Intent To Prepare a Draft Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Resiliency Study
| Published date | 27 December 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 71394 |
| Record Number | 2019-27766 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Army, Corps Of Engineers Department |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71394-71395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27766]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Feasibility Report and Environmental
Impact Statement for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas
Resiliency Study
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), as amended, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston
District (USACE) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Resiliency Study
(BBTRS). The study will identify and evaluate the feasibility of
reducing flood risks on Buffalo Bayou in Harris and Fort Bend Counties,
Texas. The study will also complete a Dam Safety Modification Study
(DSMS) on the Addicks and Barker Dams. This notice announces USACE's
intent to determine the scope of the issues to be addressed and
identify the significant issues related to a proposed action.
ADDRESSES: Pertinent information about the study can be found at:
https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/Projects/Buffalo-Bayou-and-Tributaries-Resiliency-Study/.
Questions or comments about the proposed action or requests to be
added to the project mailing list can be emailed to
[email protected] or mailed to USACE, Galveston District, Attn:
BBTRS, P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, TX 77553-1229.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Galveston District Public Affairs
Office at 409-766-3004 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Authority. The Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study
(BBTRS) is authorized under Section 216 of the Flood Control Act of
1970 (Pub. L. 91-611) and existing project authority. Section 216
authorizes USACE to review a completed navigation, flood risk
reduction, water supply, or related project due to significantly
changed physical or economic conditions, and to report to Congress with
recommendations regarding modification of the project's structures or
operation, and for improving the quality of the environment in the
overall public interest. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L.
115-123) funded the study as a new start. The study phase is 100%
federally funded.
2. Background. USACE, in partnership with the Harris County Flood
Control District (HCFCD), as the non-Federal sponsor, is undertaking
the study to evaluate the feasibility of reducing flood risks on
Buffalo Bayou upstream and downstream of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.
The Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Project (Project) was
authorized by Congress in the 1930s for the purpose of providing flood
control for the city and port of Houston, Texas. In the 1940s, Addicks
and Barker Dams were constructed and a portion of Buffalo Bayou was
straightened as part of the completed Project. Since the 1940s, a
number of physical improvements and operational changes to the Project
have been implemented. However, the watershed continues to experience
major flood events, with the most recent and most significant occurring
during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. These recent flood events, coupled
with projected increases in precipitation patterns and the potential
for flooding events in the future, warrant investigation into whether
the Project should be modified to address existing and future flooding
concerns.
The first purpose of this study is to examine alternatives to
reduce potential flooding in three watersheds (Addicks Reservoir,
Barker Reservoir, and Buffalo Bayou Watersheds) and consider impacts
to/from a portion of Cypress Creek, Brays Bayou and White Oak Bayou
watersheds. The main flooding risks being evaluated are upstream and
downstream of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs and along Buffalo Bayou.
Buffalo Bayou flows 32 miles from Barker Reservoir in far west Harris
County to the Turning Basin of the Houston Ship Channel. The bayou
provides the main drainage conduit for central Houston as it winds
through the heart of Houston, past neighborhoods, parks, office towers,
and industrial areas, before it joins with White Oak Bayou just north
of Houston's central business district.
The second purpose of this study is to evaluate dam safety concerns
at Addicks and Barker Dams and examine alternatives to address the
concerns. The dams have been previously evaluated through the Dam
Safety Program and both dams have been assigned a Dam Safety Action
Classification (DSAC) I rating. The DSAC I rating means the combination
of life or economic consequences with probability of failure is
extremely high. In response to this rating, a Dam Safety Modification
Study (DSMS) was undertaken. Phase 1 of the DSMS, which addressed the
highest risk
[[Page 71395]]
concerns, was analyzed in a report completed in 2013. Modifications
recommended by that report are currently under construction with an
anticipated completion date in February 2020. The BBTRS will complete
Phase 2 of the DSMS, and address remaining concerns identified in Phase
1.
3. Alternatives. The study will evaluate alternatives that would
modify the existing Project to more efficiently and effectively convey
water throughout the system and reduce the flooding risk, as well as
measures that would address the remaining dam safety concerns. A No
Action Alternative is also being considered. A number of structural
measures are being considered including but not limited to: Tunnels,
bypass channels, new reservoirs, detention ponds, dredging of existing
detention ponds and reservoirs, and spillway modifications. Non-
structural measures, such as operational changes and property
acquisition, are also being considered. The study will evaluate
potential benefits and impacts of the reasonable array of alternatives
including direct, indirect and cumulative effects to the human and
natural environments that balance the interests of flood damage
reduction and environmental impacts.
4. Public Participation. Scoping completed prior to and after
publication of this NOI will be used to develop the EIS. The scoping
comment period began on April 27, 2019, and will end 30 days after
publication of this notice. All comments received during the scoping
period are being used to identify additional measures and alternatives,
significant resources, and impacts that should be considered in the
EIS. Additional comments received outside the scoping period will be
considered prior to the Draft EIS public review period, to the extent
possible. For comments that cannot be addressed prior to the public
review period, the comments will be included with the public review
period comments and addressed at that time. No public meetings are
scheduled.
Between April 30 and May 9, 2019, USACE and HCFCD hosted five
Public Scoping Meetings--three meetings were held near Buffalo Bayou
downstream of the reservoirs and two meetings were held upstream of the
reservoirs. A Public Notice was published on the Galveston District
website and in the Legal Notices section of the Houston Chronicle.
Public news releases announcing the scoping period timeframe; public
meeting dates, times, and locations; and where to send comments were
published in the appropriate local newspapers, on the Galveston
District and HCFCD websites, and were distributed to the local
stakeholders and known interested parties.
5. Coordination. USACE will serve as the lead Federal agency in the
preparation of the EIS. Other Federal and state agencies have been
invited to participate throughout the study process as Coordinating or
Participating Agencies. Further coordination with environmental
agencies will be conducted under the NEPA, the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the
Clean Air Act, the National Historic and Preservation Act, the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the
Coastal Zone Management Act.
6. Availability of Draft EIS. USACE currently estimates that the
Draft EIS will be available for public review and comment in or around
late Spring or early Summer 2020. At that time, USACE will provide a
45-day public review period for individuals and agencies to review and
comment. USACE will notify all interested agencies, organizations, and
individuals of the availability of the draft document at that time.
Paul E. Owen,
Brigadier General, USA Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2019-27766 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
