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Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Pearl River Watershed, MS, Project
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: February 5, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 24)]
[Notices]
[Page 5515-5516]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05fe04-50]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Pearl River Watershed, MS, Project
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The primary study area comprises the Pearl River Basin between
River Mile (RM) 270.0 just south of Byram, MS, and RM 301.77 at the dam
of Ross Barnett Reservoir. Municipalities within the study area include
Jackson, Flowood, Pearl, and Richland, MS. The study area includes
parts of three counties--Madison, Hinds, and Rankin. Major tributaries
of the Pearl River within the study area include Richland, Caney,
Lynch, Town, and Hanging Moss Creeks. The primary focus of the project
is to alleviate flooding in the study area, determine the feasibility
of continued Federal involvement in developing and implementing a
solution, and evaluate features designed to alleviate water resource
problems in the study area. The local cost-sharing project sponsor is
the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District.
[[Page 5516]]
DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held in Jackson, MS, at the
Mississippi Agriculture, Forestry, and Aviation Museum, on February 23,
2004, at 6 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be directed to
Ms. Karen Dove-Jackson (telephone (601) 631-7136) or Vicksburg
District, 4155 Clay Street, ATTN: CEMVK-PP-PQ, Vicksburg, MS 39183-
3435.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This project is authorized by congressional
resolutions adopted May 9, 1979. These authorizations read as follows:
``Resolved by the Committee on Public Works and Transportation
of the House of Representatives, United States, That the Board of
Engineers for Rivers and Harbors is hereby requested to review the
reports of the Chief of Engineers on Pearl River Basin, Mississippi
and Louisiana, published as House Document Number 282, Ninety-Second
Congress, Second Session, and other pertinent reports, with a
particular view toward determining whether any further improvements
for flood damage prevention and related purposes are advisable at
this time. The alternatives are to be reviewed with local interests
to insure a viable, locally supported project. Resolved by the
Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of
Representatives, United States, That the Board of Engineers for
Rivers and Harbors is hereby requested to review the report of the
Chief of Engineers on the Pearl River and Tributaries, Mississippi,
contained in House Document 441, 86th Congress, and other reports
with a view to determining whether measures for prevention of flood
damages and related purposes are advisable at this time, in Rankin
County, Mississippi. Resolved by the Committee on Environment and
Public Works of the United States Senate, That the Board of
Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, created under section 3 of the
River and Harbor Act, approved June 13, 1902, and is hereby
requested to review the reports of the Chief of Engineers on Pearl
River Basin, Mississippi and Louisiana, submitted in House Document
Numbered 92-282, 92nd Congress, 2nd Session, and other pertinent
reports with a view to determining whether any further improvements
for flood damage prevention and related purposes are warranted at
this time.''
1. A reconnaissance study was initiated in 1989 and a favorable
report was completed in 1990 for the Pearl River Watershed, MS,
Project. The local sponsor executed a Feasibility Cost-Sharing
Agreement (FCSA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in
September 1991 to pursue alternative solutions. The resulting
recommended plan documented in a January 1996 draft report was a
comprehensive levee system to provide protection from a flood event of
1979 magnitude. The 1979 flood event in Jackson is the maximum flood of
record. The frequency of this flood in Jackson was estimated at
approximately a 200-year event. Study actions were suspended in July
1998, and the final feasibility report was never completed. Lack of
local support for the recommended plan, questions over operation of the
Ross Barnett Reservoir, and downstream concerns over flooding and bank
caving were primary issues. In 1996, local interests proposed the
LeFleur Lakes Flood Control Plan, consisting of upper and lower lakes
along the Pearl River south of the Ross Barnett Reservoir, as an
alternative to the comprehensive levee plan. The lakes would extend
from the Ross Barnett Reservoir outlet downstream along the Pearl River
to approximately 1 mile southwest of Interstate 20. The combined lakes
would cover approximately 4,800 acres at normal operating levels, and
weirs at both the upper and lower lakes would regulate flow. The plan
is supported locally by community and business leaders due to its
commercial development aspects and potential for cost recovery. An
independent evaluation of the LeFleur Lakes Flood Control Plan was
conducted from June-December 2000 by an Architect-Engineer firm. The
valuation indicated that the LeFleur Lakes Plan could reduce Pearl
River flooding in the Jackson area, as would the levee plan. The
Feasibility Cost Sharing Agreement, necessary for study resumption, was
signed with the non-Federal sponsor, Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and
Drainage Control District, on 15 October 2003. Studies will include
updating the previously proposed levee plans presented in the
aformentioned January 1996 draft report and an analysis of the LeFleur
Lakes flood control plan. Studies will also include investigations of
levees for south Jackson and Richland as a component of the LeFleur
Lakes Plan. The District Engineer has decided to prepare a Draft EIS to
investigate measures to alleviate flooding in the study area and
determine the feasibility of continued Federal involvement in
developing and implementing a solution.
2. The feasibility study for Pearl River Watershed, MS, will be
conducted to fully evaluate a range of alternatives to provide a
comprehensive plan for flood control. Alternative development and
analysis as currently planned will be limited to updating of previously
proposed levee plans and an evaluation of the LeFleur Lakes Plan.
3. A public scoping meeting will be held in Jackson, MS (see
DATES). Significant issues identified during this scoping process will
be analyzed in depth in the Draft EIS. The Natural Resources
Conservation Service; U.S. Forest Service; Environmental Protection
Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality; and Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks will be invited to become cooperating agencies.
Federally recognized Indian tribes will also be invited to become
cooperators. These agencies and tribes will be asked to participate in
the review of data and the feasibility report and appendixes.
4. Upon completion, the Draft EIS will be distributed for agency
and public review and comment. Additionally, a public meeting will be
held to present results of the Draft EIS evaluations and the
recommended plan.
5. The DEIS is estimated to be completed in October of the year 2005.
Dated: January 22, 2004.
Douglas J. Kamien,
Chief, Planning, Programs, and Project Management Division.
[FR Doc. 04-2500 Filed 2-4-04; 8:45 am]