[Federal Register: August 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 154)]
[Notices]
[Page 45067-45068]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10au07-117]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION, UNITED STATES AND MEXICO
United States Section; Notice of Availability of Draft
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, Improvements to the USIBWC
Rio Grande Flood Control Projects Along the Texas-Mexico Border
AGENCY: United States Section, International Boundary and Water
Commission (USIBWC).
ACTION: Notice of availability of Draft Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the United States Section,
International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) has prepared a
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft PEIS) for
future improvements to three Rio Grande Flood Control Projects (FCP)
operated by the USIBWC along the Texas-Mexico Border: the Rectification
FCP, the Presidio FCP and Lower Rio Grande FCP. The PEIS, prepared in
cooperation with the United States Bureau of Reclamation, United States
Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Army Corps of Engineers,
analyzes potential impacts of the No Action Alternative and three
action alternatives for future FCP improvements under consideration.
Because several measures under consideration are at a conceptual
level of development, the USIBWC has taken a broad programmatic look at
the
[[Page 45068]]
potential environmental implications of measures identified for future
implementation. The USIBWC will apply the programmatic evaluation as an
overall guidance for future environmental evaluations of individual
improvement projects whose implementation is anticipated or possible
within a 20-year timeframe. Once any given improvement project is
identified for future implementation, site-specific environmental
documentation will be developed based on project specifications and
PEIS findings. Public participation in the evaluation of potential
effects is encouraged. Public hearings will be held at the Cities of El
Paso, Presidio and McAllen, Texas, to receive oral comments on the
Draft PEIS from interested organizations and individuals through
transcription by a certified court reporter. Written comments may be
submitted at the public hearings, or mailed to the USIBWC during the
45-day public review period to the contact and address below.
DATES: Written comments are requested by September 24, 2007, which is
calculated from the anticipated date of the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Notice of Availability of August 10, 2007. Public hearings
will be held at the following locations and dates: (1) El Paso, Texas
on August 21, 2007, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. MST at the USIBWC Offices,
4171 N. Mesa, C-100, El Paso, Texas 79902; (2) Presidio, Texas on
August 22, 2007, from 6 to 9 p.m. CST at the Presidio Chamber of
Commerce, 202 W. Oreilly Street, Presidio, Texas 79845; and (3) McAllen
Texas on August 28, 2007, from 6 to 9 p.m. CST at the Four Point
Sheraton Hotel, 2721 S. 10th Street, McAllen, Texas 78503. Hearing
dates and locations also will be announced in local newspapers one week
prior to hearing dates.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel Borunda, Environmental
Protection Specialist, Environmental Management Division, USIBWC, 4171
North Mesa Street, C-100, El Paso, Texas 79902 or e-mail:
danielborunda@ibwc.state.gov.
Copies of the Draft PEIS are available for inspection and review at
the following locations: United States Section, International Boundary
and Water Commission, 4171 North Mesa Street, El Paso, Texas; USIBWC
Mercedes Field Office, 325 Golf Course Road, Mercedes, Texas 78570;
Brownsville Public Library, 2600 Central Blvd, Brownsville, Texas
78520; Harlingen Public Library, 410 '76 Drive, Harlingen, Texas 78550;
McAllen Public Library, 601 N. Main Street, McAllen, Texas 78501; and
City of Presidio Library, 2440 Oreilly St., Presidio, TX 79845. A copy
of the Draft PEIS will also be posted at the USIBWC Web site at http://www.ibwc.state.gov
.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft PEIS analyzes potential effects of
the No Action Alternative and three action alternatives for future
improvement of the Rectification, Presidio and Lower Rio Grande Flood
Control Projects. Potential improvements were organized in three action
alternatives: (1) Enhanced Operation and Maintenance Alternative,
focusing on engineering improvements; (2) Integrated Water Resources
Management Alternative, integrating additional water conservation and
quality measures to the projects' core mission of flood control and
water delivery; and (3) Multipurpose Project Management Alternative,
incorporating additional measures for multiple use of the floodway and
environmental measures supporting initiatives by federal agencies,
local governments, and other organizations, to be conducted largely
under cooperative agreements. The Draft PEIS evaluated three action
alternatives for each flood control project in terms of potential
effects relative to those of the No Action Alternative, in the areas of
water, biological, cultural and socioeconomic resources, land use, and
environmental health issues.
A copy of the Draft PEIS has been filed with EPA in accordance with
40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and USIBWC procedures. The public comment period
of the Draft PEIS will end 45 days after publication of the NOA in the
Federal Register by EPA.
Dated: July 30, 2007.
Susan Daniel,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E7-15146 Filed 8-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-01-P