[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58381-58382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26724]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Availability of Elizabeth River and Southern Branch Navigation 
Improvements Draft General Reevaluation Report/Environmental Assessment

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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 Elizabeth 
River and Southern Branch Navigation Improvements Draft General 
Reevaluation Report/Environmental Assessment (GRR/EA) for public review 
and comment. The purpose of this Draft GRR/EA is to evaluate 
alternatives that have the potential to improve the current and future 
operational efficiency of commercial vessels currently using the 
Norfolk Harbor federal channel in the Elizabeth River. Channel 
deepening alternatives were evaluated as well as

[[Page 58382]]

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 not result in significant impacts.

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 January 15, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or questions from the public may be 
submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, ATTN: 
Mr. David Schulte, Planning Branch, Environmental Analysis Section 
(CENAO-WR-PE), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510 or via email to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Schulte, 757-201-7007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The document is available at the following 
locations: (1) Elizabeth River and Southern Branch Navigation 
Improvements website: http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/ElizabethRiverSouthernBranchNav.aspx, (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 of a federally 
improved channel extending from Lamberts Bend (on the main stem of the 
Elizabeth River) to the Chesapeake Extension in the southern branch of 
the Elizabeth River.
    The Action Alternative consists of constructing and maintaining the 
following features:
     Deepening the channel from Lamberts Bend to Perdue Farms 
(Segment 1a) from a required depth of 40 feet to 45 feet deep in 
Segment 1a, and deepening the channel from Perdue Farms to the Norfolk 
Southern Lift Bridge (Segment 1b) from a required depth of 40 feet to 
42 feet.
     Deepening the channel from the Norfolk Southern Lift 
Bridge to the Gilmerton Bridge (Segment 2), from a required depth of 35 
feet to 39 feet deep; and
     Continuing to maintain the channel from the Gilmerton 
Bridge to the Chesapeake Extension to a required depth of 35 feet 
(Segment 3).

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 
deepening alternatives in the project channels 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 24, 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 24, 2015 in Norfolk, Virginia.
    This study is authorized under Section 216 of the Flood Control Act 
of 1970 (Pub. L. 91-611), which authorizes the review of completed 
projects in the interest of navigation and related purposes to 
determine the feasibility of further port deepening.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-26724 Filed 12-11-17; 8:45 am]
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