83_FR_32777 83 FR 32642 - Notice of Intent To Prepare Supplement II to the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Project, Mississippi River Mainline Levees and Channel Improvement

83 FR 32642 - Notice of Intent To Prepare Supplement II to the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Project, Mississippi River Mainline Levees and Channel Improvement

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 135 (July 13, 2018)

Page Range32642-32644
FR Document2018-14972

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (``USACE''), Memphis District, Vicksburg District, and the New Orleans District, is announcing its intent to prepare Supplement II (SEIS II) to the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Project, Mississippi River Mainline Levees and Channel Improvement of 1976 (1976 EIS), as updated and supplemented by Supplement No. 1, Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, Mississippi River Mainline Levee Enlargement and Seepage Control of 1998 (SEIS I) to the 1976 EIS, to cover construction of remaining authorized work on the Mississippi River mainline levees (MRL) feature. Over the past twenty years since the finalization of SEIS I, USACE has determined that various sections (reaches) of the mainline levee system are deficient in varying amounts, and that certain remedial measures need to be undertaken to control seepage and to raise and stabilize the deficient sections of the levee to protect the lower Mississippi River Valley against the Project Design Flood (PDF) and maintain the structural integrity of the MRL system. The Proposed Action of SEIS II is to supplement and, as necessary, augment the 1976 EIS and SEIS I using the primary MR&T goals of: (1) Providing flood protection from the PDF; and (2) developing an environmentally sustainable project; formulating alternatives; identifying significant resources; assessing the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to those resources; investigating and environmentally assessing potential borrow areas; developing mitigation measures; and evaluating and selecting a preferred method for the construction of necessary authorized MRL Project features, which may include but are not limited to, implementing seepage control measures and the construction of various remediation measures for deficient levee reaches to bring these reaches to the project design grade. SEIS II will evaluate the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts for an array of alternatives, including a No Action alternative.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 135 (Friday, July 13, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32642-32644]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14972]


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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare Supplement II to the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement, Mississippi River and Tributaries 
(MR&T) Project, Mississippi River Mainline Levees and Channel 
Improvement

AGENCY: Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (``USACE''), Memphis 
District, Vicksburg District, and the New Orleans District, is 
announcing its intent to prepare Supplement II (SEIS II) to the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement, Mississippi River and Tributaries 
(MR&T) Project, Mississippi River Mainline Levees and Channel 
Improvement of 1976 (1976 EIS), as updated and supplemented by 
Supplement No. 1, Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, 
Mississippi River Mainline Levee Enlargement and Seepage Control of 
1998 (SEIS I) to the 1976 EIS, to cover construction of remaining 
authorized work on the Mississippi River mainline levees (MRL) feature. 
Over the past twenty years since the finalization of SEIS I, USACE has 
determined that various sections (reaches) of the mainline levee system 
are deficient in varying amounts, and that certain remedial measures 
need to be undertaken to control seepage and to raise and stabilize the 
deficient sections of the levee to protect the lower Mississippi River 
Valley against the Project Design Flood (PDF) and maintain the 
structural integrity of the MRL system. The Proposed Action of SEIS II 
is to supplement and, as necessary, augment the 1976 EIS and SEIS I 
using the primary MR&T goals of: (1) Providing flood protection from 
the PDF; and (2) developing an environmentally sustainable project; 
formulating alternatives; identifying significant resources; assessing 
the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to those resources; 
investigating and environmentally assessing potential borrow areas; 
developing mitigation measures; and evaluating and selecting a 
preferred method for the construction of necessary authorized MRL 
Project features, which may include but are not limited to, 
implementing seepage control measures and the construction of various 
remediation measures for deficient levee reaches to bring these reaches 
to the project design grade. SEIS II will evaluate the potential 
direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts for an array of alternatives, 
including a No Action alternative.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Comments and questions about SEIS II 
should be submitted to USACE by email to: [email protected]; or 
by regular mail to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CEMVN-PDC-UDC, 
167 North Main Street, Room B-202, Memphis, Tennessee 38103-1894. For 
additional information, including but not limited to a copy of SEIS I 
and the 1976 EIS, please visit the Project website at: http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Project Background and Authorization. The MR&T Project (and the 
MRL feature) was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1928, as 
amended. The 1976 EIS was filed with the Council of Environmental 
Quality on 8 April 1976. SEIS I, which was prepared to supplement the 
1976 EIS to evaluate the effects of continued construction of the MRL 
levee enlargements, stability berms, seepage control, and erosion 
protection measures, was filed with the Environmental Protection Agency 
on 31 July 1998. SEIS I focused on the levees of the MRL that were the 
most deficient in height and on seepage control measures for levee 
reaches with observable signs of seepage during previous high water 
events.
    The MR&T Project is designed to manage flood risk damages in the 
alluvial valley between Cape Girardeau, Missouri and the Head of 
Passes, Louisiana. The goal of the MR&T Project is to provide an 
environmentally sustainable project for comprehensive flood damage 
control, protection, and risk reduction from the ``Project Design 
Flood'', in the alluvial valley beginning at Cape Girardeau, Missouri 
to the Head of Passes, Louisiana, by means of levees, floodwalls, 
floodways, reservoirs, banks stabilization and channel improvements in 
and along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The mainline levee 
system, comprised of levees, floodwalls, backwater areas, floodways, 
and various control structures, is approximately 1,610 miles long. The 
PDF is a hypothetical flood that was developed to determine the design 
flood to be used in designing the MR&T levee system in the lower 
Mississippi River Basin, and is defined as the ``greatest flood having 
a reasonable probability of occurrence'' when the operable features of 
the entire MR&T Project are considered. The PDF upon which the current 
design for the construction of the mainline levee system and remaining 
unconstructed levees is based, is the ``Refined 1973

