[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 74 (Thursday, April 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21218-21220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07966]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Yazoo Area Pump Project

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (``USACE''), Vicksburg 
District, is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Yazoo Basin Reformulation 
Study, Yazoo Backwater Area, 58 FR 52, 103 (October 6, 1993). Recent 
floods and new data on the environment in the Yazoo

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Backwater Area prompted this new project proposal. In 9 out of the last 
10 years, the Yazoo Backwater Area has experienced significant 
flooding. In particular, the historic flood of 2019 caused two deaths, 
caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, flooded over 600 
homes, and significantly adversely affected the aquatic and terrestrial 
environment. The recurring flooding has demonstrated the need to 
complete the Yazoo Area Pump Project feature. New, previously 
unavailable data indicates that the environmental impacts to wetlands 
and other resources from a pumping plant would be far less than 
calculated in the 2007 FSEIS. The Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement will tier from and update the 2007 FSEIS with new data. It 
will not reformulate the broad array of alternatives previously 
examined in the 2007 FSEIS, but will analyze a new project proposal to 
build the pump project (the Proposed Action) in light of the new data. 
The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will also examine 
environmental measures to mitigate the low dissolved oxygen content in 
the Yazoo Backwater Area, which is currently detrimental to aquatic 
species.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, ATTN: 
CEMVK-PPMD, 4155 East Clay Street, Room 248, Vicksburg, MS 39183.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Comments and questions regarding the 
Supplement should be submitted to USACE by email to 
[email protected]; or by postal mail to the above address; 
or by phone to Mr. Kenneth Parrish at 601-631-5006. For additional 
information, including but not limited to a copy of the 2007 FSEIS, 
please visit the Project website at the following link: https://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Programs-and-Project-Management/Project-Management/Yazoo-Backwater-Report/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Project Background and Authorization. The Yazoo Basin, Yazoo 
Backwater, Mississippi, Project, of which the Yazoo Area Pump Project 
is a part, was authorized by the Flood Control Act (FCA) of 18 August 
1941 House Document (HD) 359/77/1, as amended by the Acts of 22 
December 1944 and 27 October 1965 (HD 308/88/2) and the Water Resources 
Development Act (WRDA) of 1986 and 1996. In 2020, Congress provided 
funding for environmental documentation. One of the authorized 
features, the Yazoo Backwater Levee, was completed in 1978 to reduce 
flood risks from Mississippi River. Though it prevents Mississippi 
River floodwaters from entering the Yazoo Backwater Area, it also 
prevents water from leaving the area, often trapping the water from the 
4,093 square mile drainage area for extended periods of time. This 
trapped water effectively creates an artificial lake that is 
uninhabitable by nearly all species. The historic 2019 flood inundated 
over a half million acres of the Yazoo Backwater Area from February to 
August. The Yazoo Backwater area also has experienced significant 
flooding 9 out of the last 10 years. Aquatic species are acutely 
affected by low dissolved oxygen created by the stagnant conditions. 
Terrestrial species must flee or face mortality by the significant 
depth of the water and lack of food. The human population of the Yazoo 
Backwater Area also suffers significantly. In 2019, hundreds were 
displaced from their flooded homes for over six months and the entire 
crop season was lost for farmers in the affected area. The effects on 
