Notice2024-13480
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to the Revised Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (RPEIS) for the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction Project (MTG)
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Published
June 20, 2024
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mississippi Valley Division, New Orleans District (CEMVN), is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to evaluate design changes to the authorized MTG project to meet the one percent Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) Storm Surge Risk Reduction (100-year level of risk reduction (LORR)). This EIS supplements the Revised Programmatic EIS (RPEIS), MTG, Louisiana, that was integrated with the 2013 Final Post Authorization Change Report (PACR). The 2013 Integrated RPEIS and PACR was approved in the Chief's Report that was signed July 8, 2013. The Record of Decision (ROD) was signed on December 9, 2013.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51875-51877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13480]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement to the Revised Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(RPEIS) for the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Hurricane
and Storm Damage Risk Reduction Project (MTG)
AGENCY: U.S. Army 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), Mississippi Valley
Division, New Orleans District (CEMVN), is announcing its intent to
prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to
evaluate design changes to the authorized MTG project to meet the one
percent Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) Storm Surge Risk Reduction
(100-year level of risk reduction (LORR)). This EIS supplements the
Revised Programmatic EIS (RPEIS), MTG, Louisiana, that was integrated
with the 2013 Final Post Authorization Change Report (PACR). The 2013
Integrated RPEIS and PACR was approved in the Chief's Report that was
signed July 8, 2013. The Record of Decision (ROD) was signed on
December 9, 2013.
DATES: All comments and suggestions must be submitted by July 22, 2024.
ADDRESSES: To ensure the Corps has sufficient time to consider public
input in the preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping comments should be
submitted by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f69b80989398809f8499989b939882979ab68385979593d897849b8fd89b9f9a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="38554e565d564e514a5756555d564c5954784d4b595b5d16594a554116555154">[email protected]</span></a>, by surface mail
to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New
Orleans District, Attn: CEMVN-PDC-C, 7400 Leake Avenue, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70118, or at the Scoping Meeting(s).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions and scoping comments
regarding the proposed action should be directed to Ms. Sandra Stiles
at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, Attn: CEMVN-PDS,
7400 Leake Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, by phone (504) 862-
2862, or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#aefdcfc0cadccf80eb80fddac7c2cbddeedbddcfcdcb80cfdcc3d780c3c7c2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e7d4f404a5c4f006b007d5a47424b5d6e5b5d4f4d4b004f5c435700434742">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: The MTG hurricane and storm damage risk reduction
project is a levee system located approximately 60 miles southwest of
New Orleans, Louisiana and includes most of Terrebonne Parish and a
portion of Lafourche Parish between the Terrebonne Parish eastern
boundary and
[[Page 51876]]
Bayou Lafourche. The purpose of this project is to reduce the risk of
damage caused by hurricane storm surges. A review of the project is
needed because of the increasing susceptibility of coastal communities
to storm surge due to wetland loss, sea level rise, and subsidence. The
MTG Project was initially authorized by Section 1001(24) of the Water
Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-114) in
accordance with the Reports of the Chief of Engineers dated 23 August
2002 and 22 July 2003, at a total cost of $886.7 million. The project
was redesigned in the 2013 Integrated RPEIS and PACR Report, both to
address the project cost increase beyond the statutory limitation in
accordance with Section 902 of the WRDA of 1986, as amended, and to
meet updated post-Hurricane Katrina design guidelines. The MTG Project
was subsequently re-authorized by Section 7002(3)5 of the WRRDA of 2014
(Pub. L. 113-121) in accordance with the Report of the Chief of
Engineers dated 8 July 2013, at an updated total cost of
$10,265,100,000. The MTG project was authorized to provide the 1% AEP
level of hurricane and storm damage risk reduction while maintaining
navigational passage and tidal exchange. The project consists of
approximately 98 miles of levee including associated navigation,
roadway, pump station fronting protection, and environmental control
structures. The 2013 RPEIS provided an assessment for both programmatic
and constructible features for the MTG project. Constructible features
consisted of those project features that were determined to have
sufficient design details to be constructed. Constructible features
included levee reaches F1, F2, G1; the HNC Lock; and the Bayou Grand
Caillou Floodgate. The remaining features were designed to a
programmatic design level that would require supplemental National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation prior to construction.
