[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66681-66683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24019]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Mississippi River Hatchie/Loosahatchie, MS River Mile 
775-736, Tennessee and Arkansas, Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility 
Study

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Defense Department (DoD).

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Memphis District (CEMVM) intends 
to prepare a Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental 
Impact Statement (DIFR-EIS) for the Hatchie-Loosahatchie Mississippi 
River Ecosystem Restoration Study. The study seeks to examine restoring 
ecological structure and function to the mosaic of habitats along the 
lower Mississippi River (LMR) and its floodplain between River Miles 
775 and 736 including secondary channels and other floodplain aquatic 
habitats; floodplain forests; and several scarce vegetative communities 
such as, wetlands, rivercane, riverfront forests, and bottomland 
hardwood forests.

DATES: Written comments submitted for consideration are due by 5 
December 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written scoping comments should be submitted by mail to: 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, Attn: CEMVN-PDC-UDC, 
167 North Main St., Room B-202, Memphis, Tennessee 38103, or by email 
to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions or requests to be added to 
the project mailing list should be directed to Mr. Mike Thron by mail 
at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, Attn: CEMVN-PDC-UDC, 
167 North Main St., Room B-202, Memphis, Tennessee 38103; by phone at 
901-544-0708; or by email at [email protected]. 
For additional information about the project, please visit the project 
website at: https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background and Authorization

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as the lead agency, in 
partnership with the

[[Page 66682]]

Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee (LMRCC), as the non-
federal sponsor, are undertaking this study. The Hatchie-Loosahatchie 
Mississippi River Ecosystem Restoration Study will examine restoring 
ecological structure and function along an approximate 39-mile reach of 
the Mississippi River bordering Arkansas and Tennessee between River 
Mile 775, above its confluence with the Hatchie River, and River Mile 
736, below its confluence with the Loosahatchie River, including 
secondary channels and other floodplain aquatic habitats; floodplain 
forests; and several scarce vegetative communities such as, wetlands, 
rivercane, riverfront forests, and bottomland hardwood forests.
    The LMRCC, formed in 1994, is a nonprofit coalition of the six 
states along the LMR--Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, 
Mississippi, and Tennessee. The LMRCC's mission is to promote the 
restoration of the LMR through cooperative efforts, encompassing 
natural resources management, information sharing, public education, 
advocacy, and research.
    This study to determine the feasibility of habitat restoration 
between River Miles 775 and 736 is authorized by Section 1202(a) of the 
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018, Public Law 115-270, and 
is the first of eight reaches of the LMR identified as priorities in 
the report prepared by the Secretary pursuant to section 402 of the 
WRDA of 2000, titled ``Lower Mississippi River Resource Assessment; 
Final Assessment In Response to Section 402 of WRDA 2000,'' Public Law 
106-541, and dated July 2015.
    The Lower Mississippi River Resource Assessment (LMRRA) examined 
information needed for river-related management; the needs of natural 
habitats and the species they support; and the need for more river-
related recreation and public access. Historically, the navigation and 
flood risk management systems have received most of the attention on 
the LMR. Habitat and recreation have not been managed as systems on the 
LMR, but planning for these uses is starting to receive focus from many 
entities. The Final LMRRA Assessment, presented as a report to Congress 
in 2016, included a strategy to meet those information, habitat, and 
recreation needs. The recommended strategy included the creation of 
three programs to address the needs on the river: (1) a Data, 
Information, Science, and Communication (DISC) Program, (2) a Habitat 
Restoration and Management Program (HRMP), and (3) a Recreation Program 
(RP). Each of these programs includes multiple studies and projects. 
The recommendations leverage existing programs and encourage both 
public and private investment in the river. All recommendations are 
compatible with navigation and flood risk management. The recommended 
HRMP primarily relies on the USACE, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS), and the LMRCC with their cooperating agencies, partners, and 
states--Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and 
Louisiana. The program would benefit a variety of habitats and the 
species that rely on them, recreational users, local economies, and 
other river resources.
    The HRMP included eight priority LMR conservation reach habitat 
restoration studies, which collectively represent 290 of the 954 river 
miles in the floodplain of the LMR. Study emphasis includes project 
planning, engineering and design within the main channel, secondary 
channels, floodplain lakes, and other backwater areas within the LMR 
floodplain, building from the work defined in LMRCC's Restoring 
America's Greatest River Initiative and the LMRRA. These feasibility 
studies will examine the Mississippi River and its floodplain to 
determine if there is Federal interest sufficient to justify 
construction of ecosystem restoration features.
    The LMR is a dynamic freshwater ecosystem changing with the river's 
annual hydrologic regime with interactions among the terrestrial and 
aquatic systems, main channel and side channel areas, mudflats, 
backwaters, tributaries, and islands. The Mississippi River Levee 
system has disconnected much of the floodplain from the river. Flood 
risk management and navigation projects have altered bends and diverted 
flow from secondary channels. Extensive structural changes on the 
river's main-stem have disrupted the once dynamic ecosystem. There is 
less available habitat for federally listed threatened and endangered 
species including pallid sturgeon and fat pocketbook mussels, and 
several other species of conservation concern. Modification and changes 
in the LMR have resulted in a number of extensive habitat changes 
including reductions in both vegetative diversity and forested habitat; 
extensive loss of connection between the river, its associated 
floodplain, and critical floodplain habitat; loss and disconnection of 
side channels, backwaters, and oxbows; decreased main channel and main 
channel border habitat diversity; loss of gravel bars, sandbars and 
islands; and a substantial increase in presence of invasive species.
    There is a critical need to restore habitat and ecosystem function 
in the LMR in association with the continued operation of significant 
levee and navigation infrastructure. Restoration opportunities include 
restoring vegetative diversity and forest habitats in the active 
floodplain; improving floodplain connectivity with the river; 
reconnection of side channels, backwaters, and floodplain lakes; 
restoration of sandbars and gravel bars; development and enhancement of 
islands; and increasing habitat diversity in the main channel and along 
the shoreline.

2. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose and need for the proposed action is to restore habitat 
and ecosystem function along an approximate 39-mile reach of the LMR 
and its floodplain in harmony with the existing USACE mission areas of 
ensuring navigation and flood risk reduction.

3. Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives Considered

    The DIFR-EIS will analyze alternatives for ecosystem improvements 
within this reach of the LMR and its floodplain. Alternatives may 
include, but are not limited to, removing obstructions to increase 
connectivity within large river and floodplain aquatic habitats, 
restoring depths and improving aquatic habitat complexity, increasing 
quantity and/or quality of the diverse mosaic of vegetated habitats, 
such as, submersed aquatic vegetation, rivercane, cypress/tupelo 
swamps, bottomland hardwood and riverfront forests, and improving 
recreational, educational, and/or other opportunities for public access 
that are compatible with ecosystem restoration purposes. The study will 
identify and evaluate a full range of reasonable alternatives, 
including the No Action Alternative.

4. Brief Summary of Expected Impacts

    Expected impacts include short-term disturbances of existing 
aquatic and floodplain habitats during construction, followed by long-
term improvements to the ecosystem.

5. Anticipated Permits, Consultations, or Coordination

    The proposed Action is being coordinated with federal, state, 
regional, and local agencies. In accordance with relevant environmental 
laws and regulations, USACE will consult with

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the following agencies: USFWS under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination 
Act; USFWS under the Endangered Species Act; Arkansas Department of 
Environment and Energy and Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation for Water Quality Certification; and, the Advisory Council 
on Historic Preservation (ACHP), Tennessee and Arkansas State Historic 
Preservation Offices (SHPOs), and the appropriate Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officers under the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA) and integrated NHPA/EIS process. The non-Federal sponsor, the 
LMRCC, is comprised of the 12 state wildlife and water quality agencies 
from the six states bordering the LMR, and works in cooperation with 
the USFWS, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), USACE, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) 
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and various conservation 
focused non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These agencies have been 
active in the preceding LMRRA Report and current study to date and 
continued coordination is expected throughout the study process.

6. Public Participation

    USACE invites all affected federal, state, and local agencies, 
affected Native American Tribes, other interested parties, and the 
general public to participate in the NEPA process during development of 
the DIFR-EIS. The purpose of the public scoping process is to provide 
information to the public, narrow the scope of analysis to significant 
environmental issues, serve as a mechanism to solicit agency and public 
input on the identification of potential alternatives, information, and 
analyses relevant to the proposed action, and ensure full and open 
participation in scoping for the draft SEIS.
    Scoping and other study related information will continue to be 
made available on the project website at: https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/. To ensure 
that public comments are considered in DIFR-EIS development process, 
members of the public, interested persons and entities must submit 
their comments to USACE by mail, email, or at the Scoping Meeting(s). 
Written comments submitted for consideration are due 30 days from the 
date of this Notice of Intent. Please include your name and return 
address on the first page of written comments. All personally 
identifiable information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily 
submitted by a commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information.
    Public scoping meeting(s) will be held at various locations around 
the study area during the scoping period which extends 30 days from the 
date of this Notice of Intent, to present information and receive 
comments from the public. Notification of the scoping meeting(s) will 
be publicly announced in advance by USACE on the project website at: 
https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/, 
and through press releases, special public notices, and USACE-Memphis 
District social media platforms, at a minimum.

7. Availability

    The DIFR-EIS is presently scheduled to be available for public 
review and comment in early 2023. A final IFR-EIS is tentatively 
scheduled for release in May 2024.

James A. Bodron,
Regional Business Director, Mississippi Valley Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-24019 Filed 11-3-22; 8:45 am]
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