[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 19 (Friday, January 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 4640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2186]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Corps of Engineers
Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplement III to the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for the Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay Project,
Dare County, North Carolina; Dated January 1999
AGENCY: Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has prepared Supplement No. 2
General Design Memorandum and a Draft Supplement III to the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay
project, located in Dare County, North Carolina. The project was
originally authorized in 1970, and called for the deepening of the
navigation channel from the Atlantic Ocean through Oregon Inlet to
Wanchese, North Carolina. Because of the dynamic and hazardous nature
of Oregon Inlet, dual jetties, combined with a means to bypass sand
around the inlet, were authorized to provide safe navigation and reduce
the frequency of maintenance dredging.
A range of jetty spacings was analyzed to determine the optimum for
protecting navigation, channeling tidal flows, preventing sound side
setup, and facilitating larval fish passage through the inlet. Based on
this analysis, a jetty spacing of 3,000 feet was selected. Three
alternative jetty designs were analyzed to determine whether cost
effective measures are available to minimize potential impacts on
larval fish: (a) The previously proposed project at a 3,000-foot
spacing; (b) jetties along the same alignment which are 1,000 feet
shorter; and (c) jetties which are 1,000 feet shorter along the same
alignment and with a weir section in the north jetty to allow larval
fish passage during mid to high tides. Refined modeling and offshore
surveys have indicated that shorter jetties will be effective at
intercepting littoral sands and capturing sediments in the ebb tide
delta, therefore, shorter jetties are being recommended. Analysis of
the weir jetty alternative indicates that movement of larval fishes
into the inlet would be facilitated by the presence of a weir. Initial
construction costs would be slightly lower and there would be
unquantifiable fishery benefits. A weir jetty would allow for the
movement of sand over the weir into the inlet where it could be readily
bypassed during any season instead of the summer season bypassing
required under the previously proposed plan. The dredging only plan has
also been reexamined. It has been confirmed that, due to high rate of
shoaling in Oregon Inlet, construction and maintenance of the
authorized improved channel without jetties is not economically
feasible. The no action alternative, which includes the continuation of
year-round sidecast dredging supplemented by pipeline and hopper
dredging in an effort to maintain the existing project, does not
provide a safe, navigable channel in Oregon Inlet. The hazardous
navigation conditions will continue to cause vessel losses and damages,
injuries to crews, and occasional deaths. After consideration of the
environmental consequences of the spacing changes and refinements to
the jetty alternative, the dredging only alternative, and the no action
alternative, the preferred alternative is to construct shortened
jetties with a 3,000-foot spacing and a weir section in the north
jetty.
The Supplement No. 2 General Design Memorandum and Draft Supplement
III to the Final EIS are now being circulated to allow the public and
other interested parties to comment on this sand management plan and
other project features which have changed since the last EIS
supplement, dated May 1985. All interested persons are invited to
provide their views on any aspect of the proposed project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Supplement No.
2 General Design Memorandum contact Mr. William Dennis, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, Wilmington District, PO Box 1890, Wilmington, North
Carolina 28402-1890, at (910) 251-4780; and for information on the DEIS
supplement contact Mr. William Adams, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Wilmington District, P.O. Box 1890, Wilmington, North Carolina 28402-
1890, at (910) 251-4748.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Lands on either side of the inlet are in
public ownership, with Cape Hatteras National Seashore to the north and
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to the south. Without sand
bypassing, jetties, which trap sand as it moves along the beach, can
cause significant erosion of adjacent shorelines. During 1991, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior formed a
Joint Task Force to develop a sand-bypassing plan that was agreeable to
both parties. The outcome of this effort was the development of a Sand
Management Plan which went beyond previous sand bypassing plans by
predefining project related shoreline impacts and delineating shoreline
reaches which will be managed as a project responsibility.
SCOPING: Individuals and agencies may present written comments relevant
to the Draft EIS Supplement by sending the information to Mr. William
Adams at the address above prior to March 18, 1999. Comments,
suggestions, and requests to be placed on the mailing list for
announcements and for the Final EIS Supplement are also welcome and can
be furnished to Mr. Adams at the above address or via e-mail to:
william.f.adams@saw02.usace.army.mil, or by FAX at (910) 251-4965.
Copies of the Draft EIS Supplement are available from Mr. William
Adams at the address above. Review copies are also available in the
library of the Wilmington District Headquarters located at 69
Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Dated: January 13, 1999.
Terry R. Youngbluth,
Colonel Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 99-2186 Filed 1-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-GN-M
