[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 83 (Friday, April 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24944-24945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10640]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
for Barrier Shoreline Restoration in Lafourche, Jefferson, and
Plaquemines Parishes, Louisiana, a Component of the Louisiana Coastal
Area, Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration, Barrier Island Restoration,
Marsh Creation, and River Diversion, Barataria Basin Feasibility Study
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Army Corps of Engineers
(COE), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior,
Minerals Management Service, will prepare a draft environmental impact
statement (EIS) to analyze the direct and indirect beneficial and
adverse impacts of implementing barrier shoreline restoration in
Lafourche, Jefferson, and Plaquemines Parishes, Louisiana.
The purpose of the proposed action is as follows: (1) In general,
the purpose of the Coast 2050 Plan is to sustain a coastal ecosystem
that supports and protects the environment, economy, and culture of
southern Louisiana, and that contributes greatly to the economy and
well-being of the nation; (2) the purpose of the Coast 2050 strategies
for the Barataria Basin is to restore and/or protect the natural and
human environment to create a sustainable ecosystem in the Barataria
Basin within the context of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, including
coastal Louisiana; and (3) the purpose of the Coast 2050 Plan's barrier
island restoration strategy for the Barataria Basin (R2-22 strategy) is
to provide and sustain the unique ecological integrity of barrier
islands, headlands, and shoreline. Habitats of concern include
shoreface, beach, dune, maritime forest, back-barrier marsh, bays, and
passes.
The proposed action would consist of the reformation of the barrier
shoreline from the Caminada-Moreau Headland at the mouth of Bayou
Lafourche to Sandy Point, Louisiana.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the EIS may be
directed to Mr. Robert Martinson, CEMVN-PM-RS, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, Louisiana 70160-0267,
telephone: (504) 862-2582.
Questions regarding the proposed action may be directed to Mr.
Edmond Russo, CEMVN-PM-C, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 60267,
New Orleans, Louisiana 70160-0267, telephone: (504) 862-1496.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources produced a document entitled ``Coast 2050: Toward a
Sustainable Coastal Louisiana in 1998.'' That document presented
strategies jointly developed by Federal, state, and local levels to
address Louisiana's massive coastal land loss problem and provide for a
sustainable coastal ecosystem by the year 2050. The Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) conducted a feasibility study of
barrier shorelines that was completed in March 1999 that focused on
barrier shoreline loss and developed several alternatives to address
the problem. These two efforts culminated in a joint agreement between
the Corps of Engineers and the LDNR to evaluate selected features of
the Coast 2050 Plan in a Federal feasibility study.
Proposed Action
The proposed action would consist of the reformation of the barrier
shoreline from the Caminada-Moreau Headland at the mouth of Bayou
Lafourche on the west to Sandy Point on the east. The shoreline would
have the ecological attributes of shoreface, beach, dune, maritime
forest if possible, back-barrier marsh, bays, and passes. The
reformation work could extend Gulfward to approximately the -5.0 foot
contour and up to about 1,000 feet in the bayside direction from the
edge of the back-barrier marsh.
On the eastern fringe where a large distance has opened between
remnant barrier islands and interior marsh, work could extend into the
bays up to about 2,500 feet. Larger passes such as Barataria Pass would
be left open. Smaller passes may be closed. Sand for reformation would
be obtained from nearby coastal bays, the Mississippi River, or from
Federal and state waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A combination of sand
sources may be used for restoration of these features. If sand is
obtained from Federal waters, a non-competitive lease would need to be
obtained by the LDNR from the Minerals Management Service. The Minerals
Management Service will ensure that information needed by them to make
a decision about a lease will be included in the EIS. Also, the
benefits of providing geomorphic features at the barrier
[[Page 24945]]
shoreline to inland areas will be considered in the EIS.
Alternatives
The no-action alternative must be evaluated and retained throughout
the study. Additionally, the Barataria Basin portion of the recommended
plan from the LDNR Barrier Shoreline Feasibility Study will be
investigated. The recommended plan from that study would rebuild dunes
at the Caminada-Moreau Headland. The recommendation from that study for
the Plaquemines shoreline from Grand Terre to east of Sandy Point is to
recreate a dune and marsh platform stabilized with a rock revetment
along the gulf shoreline. In addition, another alternative to be
evaluated in detail is expected to be developed during the scoping
process.
Need for Action
The focus for initial action is in the Barataria Basin (in
Lafourche, Jefferson, and Plaquemines parishes), Louisiana, one of nine
basins delineated in the Coast 2050 Plan. The Barataria Basin has a
very high rate of wetland loss, estimated at about 11 square miles per
year from 1978-1990 (Fuller et al. 1995). The area also has tremendous
potential for restoration because of nearby sediment in coastal bays,
the Mississippi River, and in Federal and state waters of the Gulf of
Mexico. While the ultimate goal for coastal restoration under the Coast
2050 plan is to implement strategies throughout coastal Louisiana, the
Barataria Basin is in dire need of immediate attention. While most
Barataria Basin strategies are dependent on the overall input,
movement, and circulation of water, sediment, and nutrients in the
basin, there are several strategies that can be implemented largely
independent of these considerations. The barrier shoreline restoration
strategy is one of those strategies. Restoration of barrier islands,
headlands, and shoreline can be applied as a separable activity,
independent of other strategies in the Barataria Basin and coastal
Louisiana.
