Notice2022-24019
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
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Published
November 4, 2022
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
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.
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 213 (Friday, November 4, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66681-66683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d894958a8a99f590b9acbbb0b1bdf594b7b7abb9b0b9acbbb0b1bd98adabb9bbbdf6b9aab5a1f6b5b1b4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0844455a5a492540697c6b60616d254467677b6960697c6b60616d487d7b696b6d26697a657126656164">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6b272639392a46230a1f0803020e46270404180a030a1f0803020e2b1e180a080e450a19061245060207"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d995948b8b98f491b8adbab1b0bcf495b6b6aab8b1b8adbab1b0bc99acaab8babcf7b8abb4a0f7b4b0b5">[email protected]</span></a>.
For additional information about the project, please visit the project
website at: <a href="https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/">https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/</a>.
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
[[Page 66683]]
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: <a href="https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/">https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/</a>. 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:
<a href="https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/">https://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Stewardship/Hatchie-Loosahatchie-Mississippi-River-Ecosystem-Restoration-Study/</a>,
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]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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