OMAHA,Neb. -- A draft integrated letter report and programmatic environmental assessment has been developed to determine the economic and environmental impacts of Federal participation in state-managed watercraft inspection programs along the South Platte River Basin in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Public comments on the draft EA will be accepted until Jan. 1, 2021.
The existing watercraft inspection programs are managed collaboratively by the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, where watercraft transported along highways are inspected for the presence of aquatic invasive species and decontaminated when detected.
If approved, Federal participation in the program would be cost-shared 50 percent with each of the states. A regional strategy would then be employed to identify locations that would provide the greatest likelihood of preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species to reservoirs operated and maintained by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers in the South Platte River Basin. Several strategies that could be used include expanding the number of locations or hours of operation at existing inspection stations, adding canine detection capabilities, increasing public awareness, constructing site improvements, augmenting existing monitoring efforts and contingency, and response planning efforts.
The public is encouraged to provide comments on the draft integrated letter report and programmatic environmental assessment, available at: www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Planning/Project-Reports/. Comments can be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District; CENWO-PMA-C; ATTN: Clayton Ridenour, Watercraft Inspection EA; 1616 Capitol Avenue; Omaha, NE 68102-4901. Comments can also be emailed to: cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil. Comments must be postmarked or received no later than Jan. 1, 2021.
This draft EA is consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), the USACE regulations for implementing NEPA (33 CFR 325 and Engineering Regulation 200-2-2) and other applicable environmental laws and regulations.
A draft integrated letter report and programmatic environmental assessment has been developed to determine the economic and environmental impacts of Federal participation in state-managed watercraft inspection programs along the South Platte River Basin in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Public comments on the draft EA will be accepted until Jan. 1, 2021.
The existing watercraft inspection programs are managed collaboratively by the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, where watercraft transported along highways are inspected for the presence of aquatic invasive species and decontaminated when detected.
If approved, Federal participation in the program would be cost-shared 50 percent, with each of the states. A regional strategy would then be employed to identify locations that would provide the greatest likelihood of preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species to reservoirs operated and maintained by USACE in the South Platte River Basin. Several strategies that could be used include expanding the number of locations or hours of operation at existing inspection stations, adding canine detection capabilities, increasing public awareness, constructing site improvements, augmenting existing monitoring efforts and contingency, and response planning efforts.
The public is encouraged to provide comments on the draft integrated letter report and programmatic environmental assessment, available at: www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Planning/Project-Reports/. Comments can be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District; CENWO-PMA-C; ATTN: Clayton Ridenour, Watercraft Inspection EA; 1616 Capitol Avenue; Omaha, NE 68102-4901. Comments can also be emailed to: cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil. Comments must be postmarked or received no later than Jan. 1, 2021.
This draft EA is consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), USACE regulations for implementing NEPA (33 CFR 325 and Engineering Regulation 200-2-2) and other applicable environmental laws and regulations.