[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54802-54803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14552]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
for the San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) intends to prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to evaluate further 
dredging of suitable beach nourishment sediment associated with the 
construction of the San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project, a 
coastal storm risk management project, and include an additional borrow 
area(s) to obtain beach compatible sediment for future renourishments. 
This SEIS will supplement the San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project 
Final Feasibility Report and Joint Final Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report dated February 2012 (FR/EIS/EIR), 
San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project Supplemental Environmental 
Assessments (SEA) prepared in 2023, and San Clemente Shoreline 
Protection Project Revised SEA prepared in 2024. The SEIS will not 
reformulate the broad array of alternatives previously examined in the 
FR/EIS/EIR and SEAs but will consider reasonable alternatives received 
during the scoping process. Mitigation will be considered as required 
for any additional impacts addressed in the SEIS.

DATES: To ensure consideration, all comments concerning the scope of 
the SEIS must be received on or before August 1, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the SEIS by any of the 
following methods: Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles 
District, 915 Wilshire Boulevard (Attn: CESPL-PDR-L San Clemente), Los 
Angeles, California 90017 or Email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Wong, Planning Division, USACE 
Los Angeles District, (213) 361-2269, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Background: The project was authorized by the Water Resources 
Reform and Development Act of 2014, Public Law 113-121, section 7002 
for the purpose of reducing coastal storm damages by constructing a 
beach fill/berm along the San Clemente shoreline. The authorized 
project includes construction of an approximate 50-foot-wide beach 
nourishment project along a 3,412-foot-long stretch of shoreline using 
beach compatible sediment, with renourishment on the average of every 6 
years over a 50-year period of federal participation. The authorization 
did not identify a specific borrow site for the beach fill; however, it 
identified that the site(s) would be off the coast of San Diego County 
(e.g., Oceanside). The project is further described in the Final 
Feasibility Report and Final Environmental Impact Statement dated 
February 2012 (FR/EIS/EIR); supplemental environmental assessment (SEA) 
dated May 2023; and SEA dated March 2024. Construction of the project 
was initiated in December 2023. However, due in part to equipment 
damage and sediment compatibility issues encountered at the Oceanside 
borrow area, construction was temporarily paused. To allow for 
operational flexibility, the 2024 SEA evaluated inclusion of the 
Surfside-Sunset borrow area, a 106-acre borrow site offshore Surfside-
Sunset beaches located 29 miles to the north of San Clemente in Orange 
County, as an alternate borrow site for initial construction of the 
project.
    After the 2024 SEA's FONSI was signed (March 18, 2024), further 
analysis indicated that continued use of the Surfside-Sunset borrow 
site to complete initial construction of the

[[Page 54803]]

project could result in significant effects on air quality due to the 
duration of dredging operations, including time and distance required 
to transport sediment from Surfside-Sunset to San Clemente Beach. 
Therefore, a SEIS is needed to evaluate potential significant impacts 
to air quality associated with further use of Surfside-Sunset to 
complete initial construction. Furthermore, the 2024 SEA only evaluated 
use of Surfside-Sunset to complete initial construction but not further 
use of the borrow area for future renourishments. The SEIS will also 
evaluate use of Surfside-Sunset for future renourishments.
    2. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action: The purpose of the 
proposed action is to identify borrow sites with sufficient beach 
compatible sediment required to complete all the planned beach 
nourishments for the authorized coastal storm risk management project. 
The need for the project is to protect public properties and private 
structures currently susceptible to damages caused by erosion 
(including land loss and undermining of structures), inundation 
(structures), and wave attack (structures, railroad).
    3. Proposed Action: The proposed action is to identify suitable 
location(s) containing enough beach compatible sediment required to 
nourish San Clemente Beach and complete the coastal storm risk 
management project.
    4. Alternatives: The alternatives currently identified include the 
preferred alternative and the no-action alternative. The preferred 
alternative includes the use of Surfside-Sunset borrow area in addition 
to the Oceanside borrow area to nourish San Clemente Beach on the 
average of every 6 years over the 50-year period of federal 
participation. The No Action Alternative is defined as continued use of 
only the Oceanside borrow area to complete the coastal storm risk 
management project; the Surfside-Sunset borrow area would not be used 
further. During scoping and development of the SEIS, USACE will 
determine if there are any additional borrow areas with suitable 
sediment in the general vicinity of the San Clemente Beach placement 
site in addition to Oceanside and Surfside-Sunset borrow areas that 
should be evaluated in the SEIS.
    5. Summary of Potential Impacts.
    Air Quality: Continued use of the Surfside-Sunset borrow area would 
result in emissions within the South Coast Air Basin where the borrow 
area, vessel transit corridor, and placement sites are located. The 
South Coast Air Basin is in extreme nonattainment for ozone. Pursuant 
to 40 CFR 93.153(b)(1), the applicability rates for ozone precursors 
volatile organic carbon (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are 
each 10 tons per year. The total of direct and indirect emissions of 
NOX for the continued use of the borrow area to complete 
construction and for future renourishments would exceed the 
applicability rate for NOX.
    Biological Resources: The Surfside-Sunset borrow area as well as 
the vessel transit corridor for the hopper dredge to the San Clemente 
Beach placement site is located within a larger area identified by the 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as essential for transit of 
green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), a species protected under the 
Endangered Species Act. Potential effects include entrainment and 
vessel collision. The borrow area and vessel transit corridor are also 
located within a proposed critical habitat for the species which is 
expected to be finalized in the summer of 2024. Significant adverse 
effects to the forthcoming designated critical habitat are not 
expected.
    6. Scoping Process.
    a. Scoping will afford all interested parties an opportunity to 
provide comment on the proposed scope of analysis in the draft 
document. A scoping meeting will not be held. Comments on scoping, 
including potential alternatives, pertinent information, studies, and/
or analyses, relevant to the proposed action may be submitted to the 
contacts listed above. If any reasonable alternatives are identified 
during the scoping period, USACE will evaluate those alternatives in 
the draft SEIS, along with the No Action Alternative.
    b. This NOI commences the public scoping process to identify issues 
and potential alternatives for consideration in the SEIS. Throughout 
the scoping process, federal agencies; tribal, state, and local 
governments; and the public can help USACE identify significant 
resources and issues, impact-producing factors, reasonable 
alternatives, and potential mitigation measures to be analyzed in the 
SEIS, as well as to provide additional information. Comments received 
in response to this NOI, including names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be part of the public record. Comments submitted 
anonymously will be accepted and considered. Before including your 
address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying 
information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While commenters can request their personal 
identifying information be withheld from public review, it cannot be 
guaranteed that this will be able to be accomplished.
    7. Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations. The USACE is 
anticipating that the proposed action would require a permit pursuant 
to section 401 of the Clean Water Act and application of section 
404(b)(1) guidelines. Other environmental review and consultation 
requirements include, but are not limited to, the National Historic 
Preservation Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Fish and 
Wildlife Coordination Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Magnuson-Steven 
Fisheries Conservation Management Act, Marine Protection Research and 
Sanctuaries Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
    8. Schedule for the Decision-Making Process. After the draft SEIS 
is completed, the USACE will publish a notice of availability (NOA) and 
request public comments on the draft SEIS. USACE anticipates issuing 
the NOA in July 2024. After the public comment period ends, the USACE 
will review and respond to comments received and will develop the final 
SEIS. USACE anticipates making the final SEIS available to the public 
in September or October 2024. A ROD will be completed no sooner than 30 
days after the final SEIS is released, in accordance with 40 CFR 
1506.11(b)(2).

David R. Hibner,
Programs Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-14552 Filed 7-1-24; 8:45 am]
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