[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12601-12602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06355]



[[Page 12601]]

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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 South Central Coast Louisiana Flood Risk Management 
Feasibility Study

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New Orleans District intends to 
prepare a Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact 
Statement (DIFR-EIS) for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) to assess the potential social, economic, and environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed project titled, South Central 
Coast Louisiana Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study. The DIFR-EIS 
documents the existing condition of environmental resources in and 
around areas considered for development, and potential impacts on those 
resources as a result of implementing the alternatives.

ADDRESSES: Questions or comments about the proposed action or requests 
to be added to the project mailing list should be directed to Ms. 
Carrie Schott, CEMVN-PM-B, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans 
District, 7400 Leake Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, email, 
[email protected]. Comments may also be entered at 
the following web page: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/South-Central-Coast/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Carrie Schott, (504) 862-1153.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The lead agency for this proposed action is 
the USACE. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority 
(CPRA) is the non-Federal sponsor.
    1. Authority. The USACE is preparing the DIFR-EIS study under the 
standing authority of Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, (Pub. L. 115-123), 
Division B, Subdivision 1, H. R. 1892--13, Title IV, Corps Of 
Engineers--Civil, Department Of The Army, Investigations, and H.R. 
Docket 2767, 20 Sep 2006, Southeast Coastal Louisiana, LA, Resolved by 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the United States 
House of Representatives. The Bipartisan Budget Act authorizes the 
USACE proposed South Central Coast Louisiana Flood Protection and 
Coastal Storm Risk Management Project planning and potential 
construction project. The study phase is 100% federally funded.
    2. Background. The study area encompasses the Louisiana coastal 
parishes of Iberia, St Mary, and St Martin. The study area has 
experienced repetitive storm events including Hurricanes Rita, Ike, 
Gustav, and Andrew, resulting in loss of life, wildlife, and property, 
and repeated mandatory evacuation costs. This report will present the 
proposed alternatives resulting in risk of storm damage reduction to 
industries and businesses critical to the Nation's economy and protect 
the health and safety of Louisiana coastal communities.
    The study area needs increased sustainability and resiliency to 
flood events for the affected communities. In addition, the study 
area's topography, low elevation, proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, 
subsiding lands, and rising seas, are all contributing factors causing 
coastal flooding, shoreline erosion and loss of wetlands. Without 
additional storm damage reduction measures, the people, economy, 
environment, and cultural heritage of coastal areas in South Central 
Louisiana are at risk from reoccurring damages caused by hurricane 
storm surge flooding and riverine flooding.
    The USACE will analyze numerous issues in the DEIS related to the 
effects of any proposed storm damage reduction measures. These issues 
will include, but will not be limited to, the following: Continued 
wetlands losses impacting migratory species, the ecological nurseries 
of the Gulf of Mexico, and various commercial and recreational 
activities.
    The USACE will focus their analysis on the following resources: 
Aesthetics and visual resources, water quality and salinity aquatic 
resources/wetlands, invasive plant species fish and wildlife resources, 
threatened/endangered species and other protected species of concern, 
cultural & historic resources and tribal trust resources, floodplains, 
hazardous, toxic & radioactive waste, hydrology, land use, navigation 
and public infrastructure, socio-economics, environmental justice, 
soils, sustainability, greening and climate change.
    3. Alternatives. The USACE will evaluate a range of alternatives 
for the proposed action including structural and nonstructural 
measures. For the reasonable and practicable alternatives, the USACE 
will fully evaluate them, including the no action alternative. 
Alternatives may result in avoidance and minimization, and mitigation 
measures of impacts to reduce or offset any impacts.
    Structural measures would include wave attenuation measures 
adjacent to each measure or closer to the coastal shoreline. Structural 
measures recommended for consideration currently include:
     Structural Measure 1: State Alignment A.
     Structural Measure 2: State Alignment B.
     Structural Measure 3: Rail Road Alignment.
     Structural Measure 4: Existing Levee Improvements.
     Structural Measure 5: Ring Levees.
    The USACE is also considering nonstructural measures. These 
include:
     Non-structural Measure 1: Buyouts.
     Non-structural Measure 2: Wet proofing
     Non-structural Measure 3: Dry proofing.
    4. Public Involvement. Public involvement, an essential part of the 
NEPA process, is integral to assessing the environmental consequences 
of the proposed action and improving the quality of the environmental 
decision making. The public includes affected and interested Federal, 
state, and local agencies, Indian tribes, concerned citizens, 
stakeholders, and other interested parties. Public participation in the 
NEPA process is strongly encouraged, both formally and informally, to 
enhance the probability of a more technically accurate, economically 
feasible, and socially acceptable EIS. Public involvement includes, but 
is not limited to: Information dissemination; identification of 
problems, needs, and opportunities; idea generation; public education; 
problem solving; providing feedback on proposals; evaluation of 
alternatives; conflict resolution; public and scoping notices and 
meetings; public, stakeholder, and advisory groups consultation and 
meetings; and making the EIS and supporting information readily 
available in conveniently located places, such as libraries and on the 
world wide web.
    5. Scoping. Scoping, an early and open process for identifying the 
scope of significant issues related to the proposed action to be 
addressed in the EIS, will be used to: (a) Identify the affected public 
and agency concerns; (b) facilitate an efficient EIS preparation 
process; (c) define the issues and alternatives examined in detail in 
the EIS; and (d) save time in the overall process by helping to ensure 
the draft EIS adequately addresses relevant issues.

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    All interested parties are invited to comment at this time, and 
anyone interested in the DIFR-DEIS should request to be included on the 
distribution list. The scoping period will extend for 45 days after the 
date of this Notice of Intent publication. Comments should be as 
specific as possible. Additional public involvement will be sought 
through the implementation of the public involvement plan and the 
agency coordination team. Comments may be mailed, emailed or entered 
at: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/South-Central-Coast/.
    A Scoping Meeting Notice announcing the locations, dates and times 
for scoping meetings is anticipated to be posted on the project 
website, https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/South-Central-Coast/ and 
through various advertising avenues widely available to the public no 
later than 15 days prior to the meeting dates.
    6. Environmental Consultation and Review. The USACE will serve as 
the lead Federal agency in the preparation of the DIFR-DEIS. Other 
Federal and/or state agencies may participate as cooperating and/or 
commenting agencies throughout the study process. The U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS) will assist in documenting existing conditions 
and assessing effects of project alternatives through the Fish and 
Wildlife Coordination Act consultation procedures. In addition, because 
the proposed project may affect federally listed species, the USACE 
will consult with the USFWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS) in accordance with the Endangered Species Act, Section 7. The 
USACE will consult the NMFS regarding the effects of the project on 
Essential Fish Habitat per the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act. The USACE will consult with affected Federally 
Recognized Tribes. Other environmental review and consultation 
requirements for the proposed project include the need for Louisiana 
Department of Environmental Quality Clean Water Act Section 401 water 
quality certification and Clean Air Act coordination. The USACE will 
consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer under National 
Historic Preservation Act, Section 106, concerning properties listed or 
potentially eligible for listing. The USACE will coordinate with the 
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources for coastal zone management 
consistency per the Coastal Zone Management Act.
    7. Availability. The USACE currently estimates the DIFR-DEIS will 
be available for public review and comment in December 2019. At that 
time, the USACE will provide a 45-day public review period for 
individuals and agencies to review and comment. The USACE will notify 
all interested agencies, organizations, and individuals of the 
availability of the draft document at that time.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-06355 Filed 4-1-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P