Notice2024-12362
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Tiered Environmental Impact Statement (TEIS) for Long-Term Sediment Management of the Federal Navigation Channel at or Near the Confluence of the Lower Snake and Clearwater Rivers in Asotin, Whitman, and Garfield Counties, State of Washington, and Nez Perce County, State of Idaho
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 6, 2024
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District (USACE), intends to prepare a Tiered Environmental Impact Statement (TEIS), in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for long-term sediment management of the federal navigation channel at or near the confluence of the lower Snake and Clearwater Rivers (Confluence), in support of the commercial navigation project purpose within the Lower Snake River Projects (LSRP). The TEIS would be tiered from, and prepared in accordance with, the 2014 Lower Snake River Programmatic Sediment Management Plan, Final Environmental Impact Statement (PSMP FEIS). Per the PSMP, the triggers for development of a long-term solution have been met. TEIS alternatives will be formulated based on the PSMP's eight (8) measures applicable to Future Forecast Need Actions for Navigation and will be analyzed to determine the most cost-effective, technically acceptable, and environmentally acceptable action(s) to manage the sediment depositing at the Confluence.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48418-48419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12362]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Tiered Environmental Impact
Statement (TEIS) for Long-Term Sediment Management of the Federal
Navigation Channel at or Near the Confluence of the Lower Snake and
Clearwater Rivers in Asotin, Whitman, and Garfield Counties, State of
Washington, and Nez Perce County, State of Idaho
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District
(USACE), intends to prepare a Tiered Environmental Impact Statement
(TEIS), in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), for long-term sediment management of the federal navigation
channel at or near the confluence of the lower Snake and Clearwater
Rivers (Confluence), in support of the commercial navigation project
purpose within the Lower Snake River Projects (LSRP). The TEIS would be
tiered from, and prepared in accordance with, the 2014 Lower Snake
River Programmatic Sediment Management Plan, Final Environmental Impact
Statement (PSMP FEIS). Per the PSMP, the triggers for development of a
long-term solution have been met. TEIS alternatives will be formulated
based on the PSMP's eight (8) measures applicable to Future Forecast
Need Actions for Navigation and will be analyzed to determine the most
cost-effective, technically acceptable, and environmentally acceptable
action(s) to manage the sediment depositing at the Confluence.
DATES: This Federal Register notice initiates the formal TEIS
development process.
USACE invites federal and state agencies, Native American Tribes,
and local governments to submit any relevant scoping comments by July
8,
[[Page 48419]]
2024, that are relevant to the long-term sediment management at the
Confluence for Navigation, which may include information, analysis, and
ideas regarding formulation of the eight (8) measures to create the
reasonable range of alternatives to be analyzed listed in the
``Supplementary Information'' section below. Comments not relevant to
these criteria will not be considered.
USACE expects to publish a notice of availability (NOA) and request
public comments on the draft TEIS in August 2025 and the final TEIS to
be available to the public in February 2026. A Record of Decision (ROD)
will be completed no sooner than 30 days after the final TEIS is
released, in accordance with 40 CFR 1506.11.
ADDRESSES: Requests to be placed on the TEIS mailing list, requests for
information, and written comments should be submitted either
electronically or in hardcopy. Electronic submittals may be provided
using ``Navigation Channel Maintenance TEIS'' in the address line at
<a href="https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/EnvironmentalComplianceComment/">https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/EnvironmentalComplianceComment/</a> or via
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0a444f5a4b445d5d4a7f796b696f246b78677324676366"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4c02091c0d021b1b0c393f2d2f29622d3e213562212520">[email protected]</span></a>. Hardcopy submittals may be sent to
Walla Walla District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CENWW-PPL-C,
Navigation Channel Maintenance TEIS, 201 North Third Avenue, Walla
Walla, WA 99362-1876.