terrestrial and aquatic life were also devastating. The event would 
have been several feet lower and lasted for fewer months if the Yazoo 
Area Pump Project feature had been completed, averting impacts to both 
natural resources and reducing non-agricultural economic damages by 
more than 50%, and reducing damages to homes from flooding. Other 
completed features of the Yazoo Backwater Project include the Steele 
Bayou, Little Sunflower, and Muddy Bayou control structures along with 
a 15 mile long connecting channel between the Steel Bayou and Little 
Sunflower Control Structures. These features were completed between 
1969 and 1978. The Yazoo Area Pump Project is the only feature of the 
Yazoo Backwater Project that remains unconstructed, and the Yazoo 
Backwater Area is the only major backwater area in the Mississippi 
River and Tributaries Project (MR&T) that does not have a pumping 
plant. The Yazoo Area Pump Project has been extensively reformulated 
over the past six decades to balance flood risk reduction with 
environmental concerns. Previous recommended plans called for pumping 
nearly double the amount of water and activating the pumps at a much 
lower elevations in the Yazoo Backwater Area to address flooding. The 
2007 FSEIS Plan combined structural and nonstructural means to strike a 
balance of flood risk reduction and environmental effects. The 
following is a brief summary of the timeline: In 1982 USACE filed an 
EIS for the Yazoo Area Pump Project. Construction was initiated in 1986 
but was halted by WRDA 1986, which required construction and operation 
and maintenance to be cost shared by a non-federal sponsor. Guidance 
from OMB in fiscal year 1991 Budget Pass-backs directed the Corps to 
reformulate Yazoo Basin Projects to provide: (1) Greater levels of 
flood protection to urban areas, (2) reduce levels of agricultural 
intensification, and (3) reduced adverse impacts to the environment. In 
1993 USACE filed a Notice of Intent to file a Supplemental EIS and 
initiated reformulation of the project according to the above 
guidelines. WRDA 1996 changed the cost sharing requirements back to 
those in the original authorization. In 2000 USACE released the draft 
SEIS for comment. In 2007, after completing additional analyses and 
revisions in response to comments, USACE completed the Final Report, 
which included the Reformulation Study and FSEIS. In August 2008 it was 
vetoed by the EPA under 404(c) of the Clean Water Act due to adverse 
environmental effects.
    2. Proposed Action. The Proposed Action is a new project proposal 
to complete the Yazoo Area Pump Project feature to alleviate the flood 
damage in the Yazoo Backwater Area. The structural component consists 
of a 14,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) pump activated at elevation 87 
feet (ft). National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD). The proposed 
location being considered for the pumping station will be near Deer 
Creek in Warren County, MS. The Proposed Action's nonstructural 
component is to purchase easements from willing sellers on cleared 
agricultural lands below elevation 87 ft. NGVD and subsequent 
reforestation. A new environmental mitigation feature of the Proposed 
Action will be the installation of well fields adjacent to the 
Mississippi River levee upstream of the backwater area. The augmented 
flow will improve aquatic habitat, particularly for endangered mussel 
species. New data shows that previously calculated adverse impacts to 
wetlands in the 2007 FSEIS overestimated the potential impacts of the 
proposed pumping plant given available data at the time. For further 
information refer to ``Forested Wetland Hydrology in a Large 
Mississippi River Tributary System'' by Berkowitz, J.F., D.R. Johnson, 
and J.J. Price, published in the Wetlands Journal in December 2019 and 
available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13157-019-01249-5 or at the Project website. The Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement will