The mitigation plan for the constructible features included restoration
of 427 acres of intermediate marsh, 358 acres of brackish marsh and 975
acres of saline marsh.
This SEIS will disclose the context and intensity of environmental
impacts, including indirect and cumulative effects, for the final array
of levee alignments and associated features. Any required mitigation
will also be discussed.
Alternatives: The SEIS will evaluate the PACR alignment as
identified in the 2013 Integrated RPEIS and PACR Report to include a
reasonable range of alignment modifications that considers existing
levee alignments, the least environmental damaging preferred alignment
maximizing avoidance and minimization measures to sensitive habitats as
well as the no action alternative. Major Features of the project
include: (1) Approximately 98 miles of earthen levee, with final levee
elevations ranging from 15 feet to 26.0 feet North American Vertical
Datum 1988 (NAVD88) plus overbuild and final levee widths from
approximately 146 to 446 feet; (2) The Houma Navigation Canal lock
complex (HNC Lock) with lock sill depth of -18 feet; (3) Construction
on navigable waterways of 21 other floodgates such as stop log gates,
barge gates, and sector gates; (4) Environmental water control
structures at numerous locations within the levee system. Each control
structure would consist of one or more culverts with gates that allow
for tidal exchange; (5) Measures to offset the potential for increased
water levels on the existing Larose to Golden Meadow project.
Summary of Expected Effects: The SEIS will analyze the potential
impacts on the human and natural environment resulting from the
proposed actions for the Project. The scoping, public involvement, and
interagency coordination processes are requesting data and information
to help identify and define the range of potential significant issues
that will be considered. Resources and issues that may be significantly
impacted may include tidal wetlands and other waters of the U.S.;
aquatic resources; essential fish habitat; threatened and endangered
species and their critical habitats; cultural resources; soils;
navigation and navigable waters; transportation and traffic; hydrology
and hydraulics; induced flooding; environmental justice; and cumulative
effects of related projects in the regional area.
Environmental Reviews and Consultation Requirements: The
alternatives are being coordinated with federal, state, regional, and
local agencies. In accordance with relevant environmental laws and
regulations, USACE will consult with the following agencies some of
which may also serve as cooperating or participating agencies in the
EIS preparation: Department of Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; USFWS and
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) under the
Endangered Species Act; National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act;
Louisiana's Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) under the Coastal
Zone Management Act; and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
(LDEQ) under the Clean Water Act, Section 401 Water Quality
Certification; and, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
(ACHP), Louisiana's Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and
appropriate Tribal Historic Preservation Officers under the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) using an integrated NHPA Section 106/
NEPA EIS process.
NEPA Schedule: The draft SEIS is presently scheduled to be
available for public review and comment in June 2025. A 45-day public
review period will be provided for interested parties and agencies to
review and comment on this 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 Draft EIS circulation. A Record of
Decision would be approved and signed no earlier than 30 days after the
Final EIS is published.
Public Involvement and Scoping: The following agencies are being
invited as Cooperating Agencies on the SEIS: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), USFWS, NMFS, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), ACHP, Louisiana's SHPO, LDNR,
Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), and
Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
USACE invites all affected federal, state, and local agencies,
affected Federally recognized Indian Tribes, other interested parties,
and the general public to participate in the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) process during development of the DEIS. Besides
providing information, this notice requests input on alternatives and
issues of concern.
To ensure that public comments are considered in the DEIS
preparation process, members of the public, interested persons and
entities must submit their comments to USACE by mail, email, or at the
Scoping Meeting(s). All comments and suggestions must be submitted by
July 22, 2024. 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.
Scoping meeting(s) could be held during the scoping period which
extends to July 22, 2024, to present information and receive comments
from the public. Notification of the meeting(s) will be publicly
announced in advance by USACE through press releases, special public
notices, USACE social
[[Page 51877]]
media platforms, and the project website <a href="http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/Morganza-to-the-Gulf/">http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/Morganza-to-the-Gulf/</a>.
James A. Bodron,
Programs Director, Mississippi Valley Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-13480 Filed 6-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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