[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 234 (Friday, December 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64366-64367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31941]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Corps of Engineers, Department of Army
Intent To Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report for the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Restoration
Project, Orange County, CA
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Los Angeles District,
DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The Corps, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and
the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) propose to restore the
Bolsa Chica Wetlands by dredging approximately 1.5 million cubic yards
of material from the interior, and creating full and managed tidal
areas through the construction of a new ocean inlet at the southeastern
corner of the project site and interior culvert placement.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the scoping
process or preparation of the EIS/EIR may be directed to Ms. Ruth Bajza
Villalobos, Chief, Environmental Resources Branch, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, P.O. Box 532711, Los Angeles, California, 90053-2325, (213)
452-3840.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Proposed Action
On behalf of a Federal/State Interagency Steering Committee, the
Corps, the Service and the CSLC are proposing to restore the Bolsa
Chica wetlands to enable the restoration of habitats offsetting the
biological impacts of future port development and expansion at both the
Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The proposed project will restore
wetland and aquatic functions at Bolsa Chica as oil extraction is
phased out and contamination is removed. The Bolsa Chica Wetlands have
been acquired through the use of funds provided by the Ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach, and title to the property is held by the
California State Lands
[[Page 64367]]
Commission. The project goal is to retain existing fish and wildlife
resources and, to the extent feasible, the enhancement thereof.
Further, the ecosystem resulting from implementation of the plan should
be naturalistic, biologically diverse, productive, and estuarine in
nature. That is, it shall be predominately salt water influenced, but
incorporate biologically beneficial freshwater influences. In addition,
the acreage of waters and wetlands in the lowland should not be
diminished. The proposed Concept Plan for restoration would consists
of: (1) Acquisition of approximately 880 acres in the Bolsa Chica
lowlands; (2) restoration of wetlands and habitat areas in Bolsa Chica
Lowlands, including approximately 384 acres of full tidal and 220 acres
of managed tidal; (3) monitoring activities to determine the condition
of the restored habitats on a regular basis and the necessary
operation, maintenance and management of the project feature and its
associated physical features, both during and after construction of
those physical features, and (4) necessary maintenance/management of
the restored wetland. The Concept Plan involves the dredging of
approximately 1.5 million cubic yards of material from the interior of
the wetland, the construction of a new stabilized tidal inlet through
the existing beach, and associated bridges as required to maintain
traffic flows through the area.
2. Alternatives
A series of informal public workshops were held to solicit public
input into the development of preliminary project alternatives. These
preliminary alternatives conceptually include the ``No Action''
Scenario; water management measures; the Concept Plan, as described
above; alternate scenarios for routing floodwaters from the existing
Garden Grove-Wintersburg flood control channel through the project
area; alternate locations for a new tidal inlet; and alternate ways to
restore tidal influence to the wetland (such as culverts or a non-
jettied inlet). These preliminary project alternatives, along with the
proposed action and the No Action scenarios, will be screened down into
a series of final alternatives. These final alternatives will be
carried forward into detailed analyses pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, as amended)
and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970 (Public
Resources Code, Sections 21000-21177).
3. Scoping Process
The Corps, Service and CSLC, on behalf of all 8 Project Steering
Committee agencies, are preparing a joint Environmental Impact
Statement/Report (EIS/R) to address potential impacts associated with
implementing their respective discretionary actions associated with the
proposed project. The Corps and the Service are the Lead Federal
Agencies for compliance with NEPA for the project, and the CSLC is the
Lead State Agency for compliance with the CEQA for the non-Federal
aspects of the project. The Draft EIS/R (DEIS/R) document will
incorporate public concerns in the analysis of impacts associated with
the Proposed Action and associated project alternatives. The DEIS/R
will be sent out for a 45-day public review period, during which time
both written and verbal comments will be solicited on the adequacy of
the document. The Final EIS/R (FEIS/R) will address the comments
received on the DEIS/R during public review, and will be furnished to
all who commented on the DEIS/R, and is made available to anyone that
requests a copy during the 30-day public comment period. The final step
involves, for the federal EIS, preparing a Record of Decision (ROD)
and, for the state EIR, certifying the EIR and adopting a Mitigation
Monitoring and Reporting Plan. The ROD is a concise summary of the
decisions made by the Corps and the Service from among the alternatives
presented in the FEIS/R. The ROD can be published immediately after the
FEIS public comment period ends. A certified EIR indicates that the
environmental document adequately assesses the environmental impacts of
the proposed project with respect to CEQA. A formal scoping meeting to
solicit public comment on the proposed action and alternatives will be
held on December 11, 1997 at 7:00 P.M., in the Huntington Beach City
Council Chambers, Huntington Beach, California.
Dated: November 26, 1997.
Robert L. Davis,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 97-31941 Filed 12-4-97; 8:45 am]
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