[[Page 32643]]

MR&T PDF Flowline.'' The Mississippi River mainline levees protect the 
lower Mississippi River Valley against the PDF by confining flow to the 
leveed channel, except where it enters backwater areas, overflows 
several levees designed to overtop and fill tributary basins, or is 
intentionally diverted into four floodway areas. (A figure which 
depicts the PDF in cubic feet per second for the lower Mississippi 
River and its tributaries as set forth in SEIS I will be available for 
review at the Project website.) The MR&T Project functions as a system 
and provides flood risk reduction across portions of seven states: 
Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and 
Louisiana (a map of the area will be available on the Project website). 
The MR&T System includes an extensive levee system; floodways to divert 
excess flows past critical reaches; channel improvement and 
stabilization features to protect the integrity of flood risk 
management measures and to ensure proper alignment and depth of the 
navigation channel; and a system of reservoirs to regulate flows and 
backwater areas to provide storage during extreme events. The integrity 
of the levee system is also bolstered by control measures such as 
landside berms, drainage trenches, drainage blankets, and relief wells, 
and tributary basin improvements including levees, headwater 
reservoirs, and pumping stations that expand flood risk management 
coverage and improve drainage into adjacent areas within the alluvial 
valley.
    Through evaluation of information and data obtained from levee 
inspections, seepage analyses, research, studies, and engineering 
assessments, USACE has concluded that certain levee reaches are not at 
Project design grade due to effects from various changed conditions, 
including, but not limited to consolidation of levee materials, 
subsidence, and changes in river conditions and in survey datums over 
time. Additionally, advances in geotechnical mapping, data collected 
from recent high water events, and subsequent seepage analyses that 
have taken place since the finalization of SEIS I, have revealed the 
need for additional seepage control measures and the construction of 
other authorized Project features to facilitate structural integrity 
and stability of the MRL feature of the MR&T Project. As a result, in 
October of 2017, USACE completed an engineering risk assessment and 
programmatic review of the MRL based on the 1973 Refined MR&T Flowline 
Study. The assessment showed that the integrity of the MRL levee system 
was at risk because numerous levee reaches are not currently 
constructed to the pass the PDF due to either height or seepage 
deficiencies. Based on the results, USACE has determined that SEIS II 
is necessary to formulate alternatives, identify significant resources, 
assess the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to the significant 
resources, develop mitigation measures, and evaluate and select a 
recommended plan.
    2. Proposed Action. The Proposed Action is the construction of 
necessary additional authorized MRL Project features (e.g., levee 
enlargements; stability berms, underseepage controls such as berms, 
relief wells, cutoffs, riverside blankets and pit fills; and erosion 
protection such as slope paving), to improve sections of deficient MRL 
levees in order to provide the required PDF protection. The Proposed 
Action, and associated evaluations, does not include reformulation of 
the MRL feature. Measures to manage flood risk reduction along the 
mainline levee system from Cape Girardeau, Missouri to Head of Passes, 
Louisiana, include but are not limited to, raising and widening 
portions of the levee to the authorized design grade and cross-
sections, stabilizing floodwalls, and seepage control (e.g. berms, 
relief wells, and cutoff trenches).
    3. Alternatives. SEIS II will evaluate an array of site specific 
alternatives, including the No-Action alternative, with a focus to 
avoid and minimize reasonably foreseeable adverse effects from 
construction of necessary additional authorized MRL Project features. 
Alternatives will include evaluations of measures, or combination of 
measures, along with evaluation of locations of borrow areas that avoid 
and minimize reasonably foreseeable adverse effects. Potential 
alternatives may include flood risk reduction measures such as raising 
and widening portions of the levee to the authorized design grade and 
cross-sections, installing or stabilizing floodwalls, levee setbacks, 
and various seepage control measures such as, seepage berms, relief 
wells with the associated drainage and/or pumping plants for water 
conveyance, and cutoff trenches. Other alternatives will be developed 
through the scoping period based on public input. Additionally, SEIS II 
will identify measures to avoid, offset, or minimize impacts to 
resources where feasible.
    4. Scoping. Scoping is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
process utilized for determining the range of alternatives and 
significant issues to be addressed in SEIS II. USACE invites full 
public participation to promote open communication on the issues 
surrounding the Proposed Action. The public will be involved in the 
scoping and evaluation process through advertisements, notices, and 
other means. Project information will also be available on the Project 
website at: http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/. All individuals, 
organizations, NGOs, affected Indian tribes, and local, state, and 
Federal agencies that have an interest are urged to participate in the 
scoping process. The purpose of this Notice is to obtain suggestions 
and information that may inform the scope of the issues and range of 
alternatives to be evaluated in SEIS II, as well as to provide notice 
and request public input on the reasonably foreseeable effects to 
natural and cultural resources.
    This Notice of Intent commences the formal public scoping comment 
period which shall continue through October 1, 2018. Scoping is the 
NEPA process utilized for seeking public involvement in determining the 
range of alternatives and significant issues to be addressed in SEIS 
II. USACE invites full public participation to promote open 
communication in the public scoping phase and invites interested 
parties to identify potential issues, concerns, and reasonable 
alternatives that should be considered in SEIS II.
    In order for public comments to be recorded for inclusion in the 
Administrative Record and be considered in the SEIS II development 
process, members of the public, interested persons and entities must 
submit their comments to USACE by mail, email, or verbally at the 
Scoping Meeting(s). Written comments submitted for consideration are 
due no later than October 1, 2018. Written comments may be submitted: 
(1) To USACE at public scoping meetings; (2) by regular U.S. Mail 
mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CEMVN-PDC-UDC, 167 North 
Main Street, Room B-202, Memphis, Tennessee 38103-1894; and (3) by 
email to: [email protected]. Please include your name and 
return address on the first page of your written comments.
    All personally identifiable information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by a commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. All timely received 
comment letters will be accessible on the Project website at http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/.

