80 FR 9445 - Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Project, Fannin County, TX

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 35 (February 23, 2015)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Tulsa District has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the direct, indirect and cumulative effects of the construction and operation of the proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir (LBCR) and related actions proposed by the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) in Fannin County, TX. The Proposed Action is a regional water supply project intended to provide up to 175,000 acre-feet/year (AFY), with an estimated firm yield of 126,200 AFY, of new water for NTMWD's member cities and direct customers in all or portions of nine counties in northern Texas-- Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains and Rockwall. Construction of the reservoir and related facilities would result in permanent impacts to approximately 6,180 acres of wetlands and 651,024 linear feet of streams. This action requires authorization from the USACE under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Section 404 permit applicant is the NTMWD. The Draft EIS was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the USACE's regulations for NEPA implementation (33 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 230 and 325, Appendices B and C). The USACE, Tulsa District, Regulatory Branch is the lead federal agency responsible for the Draft EIS and information contained in the EIS serves as the basis for a decision whether or not to issue a Section 404 permit. It also provides information for Federal, state and local agencies having jurisdictional responsibility for affected resources.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9445-9446]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03622]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Project, Fannin County, TX

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Tulsa District has 
prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the 
direct, indirect and cumulative effects of the construction and 
operation of the proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir (LBCR) and 
related actions proposed by the North Texas Municipal Water District 
(NTMWD) in Fannin County, TX. The Proposed Action is a regional water 
supply project intended

[[Page 9446]]

to provide up to 175,000 acre-feet/year (AFY), with an estimated firm 
yield of 126,200 AFY, of new water for NTMWD's member cities and direct 
customers in all or portions of nine counties in northern Texas--
Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains and 
Rockwall. Construction of the reservoir and related facilities would 
result in permanent impacts to approximately 6,180 acres of wetlands 
and 651,024 linear feet of streams. This action requires authorization 
from the USACE under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Section 
404 permit applicant is the NTMWD.
    The Draft EIS was prepared in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the USACE's 
regulations for NEPA implementation (33 Code of Federal Regulations 
[CFR] parts 230 and 325, Appendices B and C). The USACE, Tulsa 
District, Regulatory Branch is the lead federal agency responsible for 
the Draft EIS and information contained in the EIS serves as the basis 
for a decision whether or not to issue a Section 404 permit. It also 
provides information for Federal, state and local agencies having 
jurisdictional responsibility for affected resources.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted on or after 
February 20, 2015 until April 21, 2015. Oral and/or written comments 
may also be presented at the Public Meeting to be held at 6 p.m. on 
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the Fannin County Multi-Purpose Complex, FM 
87, 700 Texas 56, Bonham, TX 75418.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments regarding the Proposed Action and 
Draft EIS to Andrew R. Commer, USACE, Tulsa District Regulatory Office, 
1645 S 101 E Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74128-4609, or via email: [email protected]. Requests to be placed on or removed from the mailing 
list should also be sent to this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew R. Commer, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Tulsa District, Regulatory Office, at 918-669-7400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Proposed Action is to 
provide additional firm annual yield to NTMWD's member cities and 
direct customers to address anticipated water demands associated with 
projected growth in the cities and suburbs in the NTMWD service area 
northeast of Dallas.
    The purpose of the Draft EIS is to provide decision-makers and the 
public with information pertaining to the Proposed Action and 
alternatives, and to disclose environmental impacts and identify 
mitigation measures to reduce impacts. NTMWD proposes to build the LBCR 
with a total storage capacity of approximately 367,609 AF. A dam 
approximately 10,400 feet (about two miles) long and up to 90 feet high 
would be constructed, and much of the reservoir footprint would be 
cleared of trees and built structures. NTMWD also proposes to construct 
several related facilities or connected actions. These include a raw 
water intake pump station and electrical substation at the reservoir 
site, as well as a 90-96 inch diameter buried pipeline to carry raw 
water from the new reservoir approximately 35 miles in a southwesterly 
direction to a new water treatment plant and terminal storage reservoir 
that would be located west of the City of Leonard, also in Fannin 
County. A number of rural roads within the footprint and in the 
vicinity of the proposed reservoir would have to be closed or 
relocated; the most significant of these is FM 1396, which would be 
relocated to cross the reservoir in a different alignment on an 
entirely new bridge that would need to be constructed.
    An aquatic resources mitigation plan has been prepared by the 
applicant to comply with the federal policy of ``no overall net loss of 
wetlands'' and to provide compensatory mitigation, to the extent 
practicable, for impacts to other waters of the U.S. that would be 
impacted by construction of the proposed reservoir. NTMWD has purchased 
a 14,960-acre parcel of land known as the Riverby Ranch, which borders 
the Red River. This working ranch is located downstream of the proposed 
project within both the same watershed (Bois d'Arc Creek) and the same 
county (Fannin). NTMWD acquired the Riverby Ranch specifically because 
its biophysical features have the potential to provide appropriate 
mitigation for the proposed project. Additional mitigation would be 
provided within the proposed reservoir itself and on Bois d'Arc Creek 
downstream of the reservoir as a result of an operations plan and flow 
regime established in consultation with the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and stipulated in the Draft Water Right 
Permit issued by TCEQ to NTMWD.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VI, U.S. Forest 
Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Texas Parks and 
Wildlife Department (TPWD) participated as cooperating agencies in the 
formulation of the Draft EIS.
    Copies of the Draft EIS will be available for review at:
    1. Bonham Public Library, 305 East 5th Street, Bonham, TX 75418; 
(903) 583-3128.
    2. Sam Rayburn Library, 800 West Sam Rayburn Drive, Bonham, TX 
75418; (903) 583-2455.
    3. Bertha Voyer Memorial Library, 500 6th Street, Honey Grove, TX 
75446; (903)-378-2206.
    4. Leonard Public Library, 102 South Main Street, Leonard, TX 
75452; (903) 587-2391.
    5. North Texas Municipal Water District headquarters, 505 East 
Brown Street, Wylie, TX 75098.
    6. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, Regulatory Office, 1645 
S 101 E Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74128-4609.
    Electronic copies of the Draft EIS may be obtained from the Corps' 
Tulsa District Regulatory Office or its Web site at http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices/tabid/4955/Year/2015/Default.aspx.

Andrew R. Commer,
Chief, Regulatory Office, Tulsa District.
[FR Doc. 2015-03622 Filed 2-20-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P