80 FR 66888 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Glades Reservoir Water Supply Project, Permit Application SAS-2007-00388 and the Announcement of a Public Hearing

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 210 (October 30, 2015)

Notice is hereby given that the Corps has released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Glades Reservoir water supply project (Proposed Project), and will conduct a Public Hearing for this DEIS.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 210 (Friday, October 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66888-66889]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27736]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Glades Reservoir Water Supply Project, 
Permit Application SAS-2007-00388 and the Announcement of a Public 
Hearing

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Corps has released a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Glades Reservoir 
water supply project (Proposed Project), and will conduct a Public 
Hearing for this DEIS.

DATES: Comments will be received until 5:00 p.m., December 29, 2015; or 
by letter postmarked no later than December 29, 2015. The public 
hearing will be held on December 8, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the DEIS may be submitted to: U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, Regulatory Division, Attention: 
SAS-2007-00388, 100 West Oglethorpe Avenue, Savannah, Georgia 31401-
3640

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Morgan, Project Manager, at 
(912) 652-5139, or at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. National Environmental Policy Act. The Corps prepared this DEIS 
to meet its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 to 
4370f) obligation in its evaluation of an application for a Department 
of the Army Permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) 
(33 U.S.C. 1344) for the Proposed Project. This DEIS presents the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the Proposed Project on the 
human and natural environment.
    2. Project Description. The Hall County Board of Commissioners 
submitted an application for a permit to construct an 850-acre pump-
storage reservoir on Flat Creek, a tributary to the Chattahoochee River 
located approximately 35 miles northeast of Atlanta, near the upstream 
end of Lake Sidney Lanier, in Hall County, Georgia. The proposed dam 
would have a height of 140 feet, with a normal pool surface elevation 
of 1,180 feet above mean sea level. Dam and reservoir construction 
would result in the filling and inundation of 39.2 acres of wetland and 
95,000 linear feet of stream. A 37 million gallon per day (mgd) intake 
and pump station would be constructed on the Chattahoochee River, and 
would transfer water from the river to the reservoir via a 48-inch 
diameter, 4-mile transmission pipeline. Water would be pumped from the 
Chattahoochee River to fill or refill the reservoir only when river 
flows are above the instream flow protection thresholds (IFPT), and 
only when the IFPT can be maintained in the river below the pump 
station. Water stored in the reservoir would be released into Flat 
Creek, flow downstream into Lake Lanier, and be withdrawn at an 
existing raw water intake operated by the City of Gainesville. The 
Proposed Project would provide a total storage volume of 11.7 billion 
gallons and an annual average water supply of 50 mgd, to meet Hall 
County's projected water demand through the year 2060.
    2. Alternatives. This DEIS evaluated 13 alternatives for the 
Proposed Project based on a range of Lake Lanier allocations, reservoir 
sites, reservoir yield, and transmission and treatment strategies. A 
wide range of water supply sources such as water conservation, 
additional Lake Lanier water supply allocation, purchase from adjacent 
counties, and additional groundwater develop.m.ent were identified 
prior to

[[Page 66889]]

evaluating the need for any built alternatives. A range of potential 
Lake Lanier water supply allocations for Gainesville/Hall County were 
considered in the Alternatives Analysis, resulting in a range of 
reservoir safe yields for meeting the projected 2060 water supply 
needs.
    3. Issues. There are several potential environmental and public 
interest issues that were addressed in this DEIS. Public interest 
issues include but are not limited to potential effects to downstream 
flows of the Chattahoochee River; Lake Lanier water level and water 
supply capacity; potential aquatic resources impacts to streams, 
wetlands and aquatic organisms; and potential effects to cultural 
resources, aesthetics, recreation, infrastructure, navigation, 
transportation, and threatened and endangered species.
    4. Scoping. A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS was 
published in the Federal Register on February 17, 2012. The Corps held 
a total of three public scoping meetings in March 2012, in Alabama, 
Florida and Georgia, which are located in the Apalachicola-
Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin.
    5. Cooperating Agencies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division have been 
participating in the NEPA process as cooperating agencies (40 CFR 
1501.6, 1508.5). Formal cooperating agency agreements were executed 
between the Corps and these two agencies.
    6. Availability of the DEIS. The DEIS and appendices are available 
to the public for review in the following formats:
    a. In the Federal Register dated October 30, 2015.
    b. Online as PDF documents at http://www.gladesreservoir.com/.
    c. As a CD upon written request to the Corps address listed above.
    7. Public Review and Comment. The public comment period will 
commence with the publication of this notice and will end 60 days after 
its publication, on December 29, 2015. All persons and organizations 
that have an interest in the proposed action, including minority, low-
income, disadvantaged, and Native American groups, are urged to 
participate in this NEPA environmental analysis process by reviewing 
the DEIS and submitting comments for consideration. Further information 
regarding the DEIS, including all available documents, background and 
historical information, and updates is available online at http://www.gladesreservoir.com/.
    8. Comments may be submitted via the following methods:
    a. At the public hearing through comment forms.
    b. Verbally through the court reporter at public hearing.
    c. By emailing [email protected].
    d. By letter addressed to the Corps address listed above.
    e. Online at http://www.gladesreservoir.com/.
    9. Open House and Public Hearing. The Corps will hold an open house 
and public hearing to allow for public presentation of comments. The 
open house and public hearing will be held on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 
from 5:00-9:00 p.m., at the Hall County Board of Commissioners' 
Auditorium, located at 2875 Browns Bridge Road, Gainesville, Georgia 
30504. The open house will be from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., with public 
hearing to begin at 6:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m.

David M. Lekson,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-27736 Filed 10-29-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P