All comments and materials received, including names and addresses,
would become part of the administrative record, and may be released to
the public. Interested parties should not submit confidential business
or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the project and TEIS
can be answered by Ms. Kathryn Wenger, Project Manager, Walla Walla
District, Corps of Engineers, CENWW-PPL-P, 201 North Third Avenue,
Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876, phone (509) 527-7294; or Ms. Michele
Palmer, NEPA Coordinator, Walla Walla District, Corps of Engineers,
CENWW-PPL-C, 201 North Third Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876, phone
(509) 975-9659; or via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#91dfd4c1d0dfc6c6d1e4e2f0f2f4bff0e3fce8bffcf8fd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a9e7ecf9e8e7fefee9dcdac8cacc87c8dbc4d087c4c0c5">[email protected]</span></a> and inserting
``Navigation Channel Maintenance TEIS'' in the subject line.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The lower Snake River navigation channel
passes four dams and ends near Lewiston, Idaho. USACE operates and
maintains the navigation system on the lower Snake and Clearwater
Rivers, up to the Port of Lewiston on the Clearwater River in Idaho. In
2014, the PSMP FEIS (<a href="https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/missions/projects/programmatic-sediment-management-plan/">https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/missions/projects/programmatic-sediment-management-plan/</a>) analyzed broad programs for
managing sediments in the LSRP. A 2014 record of decision (ROD)
selected the Comprehensive (Full System and Sediment Management
Measures) Alternative that provides a suite of all potentially
available dredging, system management, and structural sediment
management measures for use to address sediments that interfere with
the existing authorized project purposes of the LSRP. Due to the broad
nature of the PSMP FEIS analysis, it was expected that any Future
Forecast Need Actions for Navigation triggered by certain criteria
would require project-specific environmental reviews, including
preparation of appropriate NEPA documents ``tiered off'' from the
programmatic PSMP FEIS.
While there are recurring sediment deposition problems at other
locations in the lower Snake River, sediment deposition at the
Confluence has satisfied the PSMP's definition of a Future Forecast
Need Actions for Navigation (i.e., occurring more frequently than once
every five (5) years), which warrants the initiation of a tiered NEPA
analysis of a long-term (future forecast action) sediment management
solution/plan at this location. USACE intends to use a 50-year
management period for evaluation of long-term sediment management
options at the Confluence.
Public scoping was accomplished previously as part of the 2014 PSMP
FEIS. The selected alternative narrowed the reasonable measures for
consideration in subsequent site-specific projects to eight (8), which
are listed below and further detailed in the PSMP FEIS.
Prior to publication of this Notice of Intent, USACE provided
letters to federal and state agencies, Native American Tribes, and
local governments inviting their participation in a minimum of one and
up to two scoping discussion(s) to be held in late spring 2024
regarding an overview of the tiered NEPA process and to solicit
information pertaining to the eight (8) site-specific sediment
management measures under consideration in the TEIS.
The following (8) sediment management measures were selected in the
2014 PSMP ROD for potential future use in problem sediment areas
affecting the navigation project purpose:
a. Dredging
b. Disposal
c. Bendway weirs
d. Dikes/Dike fields
e. Sediment traps
f. Reservoir drawdown to flush sediment
g. Reconfigure affected (federal) facilities
h. Relocate affected (federal) facilities
Alternatives formulated from the eight (8) navigation-specific
measures identified above, must (either alone or in combination)
provide a complete long-term sediment management solution/plan for the
federal channel at the Confluence consistent with the framework of the
PSMP FEIS. Also, alternatives considered must not:
<bullet> Increase the need for removing problem sediment
(navigation or flow conveyance).
<bullet> Decrease flow conveyance at or near the Confluence during
flood/high water events.
<bullet> Eliminate or unreasonably affect other project purposes
(e.g., recreation).
The TEIS will analyze a full range of reasonable alternatives
formulated from these eight (8) measures. Analyses will identify the
reasonably foreseeable direct, indirect and cumulative effects to
resources that may be affected by the alternatives including aquatic
and terrestrial resources; recreation; cultural resources;
socioeconomics and environmental justice; water quality and sediment
quality; hydrology and sediment; hazardous, toxic, and radioactive
waste; air quality and greenhouse gas emissions; noise; and aesthetics.
Anticipated permits and authorizations will depend on the specific
alternative selected. Applicable federal laws include the Endangered
Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Clean Water Act, and
Rivers and Harbors Act. USACE will consult with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure
that the selected alternative complies with the Endangered Species Act.
USACE will also consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer
and Native American Tribes to ensure compliance with the National
Historic Preservation Act. USACE will coordinate with the Washington
State Department of Ecology and the Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality to meet the compliance requirements associated with section 401
of the Clean Water Act.
Jeffrey D. Hall,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Deputy Division Commander.
[FR Doc. 2024-12362 Filed 6-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 6, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.