Notice2022-24164
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Islands Ecosystem Restoration Project at James Island
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Published
November 7, 2022
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation's Maryland Port Administration, the non- federal sponsor, plans to prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (sEIS) for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration Project at James Island (Mid-Bay Island Project). The Mid- Chesapeake Islands Restoration Project recommends remote island restoration at James Island and Barren Island, both on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and in Dorchester County, MD, through the beneficial use of dredged material. The project addresses two needs: (1) the restoration of remote island habitat to benefit wildlife including a diverse assemblage of birds, fish, herpetofauna, and invertebrates; and (2) the beneficial use of dredged material from the maintenance of the approach channels to Baltimore Harbor. Remote islands, a critical ecosystem component in the Chesapeake Bay, are offshore landforms that provide isolation, lack of human disturbance, and few predators. These conditions uniquely support isolated nesting and foraging habitat for a diverse assemblage of wildlife. Extensive island habitat loss has occurred within the Mid-Chesapeake Bay, and James Island has nearly vanished. Sea level rise and related erosion, as well as land subsidence and wave action are the primary drivers of island loss. The project provides an opportunity to utilize 30 to 70 million cubic yards of clean dredged material over a 20-year period to restore 2,072 acres of remote island habitat at James Island including uplands and wetlands. The project would convert over 2,000 acres of shallow water habitat in the waters surrounding James Island to external dikes and island habitat. There are expected to be long-term changes to the aesthetics of the project area as an effect of the restoration of James Island in the landscape. The sEIS will update documentation for NEPA focused on the James Island component of the project. USACE is requesting to be provided any supporting information, analyses, and alternative identification relevant to the action being evaluated by this sEIS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 214 (Monday, November 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 214 (Monday, November 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67025-67026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24164]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Islands Ecosystem Restoration
Project at James Island
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Baltimore District of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in partnership with the Maryland
Department of Transportation's Maryland Port Administration, the non-
federal sponsor, plans to prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (sEIS) for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem
Restoration Project at James Island (Mid-Bay Island Project). The Mid-
Chesapeake Islands Restoration Project recommends remote island
restoration at James Island and Barren Island, both on the Eastern
Shore of Maryland and in Dorchester County, MD, through the beneficial
use of dredged material. The project addresses two needs: (1) the
restoration of remote island habitat to benefit wildlife including a
diverse assemblage of birds, fish, herpetofauna, and invertebrates; and
(2) the beneficial use of dredged material from the maintenance of the
approach channels to Baltimore Harbor. Remote islands, a critical
ecosystem component in the Chesapeake Bay, are offshore landforms that
provide isolation, lack of human disturbance, and few predators. These
conditions uniquely support isolated nesting and foraging habitat for a
diverse assemblage of wildlife. Extensive island habitat loss has
occurred within the Mid-Chesapeake Bay, and James Island has nearly
vanished. Sea level rise and related erosion, as well as land
subsidence and wave action are the primary drivers of island loss. The
project provides an opportunity to utilize 30 to 70 million cubic yards
of clean dredged material over a 20-year period to restore 2,072 acres
of remote island habitat at James Island including uplands and
wetlands. The project would convert over 2,000 acres of shallow water
habitat in the waters surrounding James Island to external dikes and
island habitat. There are expected to be long-term changes to the
aesthetics of the project area as an effect of the restoration of James
Island in the landscape. The sEIS will update documentation for NEPA
focused on the James Island component of the project. USACE is
requesting to be provided any supporting information, analyses, and
alternative identification relevant to the action being evaluated by
this sEIS.
DATES: Comments and suggestions must be submitted by December 7, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the scope
of issues to be evaluated within the sEIS to Angie Sowers, Integrated
Water Resources Management Specialist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Baltimore District, Planning Division--Civil Project Development
Branch, (CENAP-PLP), 2 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201, or via email
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#63020d04060f024d100c140611102316100200064d02110e1a4d0e0a0f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e4f40494b424f005d41594b5c5d6e5b5d4f4d4b004f5c435700434742">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the overall Mid-Bay
Island Project should be directed to Trevor Cyran, Project Manager at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8cccaddced7ca96c896dbc1cad9d6f8cdcbd9dbdd96d9cad5c196d5d1d4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="33474156455c411d431d504a41525d7346405250561d52415e4a1d5e5a5f">[email protected]</span></a> or at (410) 962-4999. Additional
information is available on the project's web page: <a href="https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Mid-Bay">https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Mid-Bay</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
USACE-Baltimore received the authority to conduct the Mid-
Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study under the
resolution of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on 5
June 1997. The feasibility study recommended remote island restoration
at James Island and Barren Island, both on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland and in Dorchester County, through the beneficial use of
dredged material. The study built upon the Federal and State's Dredged
Material Management Plan (DMMP) planning efforts to identify beneficial
use sites to meet dredged material capacity needs and habitat
restoration goals. The feasibility study determined the technical,
economic, and environmental feasibility of protecting, restoring, and
creating aquatic, intertidal wetland, and upland habitat for fish and
wildlife within the Mid-Bay Island Project study area using clean
dredged material from the Upper Chesapeake Bay Approach Channels.
Section 7002 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act
(WRDA) of 2014 authorized the Mid-Bay Island Project, as described in
the Chief's Report, (<a href="https://planning.erdc.dren.mil/toolbox/library/ChiefReports/mid_chesapeake.pdf">https://planning.erdc.dren.mil/toolbox/library/ChiefReports/mid_chesapeake.pdf</a>), dated August 2009, and the Mid-
Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration Integrated Feasibility
Report and Environmental Impact Statement (IFR/EIS), dated June 2009.