[[Page 32644]]

    5. Public Scoping Meetings: Public scoping meeting(s) will be held 
at various locations within the Project Area during approximately July 
or August of 2018 to present information to the public and to receive 
comments from the public. The date(s), time(s), and location(s) of the 
scoping meeting(s) will be publicly announced in advance by USACE on 
the Project website at: http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/, and in 
any other forms deemed appropriate once those dates, times, and 
locations are determined by USACE. Notices of the public scoping 
meetings will also be sent by USACE through email distribution lists, 
posted on the Project website, and mailed to public libraries, 
government agencies, and interested groups and individuals. Scoping 
meeting dates and locations will also be advertised in local 
newspapers. Interested parties unable to attend the scoping meetings 
can access additional information on SEIS II at: http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/.
    6. Potentially Significant Issues. SEIS II will analyze the 
reasonably foreseeable impacts on the human and natural environment 
resulting from the Proposed Action. The scoping, public involvement, 
and interagency coordination processes will help identify and define 
the range of potential significant issues that will be considered. 
Important resources and issues evaluated in SEIS II could include, but 
are not limited to, the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects on 
aquatic resources; bottomland hardwoods; wetlands; waterfowl; wildlife 
resources; water quality; cultural resources; geology and soils 
including agricultural land and prime and unique farmland; hydrology 
and hydraulics; air quality; threatened and endangered species and 
their critical habitat; socioeconomics; environmental justice; 
recreation; and cumulative effects of related projects along the MRL. 
USACE will also consider issues identified and comments made throughout 
scoping, public involvement, and interagency coordination. USACE 
expects to better define the issues of concern and the methods that 
will be used to evaluate those issues through the scoping process.
    7. Availability. The current SEIS II development schedule 
anticipates the release of the draft of SEIS II by USACE for public 
review and comment in 2020. After it is published, USACE will hold 
public comment meetings to present the results of studies and 
identification of a recommended plan, to receive comments, and to 
address questions concerning the draft SEIS II.

