Notice2022-21870
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Subsequent Environmental Impact Report XIV [XIV] for the 2016 American River Watershed Common Features Project, Sacramento, CA
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Published
October 7, 2022
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) intends to prepare a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)/Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) to the 2016 American River Watershed Common Features (ARCF) General Reevaluation Report (GRR), Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/FEIR). USACE will serve as the lead National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) agency and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) will serve as the lead California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) agency, with support from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). The construction of cutoff walls and seepage berms to decrease the likelihood of levee failure, and installation of bank armoring to protect levees from erosion, are project actions authorized by WRDA 2016 to reduce flood risk to metropolitan Sacramento. The elements of the project will be organized and discussed in the SEIS in a manner to avoid restating discussions and findings that remain current and accurate in the 2016 ARCF EIS/EIR. This would allow the reader of the ARCF SEIS/SEIR to focus on the document's analysis of impacts of design changes to project features, while the relevant sections of the 2016 ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR would be referenced where no design changes are planned. Mitigation will be considered as required for any additional impacts addressed in the ARCF SEIS/SEIR. A description of the current proposed plans for the project is set forth below.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 194 (Friday, October 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61003-61005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21870]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement/Subsequent Environmental Impact Report XIV [XIV] for
the 2016 American River Watershed Common Features Project, Sacramento,
CA
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) intends to prepare a
draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)/Subsequent
Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) to the 2016 American River Watershed
Common Features (ARCF) General Reevaluation Report (GRR), Final
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/FEIR).
USACE will serve as the lead National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
agency and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) will serve
as the lead California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) agency, with
support from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). The
construction of cutoff walls and seepage berms to decrease the
likelihood of levee failure, and installation of bank armoring to
protect levees from erosion, are project actions authorized by WRDA
2016 to reduce flood risk to metropolitan Sacramento. The elements of
the project will be organized and discussed in the SEIS in a manner to
avoid restating discussions and findings that remain current and
accurate in the 2016 ARCF EIS/EIR. This would allow the reader of the
ARCF SEIS/SEIR to focus on the document's analysis of impacts of design
changes to project features, while the relevant sections of the 2016
ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR would be referenced where no design changes are
planned. Mitigation will be considered as required for any additional
impacts addressed in the ARCF SEIS/SEIR.
A description of the current proposed plans for the project is set
forth below.
DATES: Written comments regarding the scope of the environmental
analysis should be received by November 3 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and suggestions concerning ARCF Project and
requests to be included on the Project mailing list may be submitted to
Guy Romine, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, Attn:
Environmental Analysis Section (CESPK-PDR-A), 1325 J Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Guy Romine, telephone at (916)
557-5100, email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#07465544415854424e544772746664622966756a7e296a6e6b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e6f7c6d68717d6b677d6e5b5d4f4d4b004f5c435700434742">[email protected]</span></a>. Additional information
will also be posted on the internet at: <a href="http://www.sacleveeupgrades.com">www.sacleveeupgrades.com</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Purpose and Need
The Purpose of the ARCF SEIS/SEIR project is to reduce the overall
flood risk within the study area. An unacceptably high risk of flooding
from levee failure threatens the public safety of the City of
Sacramento, as well as property and critical infrastructure throughout
the study area. The Sacramento metropolitan area is one of the most at-
risk areas for flooding in the United States. There is a high
probability that flood flows in the American and Sacramento Rivers will
stress the network of levees protecting the system to the point that
levees could fail. Previous segments of the authorized project have
been or will be constructed as authorized, but there are remaining
segments that must still be implemented to reduce flood risk associated
with erosion, seepage, and levee stability within the study area.
USACE has determined that the levee system along the Sacramento and
American Rivers do not meet the current Federal standards for flood
risk reduction due to seepage, slope stability, and erosion. The
proposed project is needed to reduce risk of levee failure.
2. Proposed Action
USACE is preparing to draft a SEIS/SEIR to analyze changes made
during final preliminary design of multiple contract actions within the
ARCF project that could result in potentially significant environmental
effects. This supplemental document will centralize where the public
and agencies can look for the most current project information and will
bring environmental considerations up to date. The SEIS/SEIR will focus
on new or different features of project designs that have evolved since
the original ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR was completed, while analyzing the
potential environmental impacts of these changes. Accordingly, the
Proposed Action for this SEIS/SEIR consists of project features where
the final design is sufficiently different from the original design.
Environmental impacts are likely to be different than those analyzed in
the 2016 FEIS/FEIR, with these project features are outlined below.
Lower American River Design Refinements
Using updated modeling and data, USACE completed a semi-
quantitative risk assessment (SQRA), which identified several areas on
the Lower American River requiring design refinements that were not
specifically addressed in the ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR. Different erosion
protection methods than those discussed in the ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR are
now indicated to provide better onsite mitigation, fisheries habitat,
and to decrease impacts to heritage oak trees. Specifically, launchable
toe protection and tie backs may be required in many areas. A
launchable rock toe and tie backs are placed at the waterside edge of a
constructed planting bench, lower on the levee/riverbank, to allow
riparian vegetation to grow next to the water's edge. If erosion and
scour occur below the launchable toe, the revetment placed in the
launchable toe would launch and cover the eroded area, preventing
further erosion and providing bank slope stability. Additionally, haul
routes and staging areas to implement these erosion control areas will
be needed. Erosion protection work may also be implemented around trees
in certain areas, to minimize a risk for scour caused by trees.
Lower American River--State Route 160 Bridge Area Design Refinements
The SQRA also determined that the area under the State Route 160
Bridge contributes to flood risk, and will need supplementary measures
to properly
[[Page 61004]]
address this risk. The Proposed Action will require additional bank
protection work in this area, including evaluation of staging areas,
the addition of haul routes outside the original project footprint, and
an extended nighttime work schedule not evaluated in the 2016 ARCF GRR
FEIS/FEIR.
