[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 14993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04904]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Withdrawal of Notice of Intent (NOI) To Prepare a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) Pursuant to Section 203 of Water 
Resources Development Act of 1986 for the Wilmington Harbor Navigation 
Improvement Project Integrated Feasibility Study and Environmental 
Report, New Hanover and Brunswick Counties, NC

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

ACTION: Notice of intent; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is issuing this 
notice to advise Federal, State, and local governmental agencies and 
the public that USACE is withdrawing the notice of intent for the 
preparation of the DEIS pursuant to Section 203 of Water Resources 
Development Act (WRDA) of 1986 for the Wilmington Harbor Navigation 
Improvement Project Integrated Feasibility Study and Environmental 
Report, which was published in the Federal Register on September 12, 
2019. Since publication of the NOI, the project was conditionally 
authorized under Section 403 of WRDA of 2020: Authorization of Projects 
Based on Feasibility Studies Prepared by Non-Federal Interests. USACE 
will be initiating a separate environmental review process for the 
Federal action related to the conditional authorization under Section 
403 of WRDA of 2020.

DATES: The notice of intent to prepare an EIS published in the Federal 
Register on September 12, 2019 (84 FR 48131), is withdrawn as of March 
10, 2023.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington; 69 Darlington 
Avenue, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the withdrawal of the 
Notice of Intent can be directed to Andrea Stolba, (910) 882-4936 at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A draft environmental report and integrated 
feasibility study for potential navigation improvements to the 
Wilmington Harbor Federal navigation channel leading from the Atlantic 
Ocean to the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, was prepared in 2020 
by the NCSPA under the authority granted by Section 203 of WRDA of 
1986. The study area was the existing Wilmington Harbor federal 
navigation channel that originates offshore and extends approximately 
38 miles through the Atlantic Ocean and up the Cape Fear River to the 
City of Wilmington, NC where it services the Port of Wilmington. The 
existing project provides for a channel -44 feet Mean Lower Low Water 
(MLLW) through the ocean bar and entrance channel, changing to -42 feet 
(MLLW) extending to just downstream of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. 
The Port of Wilmington has experienced increases in cargo volume and in 
the size of vessels calling at the port since the last major channel 
improvements were completed by the USACE under the Wilmington Harbor 
Project authorized under WRDA of 1996.
    The Section 403 authorization for the navigation project, 
Wilmington Harbor, North Carolina, is conditioned upon the resolution 
of comments from the review assessment of the ASA(CW), titled ``Review 
Assessment of Wilmington Harbor, North Carolina Navigation Improvement 
Project Integrated Section 203 Study & Environmental Report (February 
2020)'' and dated May 17, 2020.
    Resolution of comments from the May 2020 ASA(CW) review assessment 
and any future Federal action related to the conditional authorization 
under Section 403 of WRDA of 2020 will comply with the requirements of 
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA 
Implementing Regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508), and USACE Procedures 
For Implementing NEPA (33 CFR part 230), and other related 
environmental review requirements. The USACE will initiate a separate 
environmental review process for the federal action pursuant to the 
Section 403 authorization.

Daniel H. Hibner,
Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2023-04904 Filed 3-9-23; 8:45 am]
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