virginia, and local 
agencies, private organizations, and the public were invited to the 
Public Scoping Meeting on September 25, 2017 in Norfolk, VA.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-24395 Filed 11-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P