[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36780-36781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17912]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplement III to the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay
Project, Dare County, NC
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The navigation improvements being proposed are necessary to
provide safe and reliable navigation through Oregon Inlet and are
essentially the same as those previously coordinated, consisting of
twin jetties at Oregon Inlet (with sand bypassing) and improvements to
navigation channels to Wanchese, North Carolina. Supplement III will
discuss recent changes in the design of the project and present refined
impact analyses, which have been conducted since the circulation of
Supplement II in 1985. On February 27, 1991, the NOI to prepare the
Draft Supplement III to thee FEIS appeared in the Federal Register. Due
to funding and scheduling problems, the Draft Supplement III to the
FEIS was not prepared at the time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action and Draft Supplement III to the
FEIS can be answered by: Mr. William F. Adams, Environmental Resources
Section; U.S. Army Engineer District, Wilmington; Post Office Box 1890;
Wilmington,
[[Page 36781]]
North Carolina 28402-1890; telephone: (910) 251-4748.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay project was
authorized in Public Law 91-611 (HD 303/91/2), December 31, 1970. The
FEIS on the project was filed with EPA on April 20, 1979. The first
Supplement to the FEIS was filed on November 7, 1980, and Supplement II
to the FEIS was filed on July 5, 1985.
1. The proposed project includes a dual jetty system at Oregon
Inlet with sand bypassing. The jetties will be parallel, approximately
3,500 feet apart, with the north jetty being approximately 11,450 feet
long (4,000 feet comprising a shore anchorage section) and the south
jetty being approximately 7,575 feet long (3,125 feet which consists of
a terminal groin constructed by the North Carolina Department of
Transportation in 1991). Navigation channels will also be improved. The
ocean bar channel will be deepened from its current depth of 14 feet to
20 feet at the existing width of 400 feet. The channels from Oregon
Inlet to Wanchese, North Carolina, will be deepened and widened from
their current dimensions of 12 feet deep and 100 feet wide to 14 feet
deep and 120 feet wide.
2. Alternatives to the project are variations in jetty design,
alternative spacings, dredging the improved channel dimensions without
the jetties, and no action (maintain existing navigation channel at
current dimensions). Due to the difficulty in maintaining the existing
navigation channel through the inlet, improving the channels without
the jetties is considered to be impractical.
3. Scoping for this project is ongoing. The scoping letter will be
mailed to all known parties concurrent with the NOI. Other parties
wishing to comment on this project are invited to do so at this time.
a. Significant issues to be discussed in the upcoming supplement
are information on potential impacts of the project on navigation,
larval fish and shellfish migration through Oregon Inlet, cultural
resources, endangered species, littoral sand transport, submerged
aquatic vegetation, aesthetics, recreation, and future economic
development of the region.
b. The Department of the Interior is working with the Corps on the
final design of the project.
c. Additional coordination on endangered species and cultural
resources is being undertaken during the final design of the project.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is preparing a Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act report. Results of these coordination efforts will be
included in Supplement III.
4. Because of the long history of this project, no formal scoping
meetings are planned at this time. Responses to the scoping letter or
this notice may result in coordination with individuals or agencies on
an as needed basis to discuss certain issues.
5. The Draft Supplement III to the FEIS is currently scheduled to
be available in January 1998.
Gregory D. Showalter,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 97-17912 Filed 7-8-97; 8:45 am]
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