[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68910-68911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27122]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Tiered Environmental Impact 
Statement for the New Jersey Back Bays Coastal Storm Risk Management 
Feasibility Study

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia 
District (Corps) is preparing an integrated Feasibility Report/Tiered 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed New Jersey Back 
Bays (NJBB) Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Feasibility Study. The 
study is assessing the feasibility of coastal storm risk management 
alternatives to be implemented within the authorized study area with a 
specific emphasis on the back bay areas along the New Jersey Atlantic 
Coast extending from Cape May Inlet to Shark River Inlet including the 
NJ Coastal Lakes Area.

DATES: Comments and suggestions must be submitted by January 16, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Pertinent information about the study can be found at: 
https://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/New-Jersey-Back-Bays-Study/. Interested parties are welcome to send written comments 
and suggestions concerning the scope of issues to be evaluated within 
the Tiered EIS to Steven D. Allen, Environmental Resources Branch, 
Planning Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District. 
Mail: Steven D. Allen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia 
District, CENAP-PL-E, Wanamaker Building, 100 Penn Square East, 
Philadelphia, PA 19107-3390; phone: (215) 656-6559; email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Questions about the overall NJBB 
study should be directed to J.B. Smith, Project Manager, U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, Planning Division, Project 
Development Branch. Mail: J.B. Smith, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Philadelphia District, CENAP-PL-PC, Wanamaker Building, 100 Penn Square 
East, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3390; Phone: (215) 656-6579; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), in partnership with the 
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), as the non-
federal sponsor, are undertaking this study. The NJBB CSRM Feasibility 
Study area is one of 9 focus areas with vulnerable coastal populations 
identified in the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS). The 
NACCS was conducted in response to Public Law 113-2 and the Water 
Resource and Reform Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 following the 
devastation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which greatly affected the 
study area in October of 2012. The purpose of the NJBB CSRM Feasibility 
Study is to identify comprehensive CSRM strategies to increase coastal 
resilience, and to reduce flooding risk from future storms and impacts 
of sea level change. The objective of the Study is to investigate CSRM 
problems and solutions to reduce damages from coastal flooding that 
affect population, critical infrastructure, critical facilities, 
property, and ecosystems. The authority for the proposed project is the 
resolution adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on 
Public Works and Transportation and the U. S. Senate Committee on 
Environment and Public Works dated December 1987. A Feasibility Cost 
Sharing Agreement (FCSA) was executed in 2016 with the NJDEP.

2. Study Area

    The study area encompasses approximately 950 square miles located 
behind the New Jersey barrier islands of Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, 
Atlantic and Cape May Counties, and includes the set of interconnected 
water bodies and coastal lakes that are separated from the Atlantic 
Ocean.

3. Corps Decision Making

    As required by Council on Environmental Quality's Principles, 
Requirements and Guidelines for Water and Land Related Resources 
Implementation Studies all reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
Federal action that meet the purpose and need will be considered in the 
Tiered EIS. Tiering, which is defined in 40 CFR 1508.28, is a means of 
making the environmental review process more efficient by allowing 
parties to ``eliminate repetitive discussions of the same issues and to 
focus on the actual issues suitable for decision at each level of 
environmental review'' (40 CFR 1502.20). The Study will consider the 
full array of structural, non-structural, and natural and nature-based 
measures, and will consider past, current, and future coastal storm 
risk management and resilience planning initiatives and projects 
underway by the USACE and other Federal, State, and local agencies.

4. Public Participation

    The Corps and the NJDEP hosted two agency workshop meetings in June 
2017, with representatives from federal and state agencies, counties, 
municipalities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), elected 
officials and academia. The Corps initially announced the preparation 
of an integrated Feasibility Report/EIS for study in the December 27, 
2017 Federal Register. Two public NEPA scoping meetings were later held 
in the southern and northern regions of the study area in September 
2018. Subsequent to the publication of the December 27, 2017 NOI, the 
Study was granted an exemption from the requirement to complete the 
feasibility study within 3 years, as required in Section 1001(a) of the 
Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. This exemption was 
granted on October 31, 2018 on an interim basis, and allowed for an 
additional 17 months to complete the Draft Integrated Feasibility 
Report and Tier 1 EIS. Therefore, in order to align the revised study 
schedule with Executive Order 13807, Notice to Withdraw the original 
NOI was published in the February 20, 2019 Federal Register. To further 
provide the public with study information, an Interim Feasibility 
Report and Environmental Scoping Document was released on February 28, 
2019 that identified the preliminary economic, environmental, 
engineering and other studies performed to date of the above referenced 
alternatives. This report presented the selection of a focused array of 
alternatives for further evaluation. A webinar was later held on March 
14, 2019 to present the findings of the report and to solicit comments 
from the general public and stakeholders. In addition, comments,

[[Page 68911]]

concerns and information submitted to the Corps are being evaluated and 
considered during the development of the Draft EIS. Comments received 
are continuing to aid the study progress and included in the draft 
report and will be part of the administrative record

5. Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the lead federal agency for the 
preparation of a Tiered EIS in order to meet the requirements of the 
NEPA and the NEPA Implementing Regulations of the President's Council 
on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500-1508). The following agencies 
have accepted the invitation to be Cooperating Agencies: The U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The preparation of a Tiered 
EIS will be coordinated with New Jersey State and local municipalities 
with discretionary authority relative to the proposed actions. The 
Draft Integrated Feasibility Report/Tiered EIS is currently scheduled 
for distribution to the public in March of 2020.

    Dated: December 9, 2019.
Jeffrey L. Milhorn,
Major General, U.S. Army, Commander, North Atlantic Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-27122 Filed 12-16-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P