[Federal Register: July 11, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 133)]
[Notices]               
[Page 45959-45960]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11jy02-32]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers

 
Intent To Hold An Environmental Scoping Meeting To Solicit 
Citizen Input Into a Study of an Environmental Dredging Project on the 
Mahoning River in Ohio

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

ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Pittsburgh District (District), U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers will conduct a public environmental scoping meeting to 
solicit input for alternatives for a proposed environmental dredging 
project on the Mahoning River in Ohio currently under study. 
Representatives of the Pittsburgh District will provide an overview 
presentation on the proposed environmental dredging project and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The public is invited 
to provide comments or ask questions relevant to the project.
    Date of Meeting: July 31, 2002 from 7 to 9 p.m.
    Place: Holiday Inn, Youngstown Metroplex, 1620 Motor Inn Drive, 
Girard, OH 44420-2422.

ADDRESSES: Submit questions or comments regarding the environmental 
dredging project to Mr. Carmen Rozzi, Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, Mahoning Environmental Dredging Project, 1000 Liberty 
Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4186, telephone (412) 395-7227 or e-mail: 
Irp.mahdredge@usace.army.mil.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions or comments regarding this 
notice can be directed to Ms. Deborah Duda, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222-4186, Telephone 
(412) 395-7213, e-mail: Irp.mahdredge@usace,army.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The District is evaluating alternative

[[Page 45960]]

strategies for the environmental restoration of 31 miles of the 
Mahoning River through environmental dredging. The project is being 
undertaken pursuant to the authority of section 312 of the Water 
Resources Development Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-640), as amended by 
Section 205 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 
104-303). Section 312 provides for the removal of contaminated 
sediments (dredging) within navigable waters for the purpose of 
ecosystem restoration and identifies the Mahoning River, Ohio and 
Pennsylvania, dure to the severity of contamination, as one of five 
rivers in the nation given top priority for removal and remediation of 
contaminated sediments. The District will receive input from local, 
State and Federal agencies during an agency scoping meeting scheduled 
for earlier the day of the public environmental scoping meeting, and 
will use that input to evaluate alternatives and select a recommended 
alternative for implementation. The District will assess the 
environmental impacts of the recommended alternative and prepare an 
Environmental Assessment (EA). If, in the course of preparing the EA, 
significant impacts to the environment are identified, the District 
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). If no significant 
impacts are identified, the EA will be finalized and a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) will be prepared.
    1. Proposed Action: The Mahoning Environmental Dredging Project is 
designed to restore the ecosystem of the Mahoning River by removing 
contaminated sediment throughout a 31-mile stretch of the river (form 
Warren, Ohio to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border). The scoping process will 
solicit alternative methods of removing and disposing of contaminated 
sediment from the riverbed and riverbank in the most effective method.
    2. Reasonable Alternatives: The District will evaluate a Future 
Without Project (No Action) Alternative and Future With Project 
Alternatives. The exact nature and extent of the projects in the Future 
With Project Alternatives will be determined as part of scoping during 
the NEPA process. To facilitate scoping of the environmental effects of 
the project, the public may initially base comments upon a combination 
of possible actions that result in the removal of contaminated 
sediments from the riverbed and riverbank. As the NEPA process 
continues, the District will refine the analysis and evaluation of 
possible plans for implementation.
    The primary issues to be analyzed in depth during the NEPA process 
will be the environmental impacts of proposed actions on the Mahoning 
River and cumulative impacts of these proposed Federal actions in 
conjunction with reasonably foreseeable future actions by others. The 
impacts analysis will include biological resources, cultural resources 
and socioeconomic effects, air quality, noise impacts, and recreation 
resources.
    These agency and public meetings will serve as the initial scoping 
effort for this action. In addition to the public notice, a notice will 
be mailed to all addresses on the Mahoning Environmental Dredging 
mailing list. Coordination throughout the project will be maintained 
with the appropriate local, State, and Federal agencies. The need for 
additional public meetings will be determined as the study progresses. 
Interested parties are encouraged to provide oral comments relevant to 
issues to be addressed in the NEPA process at the public forums. 
Otherwise, the District requests written comments or requests for 
information be directed to the following study contact: Mr. Carmen 
Rozzi (see ADDRESSES above).

John N. Goga,
Chief, Planning Branch.
[FR Doc. 02-17470 Filed 7-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-85-M