[Federal Register: November 7, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 216)]
[Notices]
[Page 67831-67832]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07no02-43]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7405-4]
Notice of Public Scoping Meeting on the Preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Federal Funding,
Construction, Operation and Monitoring of a Coastal Wetlands
Restoration Project, the Mississippi River Water Reintroduction Into
Maurepas Swamp
On April 26, 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
6 (EPA) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register that
it was planning to develop an environmental impact statement on the
restoration project as the Federal member of the Task Force created by
the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, Public
Law 101-646 (CWPPRA) designated to carry out the project. The EPA will
hold a Scoping Meeting for the EIS on December 11, 2002, at the
Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet School, 240 Highway 54, in Garyville, LA
70051. Formal meeting presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m.; the
meeting room will be open with poster displays at 5:30 p.m.
Individuals, groups, officials, and Federal, State, Tribal, and local
agencies are invited to participate in the scoping process to help
determine impacts on resources, issues, and alternatives to be examined
in detail in the EIS.
Purpose: EPA has determined that the proposed wetlands restoration
effort is a Major Federal Action significantly impacting the human
environment. The purpose of the EIS is to ensure that decisions are
made in accordance with the policies and purposes of the National
Environmental Policy Act. The EIS will be considered by the CWPPRA Task
Force in its decisions on funding, construction, operations, monitoring
and on alternative features and activities associated with carrying out
the project.
Summary of Project: The proposed action provides for the
reintroduction of Mississippi River water into swamps south of Lake
Maurepas in Louisiana for the purpose of restoring the ecological
health and productivity of the swamps. Over time, hydrologic
modifications to the riverine system have eliminated the natural inputs
of freshwater, nutrients, and sediment that built and maintained the
wetlands. These swamps are stressed and dying due to saltwater
intrusion and excessive flooding, which is due to subsidence and
insufficient accumulation of sediment. The project will divert in
excess of 1,500 cubic feet per second of fresh river water through a
proposed box-culvert diversion structure in the levee of the
Mississippi River, then through an outflow channel for a distance of
approximately five miles, and into the Maurepas swamps. The presently
proposed water diversion would be constructed in the Garyville,
Louisiana area, connecting to the existing Hope Canal north of U.S.
Highway 61. As part of this alternative, the Hope Canal is proposed to
be enlarged in order to accommodate the estimated flows. The project is
estimated to benefit more than 36,000 acres of cypress-tupelo swamps by
increasing input of freshwater, sediments, nutrients, and oxygen. The
EIS will consider impacts of this project with existing and/or proposed
flood control measures of the foreseeable future. Efforts will be made
to ensure that severity of existing local drainage problems is not
increased as a result of this project. Information from reconnaissance
level studies for project development included preliminary site
reviews; hydrologic modeling of existing conditions and basic diversion
scenarios; baseline ecological field studies; and surveys of elevations
and cross-sections, and will be provided in the EIS.
Alternative Actions: The CWPPRA Task Force may determine to fund
and construct the restoration project; the CWPPRA Task Force may deny
funding and construction of the restoration project; or, the Task Force
may determine to take no final action until additional funds are
available. The EIS will be utilized in other actions such as the Clean
Water Act Section 404 Permit which (1) may be issued as requested, (2)
may be issued with conditions, or (3) may be denied.
To Submit Scoping Comments, To Request Additional Information, or
To Be Placed on the EIS Mailing List, Contact: Jeanene Peckham at EPA
Water Quality Protection Field Office, 707 Florida Blvd., Suite B-21,
Baton Rouge, LA, 70801; telephone (225) 389-0736, e-mail
peckham.jeanene@epa.gov.
Estimated Date for Release of Draft EIS: Spring 2004.
[[Page 67832]]
Responsible Official: Gregg A. Cooke, Regional Administrator.
Oscar Ramirez, Jr.,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division (6WQ).
[FR Doc. 02-28352 Filed 11-6-02; 8:45 am]
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