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Intent To Prepare a Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement for Modification of the Coos Bay Navigational Channel, Coos County, OR

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[Federal Register: January 11, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 8)]
[Notices]
[Page 2013-2014]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11ja08-29]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental
Impact Statement for Modification of the Coos Bay Navigational Channel,
Coos County, OR

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Portland District
will be the lead agency for a combined Draft Feasibility Study/
Environmental Impact Statement (FS/EIS) for Coos Bay Channel
Modifications in Coos County, Oregon. The FS/EIS is being prepared by
the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay (Port) under the authority
granted by section 203 of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of
1986.

DATES: All parties are invited to participate in the scoping process to
determine the range of issues and alternatives to be addressed. A
public scoping meeting will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2008, from
4-8 p.m. at the City of North Bend Community Center, 222 Broadway
Street, North Bend, OR 97459. In addition, written comments will also
be accepted until February 15, 2008, at the address listed below or at
the project Web site: http://www.CoosBayChannelEIS.com. The Corps

expects the Draft FS/EIS to be made available to the public in March
2009. A public hearing will be held during the public comment period
for the Draft FS/EIS.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Programs and Project
Management Division, Planning Branch, P.O. 2946, Portland, OR 97208-
2946.

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Eric Bluhm, who can be reached by
telephone at (503) 808-4759, by fax at (503) 808-4736, or by e-mail at 
eric.v.bluhm@usace.army.mil.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Project Site and Background Information. The project site is in
Coos Bay, located on the central/south coast of Oregon. The Coos Bay
Federal Navigation Project was originally authorized by the River and
Harbor Act of March 1879. The Federal Navigation Project was last
modified by the Corps in 1997, with a channel configuration of
approximately 37 feet deep and 300 feet wide from the ocean inlet to a
railroad bridge at River Mile (RM) 9.2, and continuing at 400 feet wide
upstream to RM 15.0.
    2. Proposed Action. The proposed Federal actions are to modify the
Coos Bay Navigational Channel from the entrance at the Pacific Ocean to
the railroad bridge located at approximately river mile (RM) 9.2 and to
provide ecosystem restoration in the vicinity of Coos Bay. The channel
would be deepened and widened to accommodate large container vessels,
and a vessel turning basin would be added for vessel maneuvering.
Maintenance dredging of the channel and inlet, and possible
modifications to the jetties would also be part of the Federal proposed
action. Dredged material could be disposed at a variety of locations
including ocean, nearshore, and at the shoreline.
    Other, non-Federal but inter-dependent and inter-related actions
proposed by the Port include developing an inter-modal container
terminal on the North Spit of Coos Bay and making improvements to the
railway corridor from the North Spit to Eugene, Oregon to transport
goods off-loaded from container vessels.
    3. Purpose of and Need for the Project. The purposes of the
proposed Federal action are: (1) To respond to growing needs for
capacity for large

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container vessels at ports on the West Coast of the U.S.; (2) to
provide economic benefits to the national economy by accommodating
large container vessels, thereby reducing costs of transporting goods
among Pacific Rim countries and maintaining U.S. competitiveness in the
global marketplace; (3) to improve security for international movement
of goods by developing an additional facility for large container
vessels in a new location on the U.S. West Coast; (4) to improve safety
and efficiency of navigation in the Coos Bay Navigational Channel by
providing a larger area for vessel handling and maneuvering; and (5) to
have a net beneficial effect on the estuarine ecosystem in the vicinity
of Coos Bay.
    The project is needed to accommodate large container vessels, which
are used by Pacific Rim shippers transporting a wide variety of
consumer goods as well as import production commodities for
manufacturing firms, and U.S. produced goods for export. The volume of
container traffic has increased significantly during the past ten
years, and growth is expected to remain strong. Ocean carriers are
responding to the growth opportunities by using larger and larger
vessels. Currently, the average vessel calling at U.S. West Coast ports
carries 6,500 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), but vessels capable of
carrying 12,000 TEUs are becoming more common. The larger vessels can
transport containers more efficiently and at lower costs than smaller
vessels. For navigation safety, a navigational channel should be at
least 10 percent deeper than the draft of the largest vessels that
utilize the channel, as well as wide enough to allow safe vessel
maneuvering. Existing Coos Bay port facilities are not accessible to
many larger ships because of depth and width limitations in the
navigational channel.
    In addition to deep-draft harbors, large container vessels require
ports with terminals that are large enough to accommodate the
containers once they are off-loaded, and that are connected to a
railway system to move the containers on land. Currently, only five
ports on the U.S. west coast (Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland,
California; and Tacoma and Seattle, Washington) can accommodate these
large container vessels, and additional capacity is needed. Container
vessel traffic will likely exceed the capacity of existing terminals by
2015, if not sooner. In addition, should one of the existing deep-draft
ports be significantly damaged (for example, by a natural disaster), it
could have a major impact on the national economy. Coos Bay is
geographically separated from the other deep-draft ports and,
therefore, would be unlikely to be damaged by the same event affecting
another major West Coast port.
    Past development and resource extraction within and near Coos Bay
have negatively affected the local ecosystem. Impacts have included
habitat degradation and loss, declines in fish and wildlife
populations, spread of invasive species, and diminished water quality,
among others. Ecosystem restoration is needed to offset the effects of
the proposed channel modifications and development, as well as some of
the effects of past actions.
    5. Alternatives. In addition to a no action alternative (no
modifications to the Coos Bay Navigational Channel other than for
maintenance) the FS/EIS will evaluate alternatives with channel depths
at increments between the currently authorized 37-foot depth and a
depth of 51 feet.
    6. Issues. Numerous potential environmental issues will be
addressed in the FS/EIS, and additional issues may be identified during
the scoping process. Issues initially identified include:
    (a) Impacts on biological resources, including species listed under
Federal and State Endangered Species Acts and State sensitive species.
    (b) Geological issues, including dredging and stabilization of fill
areas;
    (c) Impacts on water and sediment quality;
    (d) Land use and planning issues;
    (e) Impacts on traffic and transportation systems, including marine
navigation, railroads, roads, and the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport
at North Bend;
    (f) Social and economic impacts;
    (g) Potential noise impacts;
    (h) Impacts on air quality;
    (i) Impacts on public facilities and services;
    (j) Impacts on visual resources;
    (k) Public health and safety issues;
    (l) Impacts on recreation;
    (m) Cultural Resources; and
    (n) Cumulative effects.
    7. Coordination. The proposed action is being coordinated with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. Consultation will also be
done with NMFS under section 305(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
concerning Essential Fish Habitat, Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Consultation will also be done with the State Historic Preservation
Officer.
    8. Other Environmental Review and Consultation. The proposed action
will involve evaluation for compliance with guidelines pursuant to
section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act; application (to the State of
Oregon) for Water Quality Certification pursuant to section 401 of the
Clean Water Act; certification of state lands, easements, and rights of
way; and determination of Coastal Zone Management Act consistency.

    Dated: December 21, 2007.
Thomas E. O'Donovan,
Col, En, Commanding.
[FR Doc. E8-367 Filed 1-10-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710-AR-P

 
 

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