[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 120 (Monday, June 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37470-37471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13330]


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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION; UNITED STATES AND MEXICO


United States Section: Notice of Availability of the Draft 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Arroyo 
Colorado at Harlingen Flood Flow Improvement Project, Cameron County 
Texas

AGENCY: United States Section, International Boundary and Water 
Commission, United States and Mexico (USIBWC).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality Final 
Regulations, and the USIBWC Operational Procedures for Implementing 
Section 102 of NEPA, published in the Federal Register September 2, 
1981, the USIBWC hereby gives notice that the Draft Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Arroyo Colorado at 
Harlingen Flood Flow Improvement Project, Cameron County Texas is 
available. An Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared 
unless additional information which may affect this decision is brought 
to our attention within 30 days from the date of this Notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Blough, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, USIBWC, 4191 N Mesa, El Paso, Texas 79902. Telephone: (915) 
832-4734, Fax: (915) 493-2428, email: [email protected].
    Availability: The electronic version of the Draft EA is available 
on the USIBWC web page: https://www.ibwc.gov/EMD/EIS_EA_Public_Comment.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USIBWC prepared the EA to evaluate the 
environmental effects of several options that would restore the full 
flood conveyance capabilities to a 6.3-mile reach of Arroyo Colorado 
between U.S. Highway 77 Business (US 77 Business) and Cemetery Road in 
Harlingen, Cameron County Texas. The Preferred Alternative would dredge 
sediment from the channel throughout the reach and expand existing 
vegetation management operations. Vegetation management currently 
occurs along a 3.7-mile reach of Arroyo Colorado between US 77 Business 
and Farm-to-Market Road 509 (FM 509). The Preferred Alternative would 
expand vegetation management operations to include the 2.6-mile reach 
from FM 509 to Cemetery Road. These actions are intended to restore 
Arroyo Colorado's

[[Page 37471]]

design flood conveyance capacity of 21,000 cubic feet per second.
    The draft EA evaluates potential environmental impacts of the No 
Action Alternative and the Preferred Alternative. Two additional 
alternatives were considered and evaluated but were removed from 
consideration because they were either not effective or not feasible. 
Potential impacts on natural, cultural, and other resources were 
evaluated. A Finding of No Significant Impact has been prepared for the 
Preferred Alternative based on a review of the facts and analyses 
contained in the EA.
    An open-house public scoping meeting was held for the proposed 
project on December 12, 2019, at the Harlingen Community Center located 
at 201 E. Madison Avenue, Harlingen, Texas 78552. Notifications of the 
meeting and instructions to access materials and provide comment 
electronically were sent by mail to approximately 200 recipients. 
Recipients included adjacent landowners, regional and local 
representatives of federal and state resource agencies, interested 
Native American tribes, and local elected officials. Additionally, 
notifications were posted in newspapers of local circulation and on 
City of Harlingen and USIBWC media outlets during the first week of 
December.
    Thirty-five attendees signed in and 13 comments were received 
within the comment period. Approximately seven commenters stated that 
they were in general support of the Expanded Vegetation & Sediment 
Removal Alternative (i.e., the Preferred Alternative). One commenter 
expressed support for a combination of the three actions that would 
include Off-Channel Storage, Expanded Vegetation Removal, and Expanded 
Vegetation & Sediment Removal. The remaining five comments proposed 
additional actions outside of the scope of this project that may be 
considered in the future.

    Dated: June 10, 2020.
Jennifer Pena,
Chief Legal Counsel, International Boundary and Water Commission, 
United States Section.
[FR Doc. 2020-13330 Filed 6-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7010-01-P