The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District (USACE) has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the remediation of a deteriorating crib wall above the spillway at the Whitney Point Lake Project located on the Otselic River in Broome County, New York. The proposed action consists of constructing an approximately 1600 linear-foot buttress in front of the existing crib wall, where a gravel maintenance road currently exists, and relocation of the maintenance road above the crib wall. Fill material for buttress construction will be excavated from an adjacent forested borrow area for the project construction. After construction the remaining borrow area not used for maintenance road relocation will be regraded, seeded, and planted with appropriate woody vegetation.
All proposed activities occur on USACE-managed lands for the purpose of maintaining the slope above the spillway. The Flood Control act of 1936, as amended by the Flood Control Act of June 28, 1938, authorized construction of Whitney Point Lake by USACE for the purposes of flood risk management, recreation, and environmental stewardship.
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), USACE has prepared this draft EA and evaluated potential effects on the human environment. All applicable environmental laws have been considered. Short-term, minor, adverse impacts from the project include dust, air emissions, and noise from construction activities, and loss of vegetation in areas disturbed. The construction of the buttress will replace the deteriorating crib wall, thereby ensuring future stability of the slope above the spillway and allowing continued safe use of the maintenance road by Whitney Point Dam staff. Appropriate steps to minimize potential adverse impacts, including the implementation of best management practices, will be incorporated into the project.
USACE requests comments regarding the draft EA and FONSI within 30 days of this notice. For federal and state agencies receiving a copy of this notice, we request that you provide comments concerning your responsibilities. The draft EA and FONSI are available at the USACE website: www.nab.usace.army.mil/home/public-notices/ops-public-notices. Comments can be submitted electronically to Joseph Chandler at joseph.w.chandler@usace.army.mil or by mail to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: Joseph Chandler, Planning Division, 10th Floor, 2 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201.