    Dated: June 27, 2018.
Michael C. Derosier,
Colonel, U.S. Army, Commander and District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2018-14972 Filed 7-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P



                                                32642                            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2018 / Notices

                                                Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117, (334)                       DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE                                 indirect, and cumulative impacts for an
                                                244–3343.                                                                                                      array of alternatives, including a No
                                                                                                         Department of the Army, Corps of                      Action alternative.
                                                   Following the scoping meetings,
                                                                                                         Engineers                                             FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                individuals who have not already
                                                submitted their comments should                                                                                Comments and questions about SEIS II
                                                                                                         Notice of Intent To Prepare                           should be submitted to USACE by email
                                                submit them by August 15, 2018, by                       Supplement II to the Final
                                                either:                                                                                                        to: MRL-EIS-2@usace.army.mil; or by
                                                                                                         Environmental Impact Statement,                       regular mail to: U.S. Army Corps of
                                                   * Email to act-arc@usace.army.mil, or                 Mississippi River and Tributaries                     Engineers, ATTN: CEMVN–PDC–UDC,
                                                                                                         (MR&T) Project, Mississippi River                     167 North Main Street, Room B–202,
                                                   * Mail to Mr. Mike Malsom, Inland
                                                                                                         Mainline Levees and Channel                           Memphis, Tennessee 38103–1894. For
                                                Environment Team, Environment and
                                                                                                         Improvement                                           additional information, including but
                                                Resources Branch, Planning and
                                                Environmental Division, USACE-                           AGENCY:   Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.               not limited to a copy of SEIS I and the
                                                Mobile, Post Office Box 2288, Mobile,                    ACTION:   Notice of Intent.                           1976 EIS, please visit the Project
                                                AL 36628–0001.                                                                                                 website at: http://
                                                                                                         SUMMARY:    The U.S. Army Corps of                    www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/.
                                                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                         Engineers (‘‘USACE’’), Memphis                        SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                Direct questions about the NEPA                          District, Vicksburg District, and the New                1. Project Background and
                                                process to Mr. Mike Malsom by mail at                    Orleans District, is announcing its intent            Authorization. The MR&T Project (and
                                                Inland Environment Team, Environment                     to prepare Supplement II (SEIS II) to the             the MRL feature) was authorized by the
                                                and Resources Branch, Planning and                       Final Environmental Impact Statement,                 Flood Control Act of 1928, as amended.
                                                Environmental Division, USACE-                           Mississippi River and Tributaries                     The 1976 EIS was filed with the Council
                                                Mobile, Post Office Box 2288, Mobile,                    (MR&T) Project, Mississippi River                     of Environmental Quality on 8 April
                                                AL 36628–0001; telephone at (251) 690–                   Mainline Levees and Channel                           1976. SEIS I, which was prepared to
                                                2023; electronic facsimile at (251) 694–                 Improvement of 1976 (1976 EIS), as                    supplement the 1976 EIS to evaluate the
                                                3815; or email at ACT-ACR@                               updated and supplemented by                           effects of continued construction of the
                                                usace.army.mil. You can also request to                  Supplement No. 1, Mississippi River                   MRL levee enlargements, stability
                                                be added to the mailing list for public                  and Tributaries Project, Mississippi                  berms, seepage control, and erosion
                                                distribution of notices, meeting                         River Mainline Levee Enlargement and                  protection measures, was filed with the
                                                announcements, and documents.                            Seepage Control of 1998 (SEIS I) to the               Environmental Protection Agency on 31
                                                                                                         1976 EIS, to cover construction of                    July 1998. SEIS I focused on the levees
                                                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                               remaining authorized work on the                      of the MRL that were the most deficient
