JOINT NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY

Joint Notice of Availability

Draft Integrated Feasibility report and Environmental assessment for the Proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Jefferson County Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District, in partnership with Jefferson County and the Sabine Neches Navigation District, hereby informs the public of the release of the draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment (DIFR-EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Jefferson County Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study in Jefferson County, Texas. 

The vast resources found in the Jefferson County coastal system are rapidly degrading due to a variety of changes in the system induced by development and natural processes.  The Jefferson County coastal system is in need of aquatic habitat restoration due to several identified problems contributing to degradation of habitat for fish and wildlife utilizing beaches, dunes, and marshes.  The key factors identified as having a negative effect on the aquatic habitat include: erosion, decreased sediment supplies, decreased drainage, decreased freshwater inflows, tidal influences, and increasing salinities.  The DIFR-EA has been prepared to identify and evaluate potential alternatives to address ecosystem degradation and disclose all associated impacts that would result from the construction and operation of the proposed ecosystem restoration alternative.

The DIFR-EA and Draft FONSI will be available for download starting June 27, 2018 at the following Galveston District website:

http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/BusinessWithUs/PlanningEnvironmentalBranch/DocumentsforPublicReview/

Compact disc (CD) copies of the report can be requested from Ms. Melinda Fisher, at the mailing or e-mail address below. In addition, paper copies of the report are available for review at the following locations:

The USACE will accept written public comments on the DIFR-EA for a 30-day period starting on June 27, 2018 and continuing through July 27, 2018.  Comments on the report must be postmarked by July 27, 2018.  You may send written comments or questions to Ms. Melinda Fisher, Biologist, Environmental Compliance Branch, Regional Planning and Environmental Planning Center, 2488 E 81^st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137-4290 or you may e-mail comments or questions to Melinda.Fisher@usace.army.mil.

This public notice is also issued for the purpose of advising all known interested parties that there is pending before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) a decision on water quality certification.  Any comments concerning this application may be submitted to: TCEQ, 401 Coordinator, MSC-150, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087.  A copy of the public notice, with a description of work, has been made available for review in the TCEQ’s Austin Office.

                                                                        Douglas C. Sims, PMP, RPA

                                                                        Environmental Compliance Branch Chief

                                                                        Regional Planning and Environmental Center