Sacramento River Erosion Design Refinements and Construction
Requirements
The 2016 ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR did not analyze staging areas for
erosion protection work since it was assumed all work would be done by
barge. Land side staging areas and haul routes to the staging areas
have been added to the Proposed Action to ensure revised construction
needs are met. Erosion protection features are now designed to include
more rock than was originally estimated in the 2016 ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR
and will be further considered in the ARCF SEIS/SEIR.
Magpie Creek Area
The Proposed Action would require realignment of the levee and
canal at Magpie Creek, increase localized storage and water conveyance,
and an increased height of the levee at that site. Night work would be
considered in the Proposed Action as a method to reduce daytime noise
impacts and reduce the daytime closures of Raley Boulevard. In the
Preferred Alternative of the ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR, Raley Boulevard was
presumed to be partially closed with the possibility of the loss of the
northern right-hand turn lane, but under the Proposed Action the road
would be fully closed during a portion of the construction season.
Mitigation Sites
The Proposed Action includes a comprehensive mitigation proposal to
cover all remaining impacts of the ARCF project. The ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR
cited the need for additional mitigation and restoration planning once
the designs of the ARCF Project were closer to completion. Project
planners have now determined that on-site mitigation commitments set
forth in the ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR will be inadequate if the revised
Proposed Action is implemented. The Proposed Action may include
purchase of mitigation bank credits, or construction of dedicated
mitigation facilities, or both, to meet additional mitigation
requirements.
3. Alternatives
The Alternatives to the Proposed Action that may be considered in
the SEIS/SEIR include: (1) Construction of mitigation sites and
purchase of mitigation bank credits, as well as design refinements and
construction requirements discussed above; and (2) the required No
Action Alternative. The No Action Alternative would be defined as
construction of the ARCF 2016 Project exactly as described in
Alternative 2 of the ARCF GRR FEIS/FEIR, (the Preferred Alternative).
4. Scoping Process
a. A public scoping meeting will be held in the form of a
teleconference and/or webinar to present an overview of the Proposed
Action, its project features, and the ARCF SEIS/SEIR Process. Scoping
will afford all interested parties an opportunity to provide comment on
the proposed scope of analysis in the draft document and to identify
alternatives measures. Comments on scoping, including potential
alternatives, pertinent information, studies, and/or analyses, relevant
to this Proposed Action may be submitted to the contacts listed below.
If any reasonable alternatives are identified during the scoping
period, USACE will evaluate those alternatives in the draft SEIS/SEIR,
along with a no action alternative. The public scoping meeting is
anticipated to be held on 2 November 2022. Exact time, registration
details, additional information, and any schedule changes will be
announced online at: <a href="http://www.sacleveeupgrades.com">www.sacleveeupgrades.com</a>.
b. The Proposed Action is anticipated to affect the following
resources, which the SEIS/SEIR will fully consider, including visual
resources, vegetation and wildlife, fisheries, special status species,
cultural resources, air quality, transportation, climate change,
recreation, hydrology and water quality, noise, geological resources,
environmental justice, and public utilities. Those resources expected
to be unaffected by the design changes encompassed by the Proposed
Action will not be discussed in the ARCF SEIS/SEIR.
c. USACE will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to ensure that the
Proposed Action complies with the Endangered Species Act and the Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act. The NMFS anticipates receipt of one or
more requests for authorization to take incidental to activities
related to the project under the Magnuson[hyphen]Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (MSA). USACE will also consult with the
State Historic Preservation Officer and Native American Tribes to
ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, and with
the National Parks Service to seek a Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
consistency determination for the Proposed Action. Additional State
consultations may be required under CEQA or other California State
Regulations. These consultations will be coordinated by CVFPB or DWR.
USACE intends to consult with CRWQCB support its decision on any
permits and permissions requested under sections 10 and 14 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act, section 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act.
d. This NOI commences the public scoping process to identify issues
and potential alternatives for consideration in the ARCF SEIS/SEIR.
Throughout the scoping process, Federal agencies; Tribal, State, and
local governments; and the general public have the opportunity to help
USACE determine significant resources and issues, impact-producing
factors, reasonable alternatives (e.g., size, geographic, seasonal, or
other restrictions on construction and siting of facilities and
activities), and potential mitigation measures to be analyzed in the
SEIS/SEIR, as well as to provide additional information. In the
interests of efficiency, completeness, and facilitating public
involvement, the SEIS/SEIR will use the NEPA process to fulfill public
involvement requirements established in 36 CFR 800.2(d).
USACE anticipates it will hold a virtual public scoping meeting for
the SEIS/SEIR on 2 November 2022. Registration details, additional
information, and any schedule changes will be announced online at:
<a href="http://www.sacleveeupgrades.com">www.sacleveeupgrades.com</a>.
After completion of the Draft ARCF SEIS/SEIR a 45-day public review
period will be provided for interested parties and agencies to review
and comment on the draft document. All interested parties are
encouraged to respond to this notice and provide a current address if
they wish to be notified of the ARCF SEIS/SEIR circulation.
4. Availability
After the draft ESIS/SEIR is completed, USACE will publish a notice
of availability (NOA) and request public comments on the draft SEIS/
SEIR. USACE expects to issue the NOA in August 2023. After the public
comment period ends, the Army will review and respond to comments
received and will develop the final SEIS/SEIR. USACE expects to make
the final SEIS/SEIR available to the public in May 2024. A ROD will be
completed no sooner than
[[Page 61005]]
30 days after the final EIS is released, in accordance with 40 CFR
1506.11.
Antoinette R. Gant,
COL (P), EN, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2022-21870 Filed 10-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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