                                                Additional information on the ACT                        Mississippi River mainline levees (MRL)               in height and on seepage control
                                                River Basin study will be posted as it                   feature. Over the past twenty years since             measures for levee reaches with
                                                becomes available on the Mobile District                 the finalization of SEIS I, USACE has                 observable signs of seepage during
                                                website at http://                                       determined that various sections                      previous high water events.
                                                www.sam.usace.army.mil/.                                 (reaches) of the mainline levee system                   The MR&T Project is designed to
                                                   The USACE will hold five public                       are deficient in varying amounts, and                 manage flood risk damages in the
                                                scoping meetings during the months of                    that certain remedial measures need to                alluvial valley between Cape Girardeau,
                                                July and August as part of its                           be undertaken to control seepage and to               Missouri and the Head of Passes,
                                                preparation to conduct the water supply                  raise and stabilize the deficient sections            Louisiana. The goal of the MR&T Project
                                                storage reallocation study and update                    of the levee to protect the lower                     is to provide an environmentally
                                                the WCMs for the Alabama Power                           Mississippi River Valley against the                  sustainable project for comprehensive
                                                                                                         Project Design Flood (PDF) and                        flood damage control, protection, and
                                                Company’s Weiss and Logan Martin
                                                                                                         maintain the structural integrity of the              risk reduction from the ‘‘Project Design
                                                reservoirs in the ACT River Basin. The
                                                                                                         MRL system. The Proposed Action of                    Flood’’, in the alluvial valley beginning
                                                public is invited to attend the scoping                  SEIS II is to supplement and, as                      at Cape Girardeau, Missouri to the Head
                                                meetings, which will provide                             necessary, augment the 1976 EIS and                   of Passes, Louisiana, by means of levees,
                                                information on the study process and                     SEIS I using the primary MR&T goals of:               floodwalls, floodways, reservoirs, banks
                                                afford interested parties the opportunity                (1) Providing flood protection from the               stabilization and channel improvements
                                                to submit to USACE input about their                     PDF; and (2) developing an                            in and along the Mississippi River and
                                                issues and concerns regarding that                       environmentally sustainable project;                  its tributaries. The mainline levee
                                                process. Each of the public scoping                      formulating alternatives; identifying                 system, comprised of levees, floodwalls,
                                                meetings will be presented in an open                    significant resources; assessing the                  backwater areas, floodways, and various
                                                house format, allowing time for                          direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts              control structures, is approximately
                                                participants to review specific                          to those resources; investigating and                 1,610 miles long. The PDF is a
                                                information and to provide comments                      environmentally assessing potential                   hypothetical flood that was developed
                                                either on forms available at the meeting                 borrow areas; developing mitigation                   to determine the design flood to be used
                                                or to a court reporter on-site at the                    measures; and evaluating and selecting                in designing the MR&T levee system in
                                                meeting.                                                 a preferred method for the construction               the lower Mississippi River Basin, and
                                                                                                         of necessary authorized MRL Project                   is defined as the ‘‘greatest flood having
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                Curtis M. Flakes,                                        features, which may include but are not               a reasonable probability of occurrence’’
                                                Chief, Planning and Environmental Division.              limited to, implementing seepage                      when the operable features of the entire
                                                [FR Doc. 2018–14975 Filed 7–12–18; 8:45 am]              control measures and the construction                 MR&T Project are considered. The PDF
                                                BILLING CODE 3720–58–P                                   of various remediation measures for                   upon which the current design for the
                                                                                                         deficient levee reaches to bring these                construction of the mainline levee
                                                                                                         reaches to the project design grade. SEIS             system and remaining unconstructed
                                                                                                         II will evaluate the potential direct,                levees is based, is the ‘‘Refined 1973