The Federal Register notice (73 FR 56565, September 29, 2008) for the
EIS being supplemented is available at <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2008-09-29/pdf/E8-22764.pdf">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2008-09-29/pdf/E8-22764.pdf</a>. The record of decision (ROD) was
signed in July 2019 initiating the next phase of the study,
Preconstruction Engineering and Design (PED). In March 2022, USACE
published a supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) with a signed
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) to update NEPA compliance for
the Barren Island component of the Mid-Bay Island Project.
Acknowledging the scale of the James Island component of the project
and the large-scale marine construction required to implement the
project, a sEIS will be prepared.
The Mid-Bay Island Project recommended plan consists of restoring
[[Page 67026]]
2,072 acres of remote island habitat at James Island with a habitat
proportion of 45% upland to 55% wetland, and an upland dike height of
20 ft MLLW.
The Mid-Bay Island Project provides for the restoration of remote
island habitat to benefit wildlife including a diverse assemblage of
birds, fish, herpetofauna, and invertebrates; and the beneficial use of
dredged material. Remote islands, a critical ecosystem component in the
Chesapeake Bay, are offshore landforms that provide isolation, lack of
human disturbance, and few predators. These conditions uniquely support
isolated nesting and foraging habitat for a diverse assemblage of
wildlife. Extensive island habitat loss has occurred within the Mid-
Chesapeake Bay. James Island, historically at least 1300 acres, has
dwindled in the past 20 years from three remnants totaling less than
100 acres to multiple remnants summing to approximately 3 acres. Sea
level rise and related erosion, as well as land subsidence and wave
action are the primary drivers of island loss. Simultaneously, the
project provides an opportunity for the beneficial use of dredged
material. More than 130 miles of dredged shipping channels serve the
Port of Baltimore, and channel maintenance and improvement projects
require that approximately 4 to 5 million cubic yards of sediment be
dredged from the Federal and State channels each year, 3.2 mcy of which
comes from the upper Chesapeake Bay approach channels and the southern
approach channels to the C&D Canal. The project will provide
approximately 90 to 95 mcy, or approximately 28 to 30 years of dredged
material placement capacity to meet the annual need for maintenance
dredging activity.
The purpose of the current effort is to update NEPA documentation
for the James Island component of the Mid-Bay Island Project during the
project's design phase. The NEPA coordination/review schedule for the
project will be coordinated with the appropriate Federal and state
resource agencies
2. Study Area
The project is located in estuarine waters adjacent to James Island
in Dorchester County, MD. James Island is situated along the eastern
shore of the Chesapeake Bay, outside the mouth of the Little Choptank
River, and slightly northeast of Taylors Island.
3. USACE Decision Making
As required by the Council on Environmental Quality's Principles,
Requirements and Guidelines for Water and Land Related Resources
Implementation Studies (2013), alternatives to the proposed Federal
action that meet the purpose and need will be considered in the sEIS.
These alternatives will include no action, the recommended plan as
authorized by Section 7002 of WRDA 2014, and minor adjustments to
account for changing conditions since the feasibility report was
completed in 2009. The measures to be evaluated will consider
applicable public stakeholder and agency input received since the
beginning of PED and through future outreach efforts.
4. Scoping/Public Participation
Prior scoping meetings were held as part of the feasibility study.
Public outreach events were held in May and June 2021. An additional
community outreach session is planned for Saturday, November 19, 2022
from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Hoopers Island Fire Department [2756
Hoopers Island Road, Fishing Creek, MD 21634]. Any additional scoping
input can be provided at that meeting or provided to the contacts
identified here within, for 30 days following the meeting until
December 19, 2022. Public meetings will be conducted during the public
review period of the draft sEIS.
5. Lead and Cooperating Agencies
USACE is the lead federal agency and the Maryland Department of
Transportation's Maryland Port Administration is the nonfederal sponsor
for the project. The preparation of the sEIS meets the requirements of
the NEPA and its Implementing Regulations of the President's Council on
Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500-1508). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) have been invited to
serve as cooperating agencies.
6. Alternatives To Be Considered
This sEIS evaluation will consider two alternatives: (1) No action,
and (2) implementation of the feasibility study's recommended plan.
7. Study Schedule
The Draft sEIS is currently scheduled for distribution to the
public in summer 2023, with a 45 day public review and comment period
following release of the draft document.
8. Anticipated Impacts, Permits, and Authorization
The sEIS will analyze the full range of impacts, both beneficial
and negative, of the alternatives. Potentially significant issues to be
analyzed include impacts to waters of the United States, aquatic
resources (including submerged aquatic vegetation), and endangered and
threatened species and their habitats. Other impacts that will be
analyzed include hydrology and water quality, air quality, navigation,
cultural resources, aesthetics, environmental justice, and recreation.
Anticipated permits and authorizations include water quality
certification, Coastal Zone Consistency Determination, and a tidal
wetlands license. In addition, many other federal, state, and local
authorizations will be required for the Project. Applicable federal
laws include the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, Marine Mammals Protection Act, Rivers
and Harbors Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Clean Water Act,
and the Coastal Zone Management Act. USACE is also conducting
government-to-government Tribal consultations.
Reinhard W. Koenig,
Programs Director, North Atlantic Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-24164 Filed 11-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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