[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71394-71395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27766]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Feasibility Report and Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas 
Resiliency 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 of 1969 
(NEPA), as amended, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston 
District (USACE) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Resiliency Study 
(BBTRS). The study will identify and evaluate the feasibility of 
reducing flood risks on Buffalo Bayou in Harris and Fort Bend Counties, 
Texas. The study will also complete a Dam Safety Modification Study 
(DSMS) on the Addicks and Barker Dams. This notice announces USACE's 
intent to determine the scope of the issues to be addressed and 
identify the significant issues related to a proposed action.

ADDRESSES: Pertinent information about the study can be found at: 
https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/Projects/Buffalo-Bayou-and-Tributaries-Resiliency-Study/.
    Questions or comments about the proposed action or requests to be 
added to the project mailing list can be emailed to 
[email protected] or mailed to USACE, Galveston District, Attn: 
BBTRS, P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, TX 77553-1229.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Galveston District Public Affairs 
Office at 409-766-3004 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Authority. The Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study 
(BBTRS) is authorized under Section 216 of the Flood Control Act of 
1970 (Pub. L. 91-611) and existing project authority. Section 216 
authorizes USACE to review a completed navigation, flood risk 
reduction, water supply, or related project due to significantly 
changed physical or economic conditions, and to report to Congress with 
recommendations regarding modification of the project's structures or 
operation, and for improving the quality of the environment in the 
overall public interest. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 
115-123) funded the study as a new start. The study phase is 100% 
federally funded.
    2. Background. USACE, in partnership with the Harris County Flood 
Control District (HCFCD), as the non-Federal sponsor, is undertaking 
the study to evaluate the feasibility of reducing flood risks on 
Buffalo Bayou upstream and downstream of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.
    The Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Project (Project) was 
authorized by Congress in the 1930s for the purpose of providing flood 
control for the city and port of Houston, Texas. In the 1940s, Addicks 
and Barker Dams were constructed and a portion of Buffalo Bayou was 
straightened as part of the completed Project. Since the 1940s, a 
number of physical improvements and operational changes to the Project 
have been implemented. However, the watershed continues to experience 
major flood events, with the most recent and most significant occurring 
during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. These recent flood events, coupled 
with projected increases in precipitation patterns and the potential 
for flooding events in the future, warrant investigation into whether 
the Project should be modified to address existing and future flooding 
concerns.
    The first purpose of this study is to examine alternatives to 
reduce potential flooding in three watersheds (Addicks Reservoir, 
Barker Reservoir, and Buffalo Bayou Watersheds) and consider impacts 
to/from a portion of Cypress Creek, Brays Bayou and White Oak Bayou 
watersheds. The main flooding risks being evaluated are upstream and 
downstream of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs and along Buffalo Bayou. 
Buffalo Bayou flows 32 miles from Barker Reservoir in far west Harris 
County to the Turning Basin of the Houston Ship Channel. The bayou 
provides the main drainage conduit for central Houston as it winds 
through the heart of Houston, past neighborhoods, parks, office towers, 
and industrial areas, before it joins with White Oak Bayou just north 
of Houston's central business district.
    The second purpose of this study is to evaluate dam safety concerns 
at Addicks and Barker Dams and examine alternatives to address the 
concerns. The dams have been previously evaluated through the Dam 
Safety Program and both dams have been assigned a Dam Safety Action 
Classification (DSAC) I rating. The DSAC I rating means the combination 
of life or economic consequences with probability of failure is 
extremely high. In response to this rating, a Dam Safety Modification 
Study (DSMS) was undertaken. Phase 1 of the DSMS, which addressed the 
highest risk

[[Page 71395]]

concerns, was analyzed in a report completed in 2013. Modifications 
recommended by that report are currently under construction with an 
anticipated completion date in February 2020. The BBTRS will complete 
Phase 2 of the DSMS, and address remaining concerns identified in Phase 
1.
    3. Alternatives. The study will evaluate alternatives that would 
modify the existing Project to more efficiently and effectively convey 
water throughout the system and reduce the flooding risk, as well as 
measures that would address the remaining dam safety concerns. A No 
Action Alternative is also being considered. A number of structural 
measures are being considered including but not limited to: Tunnels, 
bypass channels, new reservoirs, detention ponds, dredging of existing 
detention ponds and reservoirs, and spillway modifications. Non-
structural measures, such as operational changes and property 
acquisition, are also being considered. The study will evaluate 
potential benefits and impacts of the reasonable array of alternatives 
including direct, indirect and cumulative effects to the human and 
natural environments that balance the interests of flood damage 
reduction and environmental impacts.
    4. Public Participation. Scoping completed prior to and after 
publication of this NOI will be used to develop the EIS. The scoping 
comment period began on April 27, 2019, and will end 30 days after 
publication of this notice. All comments received during the scoping 
period are being used to identify additional measures and alternatives, 
significant resources, and impacts that should be considered in the 
EIS. Additional comments received outside the scoping period will be 
considered prior to the Draft EIS public review period, to the extent 
possible. For comments that cannot be addressed prior to the public 
review period, the comments will be included with the public review 
period comments and addressed at that time. No public meetings are 
scheduled.
    Between April 30 and May 9, 2019, USACE and HCFCD hosted five 
Public Scoping Meetings--three meetings were held near Buffalo Bayou 
downstream of the reservoirs and two meetings were held upstream of the 
reservoirs. A Public Notice was published on the Galveston District 
website and in the Legal Notices section of the Houston Chronicle. 
Public news releases announcing the scoping period timeframe; public 
meeting dates, times, and locations; and where to send comments were 
published in the appropriate local newspapers, on the Galveston 
District and HCFCD websites, and were distributed to the local 
stakeholders and known interested parties.
    5. Coordination. USACE will serve as the lead Federal agency in the 
preparation of the EIS. Other Federal and state agencies have been 
invited to participate throughout the study process as Coordinating or 
Participating Agencies. Further coordination with environmental 
agencies will be conducted under the NEPA, the Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the 
Clean Air Act, the National Historic and Preservation Act, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the 
Coastal Zone Management Act.
    6. Availability of Draft EIS. USACE currently estimates that the 
Draft EIS will be available for public review and comment in or around 
late Spring or early Summer 2020. At that time, USACE will provide a 
45-day public review period for individuals and agencies to review and 
comment. USACE will notify all interested agencies, organizations, and 
individuals of the availability of the draft document at that time.

Paul E. Owen,
Brigadier General, USA Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2019-27766 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P