[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 176 (Thursday, September 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55843-55844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19993]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
an Easement to Cross Under Lake Oahe, North Dakota for a Fuel-Carrying
Pipeline Right-Of-Way for a Portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (Corps), as lead agency, will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) pursuant to court order to evaluate granting an
easement to Dakota Access, LLC to cross federal land administered by
Corps for the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project on the Missouri River.
This notice opens the public scoping phase and invites interested
parties to identify issues and reasonable alternatives to the proposed
action that should be considered in the EIS.
DATES: To ensure consideration during the EIS process, written comments
on the scope of the EIS must be received no later than October 26,
2020. Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, virtual
scoping meetings will be held in lieu of in-person scoping meetings.
Virtual scoping meetings will be held on October 15 and 16, 2020.
Additional information is included under ``Public Scoping.''
ADDRESSES: Scoping comments can be submitted by mail or email. Please
do not submit comments on USB, hard drive, or other portable storage
devices.
Scoping comments can be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Omaha District, ATTN: CENWO-PM-A-C (DAPL NOI), 1616 Capitol Avenue,
Omaha, NE 68102.
Scoping comments can also be emailed to: NWO-DAPL-EIS@usace.army.mil.
If emailing comments, please use ``Scoping Comments, Dakota Access
Pipeline Crossing'' as the subject of your email.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heath Kruger, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers at (402)-995-2036 or by email at: NWO-DAPL-EIS@usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 25, 2016, the Corps granted
permission to applicant Dakota Access, LLC, under Section 14 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. 408 (408 permission), for a
proposed pipeline crossing under Lake Oahe approximately 0.5 miles
upstream of the northern boundary of the Standing Rock Reservation. The
approximately 1,172-mile pipeline connects the Bakken and Three Forks
oil production areas in North Dakota to an existing crude oil market
near Patoka, Illinois.
The 408 permission was supported by a Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) based on an Environmental Assessment (EA), as
contemplated under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This
EA/FONSI was completed on July 25, 2016, the date that the Corps
granted the 408 permission. On February 8, 2017, the Corps granted an
easement, with conditions, to cross federal property administered by
the Corps at Lake Oahe, North Dakota. The Corps granted the easement
under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), 30 U.S.C. 185. The easement
allowed for the installation, construction, operation, maintenance,
repair, replacement and termination of a thirty-inch diameter
horizontal directional drill buried oil pipeline for the purpose of
transporting crude oil, and related facilities, at or under Lake Oahe
Project in North Dakota, with a 50-foot wide width plus the ground
occupied by the pipeline and related facilities. Operation of the
pipeline began on June 1, 2017.
On March 25, 2020, the District Court for the District of Columbia
ordered the Corps to prepare an EIS for this portion of the pipeline
because the pipeline's ``effects on the quality of the human
environment are likely to be highly controversial.'' Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, No. 1: 16-cv-01534,
Memorandum Opinion (D.D.C. March 25, 2020), ECF No. 496.
The proposed crossing of Corps-administered federal property
requires the grant of a right-of-way (easement) under the MLA. Comments
are invited to assist in identifying the scope of potentially affected
environmental, social, and economic issues relevant to the potential
grant of an easement and determining if there are reasonable
alternatives to be considered in the EIS.
Consistent with the Court's decision, Dakota Access, LLC seeks an
easement from the Corps for the original proposed project whose
construction was completed on June 1, 2017. A decision on whether to
authorize the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe at the proposed location
would be based on: (1) The July 25, 2016, EA/FONSI; (2) the Corps'
August 31, 2018, analysis on remand from a decision by the District
Court; and (3) additional analysis developed through this EIS.
Scoping Process: As the lead federal agency, the Corps will also
coordinate with the public, other state and local agencies, and Tribes
in order to evaluate the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts of
the proposed project. Consistent with the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ's) NEPA implementing regulations, we anticipate that an
EIS will analyze the following possible alternatives:
(1) No action alternative, where the Corps would not grant an
easement and would require restoration of the Corps-administered
federal lands to pre-pipeline construction conditions;
(2) The Corps would not grant an easement and would take no further
action;
(3) The Corps would grant the requested easement with the same
conditions as the vacated easement; and
(4) The Corps would grant the requested easement with additional
conditions beyond those in the vacated easement.
As part of this notice, the Corps requests input on any additional
potential alternatives.
Public Scoping: This notice also serves to inform the public that
virtual public scoping meeting will be held during the 45-day scoping
period. Virtual scoping meetings will be held on October 15 and 16,
2020 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. central time on each day. The meeting
information can be accessed at https://go.usa.gov/xG2Pt. The Corps will
use the comments received to assist in identifying the significant
issues which should be addressed in the EIS.
Public Comment Availability: Before including your address,
telephone number, email address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made
publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment that
your personal identifying information be withheld from public review,
the
[[Page 55844]]
Corps cannot guarantee that this will occur.
D. Peter Helmlinger,
Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Division Commander.
[FR Doc. 2020-19993 Filed 9-9-20; 8:45 am]
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