[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52042-52043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24396]


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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Project, Fannin County, TX

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) Tulsa District has 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to analyze the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the construction of the 
proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir (LBCR) and related actions 
proposed by the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) in Fannin 
County, Texas. The Proposed Action is a regional water supply project 
intended to provide up to 175,000 acre-feet/year (AFY), with an 
estimated firm yield of 120,665 AFY, of new water for NTMWD's member 
cities and direct customers in all or portions of nine counties in 
northern Texas--Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, 
Rains, and Rockwall. Construction of the reservoir and related 
facilities would result in permanent impacts to approximately 5,874 
acres of wetlands, 651,140 linear feet of streams, and 78 acres of open 
waters. This action requires authorization from the USACE under Section 
404 of the Clean Water Act. The Section 404 permit applicant is the 
NTMWD.

DATES: The FEIS will be used to inform the final USACE decision on this 
proposal. In accordance with the NEPA regulations, a final decision 
will not be made before December 9, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments, if any, regarding the FEIS must be submitted by 
December 9, 2017, to Mr. Andrew R. Commer, Regulatory Office Chief, 
USACE Tulsa District (CESWT-RO), 2488 East 81st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 
74137-4290, or via email: [email protected]. Comments submitted 
by email must include ``FEIS Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir'' in the 
subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Andrew R. Commer, USACE Tulsa

[[Page 52043]]

District, Regulatory Office at 918-669-7400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS was prepared in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the 
USACE regulations for NEPA implementation (33 Code of Federal 
Regulations [CFR] parts 230 and 325 (with associated Appendices B and 
C)). The USACE Tulsa District, Regulatory Office is the lead federal 
agency responsible for the FEIS and information contained in the EIS 
will serve as the basis for a decision whether or not to issue a 
Section 404 permit. All comments received on the Revised Draft EIS 
(RDEIS), to include the Draft EIS (DEIS) comments not specifically 
addressed in the RDEIS, are reflected and responses are provided in the 
accompanying Comment Categories and Responses Document. It also 
provides information for Federal, State, and local agencies having 
jurisdictional responsibility for affected resources.
    The USACE has determined that the basic project purpose in the 
present case is to develop a new water supply for the applicant NTMWD 
and its member cities and customers.
    The purpose of the FEIS is to provide decision-makers and the 
public with information pertaining to the Proposed Action and 
Alternatives, and to disclose environmental impacts and identify 
mitigation measures to reduce impacts. NTMWD proposes to build the LBCR 
with a total storage capacity of approximately 367,609 acre-feet. A dam 
approximately 10,400 feet (about 2 miles) long and up to 90 feet high 
would be constructed, and much of the reservoir footprint would be 
cleared of trees and built structures. NTMWD also proposes to construct 
several related facilities or connected actions. These include a raw 
water intake pump station and electrical substation at the reservoir 
site, as well as a 90 to 96-inch diameter buried pipeline to carry raw 
water from the new reservoir approximately 35 miles in a southwesterly 
direction. The raw water pipeline will connect to a new water treatment 
plant (WTP)--the ``North WTP''--and terminal storage reservoir (TSR) 
that would be located west of the City of Leonard, also in Fannin 
County, Texas. The North WTP and TSR will be constructed regardless of 
whether NTMWD receives a Section 404 permit to proceed with the 
Proposed Action; the North WTP and TSR are not part of the Proposed 
Action. A number of rural roads within the footprint and in the 
vicinity of the proposed reservoir would have to be closed or 
relocated; the most significant of these is FM 1396, which would be 
relocated to cross the reservoir in a different alignment on an 
entirely new bridge that would need to be constructed.
    An aquatic resources mitigation plan has been prepared by the 
applicant to comply with the federal policy of ``no overall net loss of 
wetlands'' and to provide compensatory mitigation, to the extent 
practicable, for impacts to other waters of the United States that 
would be impacted by construction of the proposed reservoir. NTMWD has 
purchased a 14,960-acre parcel of land known as the Riverby Ranch, 
which borders the Red River. This working ranch is located downstream 
of the proposed project within both the same watershed (Bois d'Arc 
Creek) and the same county (Fannin). NTMWD acquired the Riverby Ranch 
specifically because its biophysical features have the potential to 
provide a portion of the appropriate mitigation for the proposed 
project. Additional mitigation is proposed within a 1,900-acre upstream 
site and within the proposed reservoir itself. Though not part of the 
proposed mitigation plan, Bois d'Arc Creek downstream of the reservoir 
will receive environmental flow releases as a result of an operations 
plan and flow regime established in consultation with the Texas 
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and stipulated in the Water 
Rights Permit issued by TCEQ to NTMWD.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, U.S. Forest 
Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Texas Parks and 
Wildlife Department participated as cooperating agencies in the 
formulation of the FEIS.
    On December 8, 2009, the USACE held a NEPA EIS public scoping 
meeting in Bonham, Texas. On March 24, 2015, the USACE held a public 
meeting during the comment period on the previous DEIS. On March 27, 
2017, the USACE published the availability of the RDEIS in response to 
comments received on the DEIS. The revision and publication of this 
FEIS is informed by public and agency comment on the original DEIS and 
RDEIS and changes have been made to address commented issues. No public 
meeting is planned during this comment period. Copies of the FEIS will 
be available for review at the USACE Tulsa District Office, the permit 
applicant's office in Wylie Texas, and at four locations in the project 
area in Fannin County, Texas, addresses of each as follows.
    1. Bonham Public Library, 305 East 5th Street, Bonham, TX 75418; 
(903) 583-3128.
    2. Sam Rayburn Library, 800 West Sam Rayburn Drive, Bonham, TX 
75418; (903) 583-2455.
    3. Bertha Voyer Memorial Library, 500 6th Street, Honey Grove, TX 
75446; (903) 378-2206.
    4. Leonard Public Library, 102 South Main Street, Leonard, TX 
75452; (903) 587-2391.
    5. North Texas Municipal Water District headquarters, 505 East 
Brown Street, Wylie, TX 75098.
    6. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, Regulatory Office, 
2488 East 81st Street, Tulsa, OK 74137-4290.
    Electronic copies of the FEIS may be obtained from the USACE Tulsa 
District, Regulatory Office or its Web site at http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Tulsa-District-Environmental-Impact-Statements/.

Edward M. Parisotto,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Office, Tulsa District.
[FR Doc. 2017-24396 Filed 11-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P