                                           VerDate Sep<11>2014   16:47 Jul 12, 2018   Jkt 244001   PO 00000   Frm 00025   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM   13JYN1


                                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2018 / Notices                                          32643

                                                MR&T PDF Flowline.’’ The Mississippi                     integrity of the MRL levee system was                 to promote open communication on the
                                                River mainline levees protect the lower                  at risk because numerous levee reaches                issues surrounding the Proposed Action.
                                                Mississippi River Valley against the PDF                 are not currently constructed to the pass             The public will be involved in the
                                                by confining flow to the leveed channel,                 the PDF due to either height or seepage               scoping and evaluation process through
                                                except where it enters backwater areas,                  deficiencies. Based on the results,                   advertisements, notices, and other
                                                overflows several levees designed to                     USACE has determined that SEIS II is                  means. Project information will also be
                                                overtop and fill tributary basins, or is                 necessary to formulate alternatives,                  available on the Project website at:
                                                intentionally diverted into four                         identify significant resources, assess the            http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/
                                                floodway areas. (A figure which depicts                  direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts              MRLSEIS/. All individuals,
                                                the PDF in cubic feet per second for the                 to the significant resources, develop                 organizations, NGOs, affected Indian
                                                lower Mississippi River and its                          mitigation measures, and evaluate and                 tribes, and local, state, and Federal
                                                tributaries as set forth in SEIS I will be               select a recommended plan.                            agencies that have an interest are urged
                                                available for review at the Project                         2. Proposed Action. The Proposed                   to participate in the scoping process.
                                                website.) The MR&T Project functions as                  Action is the construction of necessary               The purpose of this Notice is to obtain
                                                a system and provides flood risk                         additional authorized MRL Project                     suggestions and information that may
                                                reduction across portions of seven                       features (e.g., levee enlargements;                   inform the scope of the issues and range
                                                states: Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky,                    stability berms, underseepage controls                of alternatives to be evaluated in SEIS
                                                Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and                     such as berms, relief wells, cutoffs,                 II, as well as to provide notice and
                                                Louisiana (a map of the area will be                     riverside blankets and pit fills; and                 request public input on the reasonably
                                                available on the Project website). The                   erosion protection such as slope                      foreseeable effects to natural and
                                                MR&T System includes an extensive                        paving), to improve sections of deficient             cultural resources.
                                                levee system; floodways to divert excess                 MRL levees in order to provide the                       This Notice of Intent commences the
                                                flows past critical reaches; channel                     required PDF protection. The Proposed                 formal public scoping comment period
                                                improvement and stabilization features                   Action, and associated evaluations, does              which shall continue through October 1,
                                                to protect the integrity of flood risk                   not include reformulation of the MRL                  2018. Scoping is the NEPA process
                                                management measures and to ensure                        feature. Measures to manage flood risk                utilized for seeking public involvement
                                                proper alignment and depth of the                        reduction along the mainline levee                    in determining the range of alternatives
                                                navigation channel; and a system of                      system from Cape Girardeau, Missouri                  and significant issues to be addressed in
                                                reservoirs to regulate flows and                         to Head of Passes, Louisiana, include                 SEIS II. USACE invites full public
                                                backwater areas to provide storage                       but are not limited to, raising and                   participation to promote open
                                                during extreme events. The integrity of                  widening portions of the levee to the                 communication in the public scoping
                                                the levee system is also bolstered by                    authorized design grade and cross-                    phase and invites interested parties to
                                                control measures such as landside                        sections, stabilizing floodwalls, and
                                                                                                                                                               identify potential issues, concerns, and
                                                berms, drainage trenches, drainage                       seepage control (e.g. berms, relief wells,
                                                                                                                                                               reasonable alternatives that should be
                                                blankets, and relief wells, and tributary                and cutoff trenches).
                                                                                                            3. Alternatives. SEIS II will evaluate             considered in SEIS II.
                                                basin improvements including levees,                                                                              In order for public comments to be
                                                                                                         an array of site specific alternatives,
                                                headwater reservoirs, and pumping                                                                              recorded for inclusion in the
                                                                                                         including the No-Action alternative,
                                                stations that expand flood risk                                                                                Administrative Record and be
                                                                                                         with a focus to avoid and minimize
                                                management coverage and improve                                                                                considered in the SEIS II development
                                                                                                         reasonably foreseeable adverse effects
                                                drainage into adjacent areas within the                                                                        process, members of the public,
                                                                                                         from construction of necessary
                                                alluvial valley.                                         additional authorized MRL Project                     interested persons and entities must
                                                   Through evaluation of information                     features. Alternatives will include                   submit their comments to USACE by
                                                and data obtained from levee                             evaluations of measures, or combination               mail, email, or verbally at the Scoping
                                                inspections, seepage analyses, research,                 of measures, along with evaluation of                 Meeting(s). Written comments
                                                studies, and engineering assessments,                    locations of borrow areas that avoid and              submitted for consideration are due no
                                                USACE has concluded that certain levee                   minimize reasonably foreseeable                       later than October 1, 2018. Written
                                                reaches are not at Project design grade                  adverse effects. Potential alternatives               comments may be submitted: (1) To
                                                due to effects from various changed                      may include flood risk reduction                      USACE at public scoping meetings; (2)
                                                conditions, including, but not limited to                measures such as raising and widening                 by regular U.S. Mail mailed to: U.S.
                                                consolidation of levee materials,                        portions of the levee to the authorized               Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN:
                                                subsidence, and changes in river                         design grade and cross-sections,                      CEMVN–PDC–UDC, 167 North Main
                                                conditions and in survey datums over                     installing or stabilizing floodwalls, levee           Street, Room B–202, Memphis,
                                                time. Additionally, advances in                          setbacks, and various seepage control                 Tennessee 38103–1894; and (3) by email
                                                geotechnical mapping, data collected                     measures such as, seepage berms, relief               to: MRL-SEIS-2@usace.army.mil. Please
                                                from recent high water events, and                       wells with the associated drainage and/               include your name and return address
                                                subsequent seepage analyses that have                    or pumping plants for water                           on the first page of your written
                                                taken place since the finalization of                    conveyance, and cutoff trenches. Other                comments.
                                                SEIS I, have revealed the need for                       alternatives will be developed through                   All personally identifiable
                                                additional seepage control measures and                  the scoping period based on public                    information (for example, name,
                                                the construction of other authorized                     input. Additionally, SEIS II will identify            address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by a
                                                Project features to facilitate structural                                                                      commenter may be publicly accessible.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                         measures to avoid, offset, or minimize
                                                integrity and stability of the MRL                       impacts to resources where feasible.                  Do not submit confidential business
                                                feature of the MR&T Project. As a result,                   4. Scoping. Scoping is the National                information or otherwise sensitive or
                                                in October of 2017, USACE completed                      Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)                       protected information. All timely
                                                an engineering risk assessment and                       process utilized for determining the                  received comment letters will be
                                                programmatic review of the MRL based                     range of alternatives and significant                 accessible on the Project website at
                                                on the 1973 Refined MR&T Flowline                        issues to be addressed in SEIS II.                    http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/
                                                Study. The assessment showed that the                    USACE invites full public participation               MRLSEIS/.


