80 FR 57160 - Norfolk Harbor and Channels Deepening NEPA Scoping Meeting and Public Comment Period

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 183 (September 22, 2015)

Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370, as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) plans to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate environmental impacts from reasonable project alternatives and to determine the potential for significant impacts related to improvements to the Norfolk Harbor Channels. If the USACE determines that there is a potential for a significant environmental impact, the USACE will issue a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register. Federal, state, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and the public are invited to provide scoping comments to identify issues, alternatives, and potentially significant effects to be considered in the analysis.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 183 (Tuesday, September 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57160-57161]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24085]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Norfolk Harbor and Channels Deepening NEPA Scoping Meeting and 
Public Comment Period

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: NEPA scoping meeting and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370, as 
implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) plans to 
prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate environmental 
impacts from reasonable project alternatives and to determine the 
potential for significant impacts related to improvements to the 
Norfolk Harbor Channels. If the USACE determines that there is a 
potential for a significant environmental impact, the USACE will issue 
a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in the 
Federal Register.
    Federal, state, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and the public 
are invited to provide scoping comments to identify issues, 
alternatives, and potentially significant effects to be considered in 
the analysis.

DATES: Scoping comments may be submitted until October 30, 2015.

ADDRESSES: The public is invited to submit NEPA scoping comments at the 
meeting and/or submit comments to Alicia Logalbo, USACE, via email/
mail/telephone at [email protected]/ ATTN: Alicia Logalbo, 
Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, 
Fort Norfolk, 803 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510, (757) 201-7210. The 
project title and the commenter's contact information should be 
included with submitted comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alicia Logalbo, (757) 201-7210.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USACE is the lead federal agency for 
this project and the Commonwealth of Virginia acting through its Agent, 
the Virginia Port Authority, will act as the non-federal sponsor for 
the study. Norfolk Harbor (sometimes referred to as the Port of Hampton 
Roads) is located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of 
Virginia at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay, midway on the Atlantic 
Seaboard (approximately 170 miles south of Baltimore, MD, and 220 miles 
north of Wilmington, NC). The harbor is formed by the confluence of the 
James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth Rivers. The land area surrounding the 
harbor encompasses approximately 1,500 square miles and includes the 
cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach, 
as well as Isle of Wight County on the south side and Hampton and 
Newport News on the north side. The Norfolk Harbor and Channels 
Deepening Project consists of a network of federally-improved channels 
extending from the Atlantic Ocean, through the Chesapeake Bay, and into 
the Port of Hampton Roads. The study is anticipated to include an 
evaluation of a range of Norfolk Harbor Channels' dimensions. Specific 
planning objectives for the Norfolk Harbor and Channels Deepening 
General Reevaluation Study include:
     Determine if light loading, tidal delay, or other 
commercial navigation benefits exist to justify increasing channel 
system dimensions in the Atlantic Ocean Channel, the Thimble Shoal 
Channel, and/or the Norfolk Harbor Channel to Lambert's Point on the 
Main Branch of the Elizabeth River;
     Examine the impact of increased channel system dimensions 
on the capacity of existing dredged material placement sites;
     Evaluate the impact of increased channel system dimensions 
on shoaling rates for existing and advance harbor maintenance needs;

[[Page 57161]]

     Examine the hydrodynamic and environmental effects of 
increased dimensions of the channel system and effects on adjacent 
shorelines;
     Identify environmental and cultural resources in the study 
area and potential impacts from increased channel system dimensions to 
those resources; and
     Identify the National Economic Development plan which most 
efficiently and safely accommodates existing and larger commercial ship 
and barge traffic while avoiding or minimizing impacts to environmental 
resources.
    Scoping/Public Involvement. A public NEPA scoping meeting will be 
held on September 24, 2015 from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. The NEPA scoping 
meeting will be held at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, 
Virginia Room, 1 Waterside Drive, Norfolk, VA 23510.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-24085 Filed 9-21-15; 8:45 am]
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