The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District) (“Corps”) published a September 14th Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to:
… prepare an integrated draft feasibility report and environmental impact statement to investigate hydrologic and hydraulic problems threatening navigation, aquatic ecosystem habitat, recreation, flood damage reduction and existing infrastructure at the Three Rivers Study Site in Arkansas and Desha Counties in Southeast Arkansas (“Study”).
See 80 Fed. Reg. 55103.
The Corps states that the Study is being conducted pursuant to the authority contained in the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1946 which authorizes the development of the Arkansas River and its tributaries for the purposes of navigation, flood control, hydropower, water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife.
The Corps Little Rock District will prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for the Study. The EIS will evaluate potential impacts (beneficial and adverse) to the natural, physical and human environment as a result of implementing any of the proposed projects alternatives developed during the process.
NEPA is the federal law that requires agencies to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions before making decisions. Two of the major purposes of this process are to:
- Disclose environmental effects, and
-
Make informed decision
An EIS describes the environmental consequences of a proposed agency action and considers a range of alternatives. The EIS process begins with a publication of a Notice of Intent and provides basic information of the proposed action in preparation for the NEPA scoping process.
The location of this Study is stated to be the confluence of the Mississippi, White, and Arkansas Rivers in Desha and Arkansas counties. The prominent features are listed as the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River navigation system, Post Canal and the 160,000 acre Dale Bumpers National Wildlife Refuge.
The Study area is downstream of Lock No. 1 of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River navigation system and upstream of the Montgomery Point Lock & Dam and includes adjacent land masses that are presently being impacted or could be potentially impacted by the alternatives.
The Corps states that the EIS will evaluate effects from range of alternatives developed to address navigation and environmental concerns of the area. It further notes that the hydrology of the two rivers is strongly influenced by high water in the Mississippi River and references significant hydrologic and hydraulic problems that currently threaten the Corps’ mission areas of Navigation, Recreation, Flood Risk Management, as well as aquatic ecosystem habitat and existing infrastructure.
Click to download a copy of the Federal Register notice.
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