[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4268-4269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2135]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent to Prepare a Feasibility Study and Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Anacostia River and Tributaries Phase 2
Feasibility Study in Montgomery County, Maryland
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
initiating the Anacostia River and Tributaries (Phase 2) Feasibility
Study on the Montgomery County, Maryland portion of the Northwest
Branch watershed. The riparian and aquatic environmental integrity of
the Northwest Branch watershed has been severely degraded by
urbanization, inadequate infrastructure and industrial encroachment.
The Phase 2 study will
[[Page 4269]]
result in detailed designs for stream restoration, stormwater
management, and stormwater retrofit projects. These projects are
expected to restore stream habitat, provide wetland habitat, and
improve water quality. A DEIS will be integrated into the feasibility
study to document existing conditions, project actions, and project
effects and products. Montgomery County and the Maryland National
Capital Park and Planning Commission are the non-Federal sponsors for
the project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and DEIS can be addressed to Ms. April Perry, Study Manager, Baltimore
District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENAB-PL-P, P.O. Box
1715, Baltimore Maryland 21203-1715, telephone (410) 962-0684. E-mail
address: april.s.perry@ccmail.nab.usace.army.mil
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. The U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Public Works and
Transportation, authorized the Anacostia River and Tributaries
Reconnaissance Study in a resolution dated September 8, 1988. It was
further authorized in the June 25, 1990 Statement of New Environmental
Approaches by the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), which
gave fish and wildlife restoration the status of a priority project
output.
2. The Anacostia River and Tributaries Phase 1 Feasibility Study
produced by the Corps in 1994 determined that previous Corps activity
in the Anacostia Watershed has had a detrimental impact to the
eocsystem of the Anacostia. The study recommended that additional
feasibility studies focusing on environmental restoration be pursued.
Following the completion of the 1994 Phase 1 feasibility report, the
Baltimore District Corps of Engineers and Montgomery County Department
of Environmental Protection identified the potential for additional
environmental restoration opportunities within the Anacostia watershed.
3. In September of this year, the Corps and Montgomery County
executed a feasibility cost-sharing agreement for a Phase 2 Feasibility
study. The area proposed for environmental restoration is known as the
Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River and is located in the western
portion of Montgomery County. The watershed has several environmental
problems including channel instability, erosion, and sedimentation that
adversely impact the existing habitat and threaten planned restoration
measures. The Phase 2 study will identify areas with such problems and
recommend projects for specific sites that will be selected. It is
anticipated that the study will result in a combination of stream
restoration and stormwater management projects.
4. The planning goals of the Phase 2 study are to restore acquatic
and riparian habitat, improve water quality, and contribute to the
restoration of the Anacostia River ecosystem by stabilizing stream
channels that make significant contributions to stream channel erosion
and sedimentation and by reducing stormwater runoff rates, velocities,
and pollutant loads. To achieve this goal, the Corps will further
define the problems and opportunities in the Northwest Branch
watershed; analyze and forecast environmental resource conditions;
formulate, evaluate, and compare alternative plans for multiple sites;
develop detailed designs and costs at selected sites; and recommend a
cost-effective plan for the Montgomery County portion of the Northwest
Branch watershed.
5. The decision to implement these actions will be based on an
evaluation of the probable impact of the proposed activities on the
public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for
both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefit
which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal will be
balanced against its reasonably foreseeable costs. The Baltimore
District is preparing a DEIS which will describe the impacts of the
proposed projects on environmental and cultural resources in the study
area and the overall public interest. The DEIS will be in accordance
with NEPA and will document all factors which may be relevant to the
proposal, including the cumulative effects thereof. Among these factors
are habitat restoration, channel and erosion control, improvements to
water quality, and stormwater management. If applicable, the DEIS will
also apply guidelines issued by the Environmental Protection Agency,
under the authority of Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act of 1977
(Pub. L. 95-217).
6. The public involvement program will include workshops, meetings,
and other coordination with interested private individuals and
organizations, as well as with concerned Federal, state and local
agencies. Coordination letters and newsletters have been sent to
appropriate agencies, organizations, and individuals on an extensive
mailing list. Additional public information will be provided through
print media, mailings, radio and television announcements.
7. In addition to the Corps, Montgomery County, the Maryland
National Capital Park and Planning Commission, other participants that
will be involved in the study and DEIS process include the following:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
U.S. Forest Service; U.S. Geological Survey; Natural Resource
Conservation Service; and the U.S. National Park Service. The Baltimore
District invites potentially affected Federal, state, and local
agencies, and other organizations and entities to participate in this
study.
8. The Anacostia Phase 2 Feasibility Study and integrated DEIS are
tentatively scheduled for public review in March 1999.
Harold L. Nelson,
Acting Chief, Planning Division.
[FR Doc. 97-2135 Filed 1-28-97; 8:45 am]
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