[Federal Register: July 11, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 133)]
[Notices]
[Page 45959-45960]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11jy02-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Hold An Environmental Scoping Meeting To Solicit
Citizen Input Into a Study of an Environmental Dredging Project on the
Mahoning River in Ohio
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Pittsburgh District (District), U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers will conduct a public environmental scoping meeting to
solicit input for alternatives for a proposed environmental dredging
project on the Mahoning River in Ohio currently under study.
Representatives of the Pittsburgh District will provide an overview
presentation on the proposed environmental dredging project and the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The public is invited
to provide comments or ask questions relevant to the project.
Date of Meeting: July 31, 2002 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Place: Holiday Inn, Youngstown Metroplex, 1620 Motor Inn Drive,
Girard, OH 44420-2422.
ADDRESSES: Submit questions or comments regarding the environmental
dredging project to Mr. Carmen Rozzi, Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, Mahoning Environmental Dredging Project, 1000 Liberty
Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4186, telephone (412) 395-7227 or e-mail:
Irp.mahdredge@usace.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions or comments regarding this
notice can be directed to Ms. Deborah Duda, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222-4186, Telephone
(412) 395-7213, e-mail: Irp.mahdredge@usace,army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The District is evaluating alternative
[[Page 45960]]
strategies for the environmental restoration of 31 miles of the
Mahoning River through environmental dredging. The project is being
undertaken pursuant to the authority of section 312 of the Water
Resources Development Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-640), as amended by
Section 205 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (Pub. L.
104-303). Section 312 provides for the removal of contaminated
sediments (dredging) within navigable waters for the purpose of
ecosystem restoration and identifies the Mahoning River, Ohio and
Pennsylvania, dure to the severity of contamination, as one of five
rivers in the nation given top priority for removal and remediation of
contaminated sediments. The District will receive input from local,
State and Federal agencies during an agency scoping meeting scheduled
for earlier the day of the public environmental scoping meeting, and
will use that input to evaluate alternatives and select a recommended
alternative for implementation. The District will assess the
environmental impacts of the recommended alternative and prepare an
Environmental Assessment (EA). If, in the course of preparing the EA,
significant impacts to the environment are identified, the District
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). If no significant
impacts are identified, the EA will be finalized and a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI) will be prepared.
1. Proposed Action: The Mahoning Environmental Dredging Project is
designed to restore the ecosystem of the Mahoning River by removing
contaminated sediment throughout a 31-mile stretch of the river (form
Warren, Ohio to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border). The scoping process will
solicit alternative methods of removing and disposing of contaminated
sediment from the riverbed and riverbank in the most effective method.
2. Reasonable Alternatives: The District will evaluate a Future
Without Project (No Action) Alternative and Future With Project
Alternatives. The exact nature and extent of the projects in the Future
With Project Alternatives will be determined as part of scoping during
the NEPA process. To facilitate scoping of the environmental effects of
the project, the public may initially base comments upon a combination
of possible actions that result in the removal of contaminated
sediments from the riverbed and riverbank. As the NEPA process
continues, the District will refine the analysis and evaluation of
possible plans for implementation.
The primary issues to be analyzed in depth during the NEPA process
will be the environmental impacts of proposed actions on the Mahoning
River and cumulative impacts of these proposed Federal actions in
conjunction with reasonably foreseeable future actions by others. The
impacts analysis will include biological resources, cultural resources
and socioeconomic effects, air quality, noise impacts, and recreation
resources.
These agency and public meetings will serve as the initial scoping
effort for this action. In addition to the public notice, a notice will
be mailed to all addresses on the Mahoning Environmental Dredging
mailing list. Coordination throughout the project will be maintained
with the appropriate local, State, and Federal agencies. The need for
additional public meetings will be determined as the study progresses.
Interested parties are encouraged to provide oral comments relevant to
issues to be addressed in the NEPA process at the public forums.
Otherwise, the District requests written comments or requests for
information be directed to the following study contact: Mr. Carmen
Rozzi (see ADDRESSES above).
John N. Goga,
Chief, Planning Branch.
[FR Doc. 02-17470 Filed 7-10-02; 8:45 am]
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