The barrier shoreline system in Barataria Basin begins about 45
miles northwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River and forms a
concave arch of about 53 miles along the Gulf of Mexico at the southern
end of the Barataria Basin. Barrier islands, headlands, and shoreline
can offer unique ecological characteristics with an assemblage of
intertidal bottoms, beaches, dunes, shrub thickets, and salt marshes
not found in interior wetlands. The assemblage of plants and animals is
different than in any other area of the basin. Some of the species are
endemic to barrier areas. A variety of seabirds, wading birds, and
shore birds such as black skimmer, reddish egret, the threatened piping
plover, and least tern can utilize barrier islands. The islands can
serve as a protection zone for many species of fish, resting areas for
migrating birds, nesting locations for birds such as the endangered
brown pelican, and nesting beaches for threatened and endangered sea
turtles.
The barrier areas in Barataria Basin from Bayou Lafourche to Sandy
Point have undergone significant movement and reduction in size during
the past 100 years. While some lateral movement of barrier areas is
expected as sand is reworked in the nearshore environment, the
Barataria Basin barrier areas have retreated and narrowed rapidly,
symptoms of a sediment-poor system. Tidal passes that have opened in
the islands during the passage of storms do not reseal in fair weather
(Levin 1993). Islands have diminished in size (narrowed) to the point
that they are likely to vanish in the near future. For example, it is
predicted that Grand Terre Island may be gone by 2008 (McBride et al.
1992). Overall, the Barataria barrier islands decreased in area by 47
percent from the 1890s to 1988 (Fuller et al. 1995).
The Caminada-Moreau Headland, forming the western portion of the
Barataria barrier system, has experienced some of the highest rates of
shoreline movement on the Louisiana or Gulf coast. Between 1978 and
1988, the shoreline on the Barataria coast retreated at a rate of 45
feet/year. The shoreline has retreated over one mile in some locations
from 1887-1988 (McBride et al. 1992). The Plaquemines Barrier System in
the eastern portion of the system retreated at an average rate of 33
feet/year from 1973-1988. In 1884, Grand Terre Island was 4,198 acres
with an average width of 2,982 feet, but by 1988, it was only 1,268
acres with an average width of 1,740 feet. Shell Island was 314 acres
with a width of 446 feet. In 1988, it was 171 acres and 345 feet in
width (McBride et al. 1992). The shoreline has retreated 0.5-0.75 miles
over a large part of the Plaquemines Barrier System.
Many of the barrier areas in Barataria Basin have become nothing
more than fragmented, low mounds of sand, easily overwashed by minor
storm events, maintaining little ecological value. As the barrier areas
become narrower and disintegrate, bays and wetlands behind the barriers
become more directly connected with the Gulf of Mexico and its
associated wave action and higher salinity water. The implications of
these changes for coastal industries and communities are severe even
without the threat of hurricane surge and waves. Action to restore
barrier areas has become critical.
Fuller, D.A., J.G. Gosselink, J. Barras, and C.E. Sasser. 1995.
Physical Setting. pp. 9-23. In: D.J. Reed (ed.) Current Status and
Historical Trends of Hydrological Modification, Reduction in
Sediment Availability, and Habitat Loss/Modification in the
Barataria-Terrebonne Estuarine System. BTNEP No. 20. Barataria
Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Thibodaux, LA.
Levin, D.R. 1993. Tidal inlet evolution in the Mississippi River
delta plain. Journal of Coastal Research 9.2:462-480.
McBride, R.A., S. Penland, M.W. Hiland, S.J. Williams, K.A.
Westphal, B.E. Jaffe, and A.H. Sallenger, Jr. 1992. Analysis of
barrier shoreline change in Louisiana from 1853 to 1989. pp. 36-97
In: S.J. Williams, S. Penland, and A.H. Sallenger (eds.) Louisiana
Barrier Island Erosion Study, Atlas of Shoreline Changes in
Louisiana from 1853 to 1989. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous
Investigations Series I-2150-A.
Scoping
The Corps of Engineers and LDNR invite NEPA input in writing or
in person concerning the scope of the EIS, resources to be
evaluated, and alternatives to be considered. Individuals, groups,
and agencies can write comments to the Corps of Engineers using Mr.
Martinson's address shown above. The Corps of Engineers and LDNR
plan to hold a scoping meeting in Thibodaux, Louisiana on June 8,
2000 from 7-10 pm in the Century Room of the John L. Guidry Stadium
located on Audubon Drive of Nicholls State University Campus,
Thibodaux, LA 70301. The entrance to the Century Room is a red door
under the stadium. Additional meetings with local interests will be
held after the scoping meeting as necessary.
A draft EIS is scheduled to be available for public review
during March of 2001. A public meeting on the draft EIS will be
scheduled at that time.
Dale A. Knieriemen,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Acting District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 00-10640 Filed 4-27-00; 8:45 am]
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