[[Page 21220]]

include a new 404(b)1 evaluation under the Clean Water Act.
    3. Alternatives. The 2007 FSEIS evaluated a broad array of 
alternatives, including the No-Action alternative, nonstructural 
alternatives, structural alternatives, and combinations of structural 
and nonstructural alternatives. Reformulation will not be included in 
the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. The Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement will focus primarily on updating the 
2007 FSEIS where necessary and incorporating the new, previously 
unavailable, scientific data to analyze the Proposed Action and compare 
it to the 2007 FSEIS.
    4. Scoping. USACE conducted extensive scoping for the 2007 FSEIS so 
scoping will be comparatively limited and there will not be any 
additional public scoping meetings. However, the public is invited to 
provide scoping comments at the project email address: 
[email protected] (or via post mail). Please provide 
comments by June 15, 2020. Potential participating local, state, and 
Federal agencies and affected Indian tribes that have an interest in 
the area are being contacted. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is 
to provide public notice on the Vicksburg District's intent to prepare 
a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement based on new data. The 
Supplement will also provide further information on the humanitarian 
and ecological damage caused by backwater flooding in the Yazoo 
Backwater Area, and analyze how the Proposed Action will lessen those 
impacts.
    5. Public Meeting: During the COVID-19 public health emergency, 
USACE must consider the health and safety of employees, federal, state, 
and local stakeholders, and the general public. It is anticipated that 
a virtual public meeting will be held in conjunction with publishing 
the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for public 
comment, which is planned for October 2020. The exact date, time, and 
location of the public meeting will be publicly announced in advance by 
USACE on the Project website and by any other means deemed appropriate. 
The public meeting will be streamed via live video through official 
USACE social media channels, which will allow USACE to present 
information to a larger audience, and to receive additional comments. 
Notices of the public meeting will be sent by USACE through email 
distribution lists; posted on the Project website and official USACE 
social media channels; and mailed to public libraries, government 
agencies, and interested groups and individuals. The public meeting 
date will also be advertised in local newspapers. Members of the public 
are encouraged to submit written comments in accordance with 
established timeframes.
    6. Potentially Significant Issues. The Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement will provide updated data and analyses on the 
following resources: bottomland hardwoods, wetlands, endangered 
species, waterfowl, fisheries, water quality, downstream effects, 
cultural resources, environmental justice, recreation, and more. 
Wetlands, downstream effects, aquatics and environmental justice are 
discussed briefly below.
    Wetlands: Wetlands impacts were a substantial source of concern 
among commenters and the primary reason for the EPA 404(c) veto in 
2008. The 2019 flood demonstrated that prolonged flooding can result in 
significant adverse effects to wildlife populations and natural 
habitats associated with wetland areas. Unlike typical river flooding, 
backwater floods in the Yazoo Backwater Area consist of trapped water, 
typically loaded with agricultural runoff and organic matter from 
forested areas. The backwater pool rises and falls slowly and remains 
stagnant for long periods of time. The extended duration and magnitude 
of the 2019 flood contributed to the degradation of aquatic habitats 
resulting from poor water quality conditions created by the flooding.
    Downstream Effects: Recent studies have shown that the downstream 
impacts will be insignificant because the total load of nutrients and 
organic carbon that will be exported downstream would not be altered as 
a result of pump operations. The additional water from 14,000 cfs 
pumps, operating at full capacity, is less than 1% of the Mississippi 
River highwater flow, representing a nearly immeasurable contribution 
to the outflow at the Vicksburg Gage. The additional flow would only 
increase the water surface at the Vicksburg Gage by less than a tenth 
of one foot, which has no appreciable effect to downstream flooding.
    Aquatics: New data shows severe hypoxia occurs during major 
backwater flood events and this hypoxia negatively affects fish species 
and other aquatic organisms. Flood-induced hypoxia during the spring 
and early summer likely impacts successful spawning and rearing 
regardless of aquatic habitats. The juvenile and adult life stages that 
do survive through the flood season are faced with extreme low flows 
during the fall. The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will 
analyze environmental and adaptive management plans to reduce the 
spatial extent and duration of hypoxia and improve environmental flows, 
particularly during the fall season.
    Environmental Justice: Backwater flooding causes severe economic 
damages to all populations in the Yazoo Backwater Area by destroying 
homes, farmland, and wildlife resources; the harm was especially severe 
in 2019. As this Notice is published, the Yazoo Backwater is again 
experiencing another significant flood. In February of 2020 the water 
peaked only 2 feet lower than in 2019. After dropping slightly in 
March, the Yazoo Backwater is expected to peak again at least 96 ft. 
NGVD, flooding over 450,000 acres of land.
    7. Availability. The schedule for the Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement anticipates the release of the draft 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement by USACE for public review 
and comment in October 2020. After it is published, as described above, 
USACE will hold a virtual public comment meeting to present the results 
of studies, to receive comments and to address questions concerning the 
proposed action.

Edward E. Belk, Jr,
Director of Programs, Mississippi Valley Division, US Army Corps of 
Engineers.
[FR Doc. 2020-07966 Filed 4-15-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P