[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20481-20482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10193]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
for the Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and
Other Purposes, Part V, Coastal Areas South of St. Lucie Canal, Design
Memorandum, Canal 51--West End, Control Structure 155A, Pumping Station
319 and Stormwater Treatment Area 1 East, Palm Beach County, Florida
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along
with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) intends to
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the
feasibility of implementing under the State of Florida's Everglades
Forever Act of 1994, the Canal 51--West End, Control Structure 155A,
Pumping Station 319 and Stormwater Treatment Area 1 East, Palm Beach
County, Florida.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action and draft EIS can be answered by:
William Porter, U.S. Army Engineer District, PO Box 4970, Jacksonville,
Florida 32232-0019; Telephone 904-232-2259.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: a. The scope of this study is to evaluate
implementation of the C-51, West End flood control project. The West
Palm Beach Canal (C-51) is a component of the Central and Southern
Florida (C&SF) Flood Control Project. The C-51 basin is located in Palm
Beach County and extends from the edge of Water Conservation Area (WCA-
1) on the West to Lake Worth on the east near the southerly limits of
the city of West Palm Beach. The C-51 project will provide flood
control for the lower 21 miles of the existing West Palm Beach Canal
and 145 square miles of Palm Beach County. Project works for the east
end of C-51 have been completed. All engineering and design work for
the west end was previously discontinued at the request of the local
sponsor pending the development of a mediated plan for resolution of
the Everglades litigation. The Everglades Construction Project, a
product of the Technical Mediated Plan (TMP), incorporates a
substantially modified version of the Federal C-51 project. The TMP
consists of modifications to the water management system in the
Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) and includes construction of six
large Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) to filter nutrients from
agricultural runoff before discharges are made to the Everglades. The
TMP also alters the C-51 West project to include a Stormwater Treatment
Area.
The locally preferred plan to be evaluated has many of the same
physical features proposed in the 1992 Detail Design Memorandum (DDM)
and are described below. The project will provide 10-year flood
protection for the western basin of C-51. The major physical difference
between the 1992 DDM plan and the recommended plan is the replacement
of the 1,600-acre detention area with the 5,350-acre ``locally
preferred'' STA 1 East. The most significant modification will be the
reduction of discharges to Lake Worth, with C-51 West Basin runoff
directed instead to Water Conservation Area 1 (The Arthur R. Marshall
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge). Runoff from the C-51 West Basin
will pass through STA 1E for water quality improvement prior to its
discharge to Water Conservation Area 1. In addition to the flood damage
reduction benefits provided by the 1992 plan, the modified plan will
provide water quality improvement, reduction of damaging freshwater
discharges to Lake Worth, and increased water supply for the Everglades
and other users.
Physical Data on Project Features is as follows: (1) Stormwater
Treatment Area 1 East, with an effective treatment area of 5,350 acres,
will be constructed in lieu of the 1,600-acre detention area provided
for in the 1992 DDM. Inflows to this area will be delivered by Pump
Station 319. Treated discharges will be lifted to WCA-1 by a new
outflow pumping station built as part of the Stormwater Treatment Area,
(2) Pump Station 319 will be relocated to a point about 1.7 miles east
of the presently planned location. The capacity of the pump station
will remain about the same, however, the static head differential
across the pump station will be reduced as a result of the replacement
of the 1,600-acre detention area with STA 1E, (3) Structure S-155A will
be constructed in C-51 with a capacity of 1,000 cubic feet per second,
(4) C-51 Canal enlargements will be required over a distance of about
4.3 [[Page 20482]] miles between Structure 155A and Pump Station 319.
Environmental Quality: The Technical Mediated Plan will preserve
the same flood control benefits that justify the original Corps
project. The recommended plan will serve other purposes as well:
provide additional water supply for the Everglades (and other urban and
environmental users) and provide a filtering area to remove excessive
nutrients from agricultural runoff before it is discharged into the
Everglades. As an incidental, but important benefit, the plan will also
reduce harmful freshwater discharges into Lake Worth at the eastern
terminus of C-51.
b. Scoping: The scoping process as outlined by the Council on
Environmental Quality will be utilized to involve Federal, State, and
local agencies; and other interested persons and organizations. A
scoping letter will be sent to interested Federal, State, and local
agencies requesting their comments and concerns regarding issues they
feel should be addressed in the EIS. Interested persons and
organizations wishing to participate in the scoping process should
contact the Corps of Engineers at the address above. Significant issues
anticipated include concern for: local groundwater recharge, water
quality, water supply, recreation, wetlands, fish and wildlife, and
land use. Public scoping meetings will be held in the near future, the
exact location, dates, and times will be announced in public notices
and local newspapers.
c. It is estimated that the DEIS will be available to the public in
March 1996.
Gregory D. Showalter,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-10193 Filed 4-25-95; 8:45 am]
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