                                           VerDate Sep<11>2014   16:47 Jul 12, 2018   Jkt 244001   PO 00000   Frm 00026   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM   13JYN1


                                                32644                            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2018 / Notices

                                                   5. Public Scoping Meetings: Public                    comments, and to address questions                    State-identified needs for personnel in
                                                scoping meeting(s) will be held at                       concerning the draft SEIS II.                         special education, early intervention,
                                                various locations within the Project                       Dated: June 27, 2018.                               related services, and regular education
                                                Area during approximately July or                        Michael C. Derosier,                                  to work with children, including infants
                                                August of 2018 to present information to                 Colonel, U.S. Army, Commander and District
                                                                                                                                                               and toddlers, with disabilities; and (2)
                                                the public and to receive comments                       Engineer.                                             ensure that those personnel have the
                                                from the public. The date(s), time(s),                   [FR Doc. 2018–14972 Filed 7–12–18; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                                                                               necessary skills and knowledge, derived
                                                and location(s) of the scoping meeting(s)                                                                      from practices that have been
                                                                                                         BILLING CODE 3720–58–P
                                                will be publicly announced in advance                                                                          determined through scientifically based
                                                by USACE on the Project website at:                                                                            research and experience, to be
                                                http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/                                                                                 successful in serving those children.
                                                MRLSEIS/, and in any other forms                         DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION                                  Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR
                                                deemed appropriate once those dates,                     Applications for New Awards;                          75.105(b)(2)(v), the absolute and
                                                times, and locations are determined by                   Personnel Development To Improve                      competitive preference priorities are
                                                USACE. Notices of the public scoping                     Services and Results for Children With                from allowable activities specified in
                                                meetings will also be sent by USACE                      Disabilities—Associate Degree                         the statute (see sections 662 and 681 of
                                                through email distribution lists, posted                 Preservice Program Improvement                        the Individuals with Disabilities
                                                on the Project website, and mailed to                    Grants To Support Personnel Working                   Education Act (IDEA); 20 U.S.C. 1462
                                                public libraries, government agencies,                   With Young Children With Disabilities                 and 1481).
                                                and interested groups and individuals.                                                                            Absolute Priority: For FY 2018 and
                                                Scoping meeting dates and locations                      AGENCY:  Office of Special Education and              any subsequent year in which we make
                                                will also be advertised in local                         Rehabilitative Services, Department of                awards from the list of unfunded
                                                newspapers. Interested parties unable to                 Education.                                            applications from this competition, this
                                                attend the scoping meetings can access                   ACTION: Notice.                                       priority is an absolute priority. Under 34
                                                additional information on SEIS II at:                                                                          CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only
                                                http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/                           SUMMARY:   The Department of Education                applications that meet this priority.
                                                MRLSEIS/.                                                is issuing a notice inviting applications                This priority is:
                                                                                                         for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2018
                                                   6. Potentially Significant Issues. SEIS                                                                     Associate Degree Preservice Program
                                                                                                         for Personnel Development to Improve
                                                II will analyze the reasonably                                                                                 Improvement Grants To Support
                                                                                                         Services and Results for Children with
                                                foreseeable impacts on the human and                                                                           Personnel Working With Young
                                                                                                         Disabilities—Associate Degree
                                                natural environment resulting from the                                                                         Children With Disabilities
                                                                                                         Preservice Program Improvement Grants
                                                Proposed Action. The scoping, public
                                                                                                         to Support Personnel Working with                     Background
                                                involvement, and interagency
                                                                                                         Young Children with Disabilities,
                                                coordination processes will help                                                                                 The mission of the Office of Special
                                                                                                         Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
                                                identify and define the range of                                                                               Education and Rehabilitative Services
                                                                                                         (CFDA) number 84.325N.
                                                potential significant issues that will be                                                                      (OSERS) is to improve early childhood,
                                                                                                         DATES:
                                                considered. Important resources and                                                                            educational, and employment outcomes
                                                                                                            Applications Available: July 13, 2018.
