[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 176 (Thursday, September 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55843-55844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19993]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
an Easement to Cross Under Lake Oahe, North Dakota for a Fuel-Carrying 
Pipeline Right-Of-Way for a Portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (Corps), as lead agency, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) pursuant to court order to evaluate granting an 
easement to Dakota Access, LLC to cross federal land administered by 
Corps for the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project on the Missouri River. 
This notice opens the public scoping phase and invites interested 
parties to identify issues and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action that should be considered in the EIS.

DATES: To ensure consideration during the EIS process, written comments 
on the scope of the EIS must be received no later than October 26, 
2020. Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, virtual 
scoping meetings will be held in lieu of in-person scoping meetings. 
Virtual scoping meetings will be held on October 15 and 16, 2020. 
Additional information is included under ``Public Scoping.''

ADDRESSES: Scoping comments can be submitted by mail or email. Please 
do not submit comments on USB, hard drive, or other portable storage 
devices.
    Scoping comments can be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Omaha District, ATTN: CENWO-PM-A-C (DAPL NOI), 1616 Capitol Avenue, 
Omaha, NE 68102.
    Scoping comments can also be emailed to: [email protected].
    If emailing comments, please use ``Scoping Comments, Dakota Access 
Pipeline Crossing'' as the subject of your email.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heath Kruger, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers at (402)-995-2036 or by email at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 25, 2016, the Corps granted 
permission to applicant Dakota Access, LLC, under Section 14 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. 408 (408 permission), for a 
proposed pipeline crossing under Lake Oahe approximately 0.5 miles 
upstream of the northern boundary of the Standing Rock Reservation. The 
approximately 1,172-mile pipeline connects the Bakken and Three Forks 
oil production areas in North Dakota to an existing crude oil market 
near Patoka, Illinois.
    The 408 permission was supported by a Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI) based on an Environmental Assessment (EA), as 
contemplated under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This 
EA/FONSI was completed on July 25, 2016, the date that the Corps 
granted the 408 permission. On February 8, 2017, the Corps granted an 
easement, with conditions, to cross federal property administered by 
the Corps at Lake Oahe, North Dakota. The Corps granted the easement 
under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), 30 U.S.C. 185. The easement 
allowed for the installation, construction, operation, maintenance, 
repair, replacement and termination of a thirty-inch diameter 
horizontal directional drill buried oil pipeline for the purpose of 
transporting crude oil, and related facilities, at or under Lake Oahe 
Project in North Dakota, with a 50-foot wide width plus the ground 
occupied by the pipeline and related facilities. Operation of the 
pipeline began on June 1, 2017.
    On March 25, 2020, the District Court for the District of Columbia 
ordered the Corps to prepare an EIS for this portion of the pipeline 
because the pipeline's ``effects on the quality of the human 
environment are likely to be highly controversial.'' Standing Rock 
Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, No. 1: 16-cv-01534, 
Memorandum Opinion (D.D.C. March 25, 2020), ECF No. 496.
    The proposed crossing of Corps-administered federal property 
requires the grant of a right-of-way (easement) under the MLA. Comments 
are invited to assist in identifying the scope of potentially affected 
environmental, social, and economic issues relevant to the potential 
grant of an easement and determining if there are reasonable 
alternatives to be considered in the EIS.
    Consistent with the Court's decision, Dakota Access, LLC seeks an 
easement from the Corps for the original proposed project whose 
construction was completed on June 1, 2017. A decision on whether to 
authorize the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe at the proposed location 
would be based on: (1) The July 25, 2016, EA/FONSI; (2) the Corps' 
August 31, 2018, analysis on remand from a decision by the District 
Court; and (3) additional analysis developed through this EIS.
    Scoping Process: As the lead federal agency, the Corps will also 
coordinate with the public, other state and local agencies, and Tribes 
in order to evaluate the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts of 
the proposed project. Consistent with the Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ's) NEPA implementing regulations, we anticipate that an 
EIS will analyze the following possible alternatives:
    (1) No action alternative, where the Corps would not grant an 
easement and would require restoration of the Corps-administered 
federal lands to pre-pipeline construction conditions;
    (2) The Corps would not grant an easement and would take no further 
action;
    (3) The Corps would grant the requested easement with the same 
conditions as the vacated easement; and
    (4) The Corps would grant the requested easement with additional 
conditions beyond those in the vacated easement.
    As part of this notice, the Corps requests input on any additional 
potential alternatives.
    Public Scoping: This notice also serves to inform the public that 
virtual public scoping meeting will be held during the 45-day scoping 
period. Virtual scoping meetings will be held on October 15 and 16, 
2020 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. central time on each day. The meeting 
information can be accessed at https://go.usa.gov/xG2Pt. The Corps will 
use the comments received to assist in identifying the significant 
issues which should be addressed in the EIS.
    Public Comment Availability: Before including your address, 
telephone number, email address, or other personal identifying 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made 
publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment that 
your personal identifying information be withheld from public review, 
the

[[Page 55844]]

Corps cannot guarantee that this will occur.

D. Peter Helmlinger,
Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Division Commander.
[FR Doc. 2020-19993 Filed 9-9-20; 8:45 am]
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