The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mobile District, will hold four public open houses during the last week of March as part of the update process of the Water Control Manual (WCM) for the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
The public is invited to attend the meetings which will provide information on the WCM DEIS. The DEIS presents the results of USACEs’ analysis of the environmental effects of the Proposed Action Alternative (PAA) for the ACT River Basin Master Water Control Manual.
“USACE evaluated an array of potentinal water management alternatives during the WCM update process, resulting in the selection of the PAA. Under the PAA, USACE would continue to operate the ACT as a system in a balanced manner to achive all authorized project purposes,” E. Patrick Robbins, Public Affairs Officer said.
The PAA includes the following changes from current operations:
· Revised drought plan with enhancements recommended by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
· Seasonal navigation releases, with seasonal maintenance dredging
· Guide curve and action zones changes at Allatoona and Carters Lakes
· Seasonal flow requirements below Carters Re-regulation dam
· Permanently raise of H Neely Henry winter guide curve
· Implement drought contingency curves at Alabama Power storage projects
All four meetings will be held using an open house format, allowing time for participants to review specific information and to provide comments to the resource staff attending the meeting.
The meeting dates and locations are as follows:
Cobb County, Ga.: Mar. 25, 2013 Rome, Ga.: Mar. 26, 2013
5 p.m. – 8 p.m (EDT) 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. (EDT)
Cobb Conference Center The Forum Civic Center
755 Cobb Place Blvd, NW 2 Government Plaza
Kennesaw, GA 30144 Rome, GA 301901
Gadsden, Ala.: Mar. 27, 2013 Montgomery, Ala.: Mar. 28, 2013
4 p.m. – 7 p.m. (CDT) 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. (CDT)
The Senior Activity Center Auburn University-Montgomery
623 Broad Street Center for Lifelong Learning
Gadsden, AL 35901 75 TechnaCenter Drive
Montgomery, AL 36117
An online version of the DEIS and appendices may be found at: http://www.sam.usace.army.mil. CDs will be available at the public meetings or by request to USACE, by letter addressed to: Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engnieers, Mobile District, Attn: PD-EI (ACT-DEIS), P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, AL 36628.
A 60-day comment period will follow publication of the DEIS. The final EIS (FEIS) is scheduled to be completed and filed with EPA in the summer of 2013. The Record of Decision (ROD), if appropriate, will be signed following the FEIS and the ACT Water Control Master Manual is scheduled to be approved in October 2013.
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