                                                issues evaluated in SEIS II could                           Deadline for Transmittal of                        and raise expectations for all people
                                                include, but are not limited to, the                     Applications: August 13, 2018.                        with disabilities, their families, their
                                                direct, indirect, and cumulative effects                                                                       communities, and the Nation.
                                                                                                         ADDRESSES: For the addresses for
                                                on aquatic resources; bottomland                                                                                 The purpose of this priority is to fund
                                                hardwoods; wetlands; waterfowl;                          obtaining and submitting an
                                                                                                                                                               eight Associate Degree Preservice
                                                wildlife resources; water quality;                       application, please refer to our Common
                                                                                                                                                               Improvement Grants and improve the
                                                cultural resources; geology and soils                    Instructions for Applicants to
                                                                                                                                                               quality of existing associate degree
                                                including agricultural land and prime                    Department of Education Discretionary
                                                                                                                                                               programs so that associate degree-level
                                                and unique farmland; hydrology and                       Grant Programs, published in the
                                                                                                                                                               personnel are well prepared to work
                                                hydraulics; air quality; threatened and                  Federal Register on February 12, 2018
                                                                                                                                                               with infants, toddlers, preschool, and
                                                endangered species and their critical                    (83 FR 6003) and available at
                                                                                                                                                               early elementary school children ages
                                                habitat; socioeconomics; environmental                   www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/
                                                                                                                                                               birth through 8 (young children) with
                                                justice; recreation; and cumulative                      pdf/2018-02558.pdf.
                                                                                                                                                               disabilities and their families in
                                                effects of related projects along the                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia
                                                                                                                                                               inclusive early childhood programs and
                                                MRL. USACE will also consider issues                     Martin Eile, U.S. Department of                       elementary schools. Associate degree-
                                                identified and comments made                             Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,                    level personnel play critical roles in the
                                                throughout scoping, public                               Room 5175, Potomac Center Plaza,                      development and learning of all young
                                                involvement, and interagency                             Washington, DC 20202–5076.                            children, including young children with
                                                coordination. USACE expects to better                    Telephone: (202) 245–7431. Email:                     disabilities, as child care providers,
                                                define the issues of concern and the                     Julia.Martin.Eile@ed.gov.                             preschool teachers, assistant teachers,
                                                methods that will be used to evaluate                       If you use a telecommunications
                                                                                                                                                               and paraprofessionals. In these roles,
                                                those issues through the scoping                         device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
                                                                                                                                                               associate degree-level personnel can use
                                                process.                                                 telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay
                                                                                                                                                               evidence-based (as defined in this
                                                                                                         Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877–
                                                   7. Availability. The current SEIS II                                                                        notice) practices (EBPs) to meaningfully
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                         8339.
                                                development schedule anticipates the                                                                           include young children with disabilities
                                                release of the draft of SEIS II by USACE                 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                            in early childhood programs and
                                                for public review and comment in 2020.                   Full Text of Announcement                             classrooms, individualize interventions
                                                After it is published, USACE will hold                                                                         and accommodations, collect data to
                                                public comment meetings to present the                   I. Funding Opportunity Description                    monitor progress, and collaborate with
                                                results of studies and identification of a                  Purpose of Program: The purposes of                other professionals. In elementary
                                                recommended plan, to receive                             this program are to (1) help address                  schools, paraprofessionals are often


                                           VerDate Sep<11>2014   16:47 Jul 12, 2018   Jkt 244001   PO 00000   Frm 00027   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM   13JYN1



Document Created: 2018-07-13 01:05:19
Document Modified: 2018-07-13 01:05:19
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice of Intent.
ContactComments and questions about SEIS II should be submitted to USACE by email to: [email protected]; or by regular mail to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CEMVN-PDC-UDC, 167 North Main Street, Room B-202, Memphis, Tennessee 38103-1894. For additional information, including but not limited to a copy of SEIS I and the 1976 EIS, please visit the Project website at: http:// www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/.
FR Citation83 FR 32642 

2025 Federal Register | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
USC | CFR | eCFR