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Corps of Engineers to use Bay dredge tailings to restore Marin area wetlands project: Public hearing scheduled

November 11, 2008 -- A public meeting will be held on November 12, 5:30 pm at the Bay Model Visitor Center, Multi-Purpose Room, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA. to discuss the restoration plans for the Hamilton Wetlands Restoration Project.

Copying from the website: "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the State Coastal Conservancy and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, is working to restore the former Hamilton Army Airfield and the adjacent North Antenna Air Field back to a natural tidal wetland. Since being diked off from the Bay and protected by levees, the site has dropped below the elevation of surrounding properties.

In order to restore the land to natural wetlands, the site will be raised to an appropriate elevation in order to re-create the wetlands through the placement of dredged material. Dredge materials are sediments found at the bottom of harbors and other waterways that are suctioned up by large machinery.  Each year, three to six million cubic yards of sediment must be dredged to maintain safe navigation in and around the San Francisco Bay. In order to responsibly manage such large amounts of sediment, the San Francisco Bay Long Term Management Strategy for Dredging was established as the “regional dredging team” for the San Francisco Bay Area. The LTMS ensures that the dredged materials are being used in mutually beneficial situations.

The wetlands will be restored using this dredged material, as well as natural sedimentation. Before dredged material is placed in the area, perimeter levees will be constructed. The bayward levee will then be breached to allow for tidal flow. The surface area disturbed by the levee breaches and pilot channels will total 5.4 acres. Excavating the levee breaches and pilot channels will affect 1.8 acres of grassland and 3.6 acres of coastal salt marsh. One important advantage of using dredged material is the reduction in the amount of time necessary for restored wetlands to become fully functional. "

The project is supported by the City of Novato, the County of Marin, the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, The Bay Institute, Ducks Unlimited, Save SF Bay Association, the National Audubon Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

The Corps of Engineers meeting notice follows:

Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers: Availability of a Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report for the
Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project,
Dredged Material Aquatic Transfer
Facility in Marin County, CA

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

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) and California State
Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy), in
collaboration with the Long Term
Management Strategy for Dredged
Material in San Francisco Bay (LTMS)
agencies, are proposing the use of an
aquatic transfer facility (ATF) to
beneficially use dredged material in
restoring tidal wetlands at the original
Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project
site and the Bel Marin Keys Unit V
Expansion site (collectively, the HWRP).
The USACE is the lead agency for this
project under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The
Conservancy is the lead agency for this
project under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

DATES: Submit comments by: December
1, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Written comments about the
proposed action and ATF SEIS/EIR can
be addressed to:

Cynthia Fowler or Fari Tabatabai
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
San Francisco District
1455 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103;
cespn-et-pa@usace.army.mil
415–503–6870.
Tom Gandesbery
California State Coastal Conservancy
1330 Broadway, 13th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612;
tgandesbery@scc.ca.gov
(510) 286–1015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia Fowler or Fari Tabatabai
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
San Francisco District
1455 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103;
cespn-et-pa@usace.army.mil
415–503–6870.
Betsy Wilson or Tom Gandesbery
California State Coastal Conservancy
1330 Broadway, 13th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612;
tgandesbery@scc.ca.gov
(510) 286–1015.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
document is a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/
EIR) to the 1998 HWRP Final EIS/EIR,
the 2003 Bel Marin Keys Unit V
Expansion (BMKV) Final SEIS/EIR, and
the 2006 Supplemental Environmental
Assessment (EA) to the Oakland Harbor
Navigation Improvement (¥50 ft.)
Project Final EIS/EIR. The HWRP Final
EIS/EIR and the BMKV Expansion Final
SEIS/EIR can be found at: http://www.hamilton
wetlands.org/documents.html. As described in these
previous reports, the authorized means
of transporting dredged material to the
HWRP is via a hydraulic off-loader in
San Pablo Bay that pumps dredged
material to the site through a submerged
pipeline. Independent review,
workshops with national experts, and a
value engineering study that considered
economic and operational effects
determined that a more efficient and
flexible method of transferring dredged
material should be evaluated. Therefore,
the Hamilton Wetland Restoration
Project Dredged Material Aquatic
Transfer Facility SEIS/EIR (ATF SEIS/R)
evaluates alternative methods for the
transfer of dredged material to the
HWRP site. The ATF SEIS/EIR will
support decision making by USACE, the
Conservancy, and other responsible
agencies to implement the proposed
action and to ensure compliance with
the NEPA, CEQA, and other pertinent
laws and regulations.
The purpose of the proposed ATF is
to maximize the operational flexibility
of the HWRP to accommodate dredged
material from both large and small
dredging projects, as well as maximize
the potential for beneficial use of
dredged material at the HWRP site. Four
alternatives are analyzed in this
document: Alternative 1: No Action,
which includes the authorized use of a
hydraulic off-loader; Alternative 2:
Unconfined ATF (Proposed Action);
Alternative 3: Confined ATF; and
Alternative 4: Direct Channel to BMKV
Basin. Alternative 1 would include a
floating and pile-secured off-loader
facility, while Alternatives 2 and 3
would include construction of an in-Bay
ATF basin. Alternative 3 would include
incorporation of a structural enclosure
around the perimeter of the ATF basin.
Three of the alternatives (1–3) would
require a slurry delivery pipeline and
associated booster pump platform to
transport material. Alternative 4 would
involve dredging a direct channel from
the vicinity of the in-Bay disposal site,
SF–10, to the BMKV site and
construction of a transfer basin on the
BMKV site.

PUBLIC MEETING:
A public meeting will be held on
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 from
5:30–7:30 p.m. at the Bay Model Visitor
Center, Multi-Purpose Room, 2100
Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA.

The Hamilton Wetland Restoration
Project Dredged Material Aquatic
Transfer Facility SEIS/EIR is available
for review at http://www.hamiltonwetlands.org
Copies of the document are also available for
review during normal business hours at:
(1) Marin Civic Center, 3051 Civic
Center Drive #427, San Rafael, CA
94903.
(2) Marin County Free Library—South
Novato, 476 Ignacio Boulevard, Novato,
CA 94949.
(3) Novato Public Library, 1720
Novato Boulevard, Novato, CA 94947.
(4) Petaluma Regional Library, 100
Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma, CA 94952.
(5) Sonoma County Central Library,
3rd and E Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95402.
(6) California State Coastal
Conservancy, 1330 Broadway, 13th
Floor, Oakland, CA 94612.
Dated: October 10, 2008.
Laurence M. Farrell,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Commanding.
[FR Doc. E8–24848 Filed 10–17–08; 8:45 am]
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