WPL-001

Published Dec. 11, 2018

 All Interested Parties: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District (USACE-Baltimore) is in the process of updating the Master Plan for the Whitney Point Lake Project (WPL) located on the Otselic River in Broome County, New York. USACE is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, to assess the impact of the Master Plan Revision to the human and natural environment.

WPL was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936, and was constructed, and is managed, by USACE for the purposes of flood risk management, recreation, and environmental stewardship. This Master Plan considers all USACE-managed and maintained portions of land at WPL. It does not consider specific future development opportunities for leased areas, including Dorchester Park (Managed by Broome County Parks and Recreation) and the water surface area (Managed by NY Department of Environmental Conservation).

The draft EA is expected to be publicly released in spring 2019. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the initiation of the preparation of an EA for the WPL Project Master Plan. We request that federal and state agencies provide information concerning interests within your organization’s area of responsibility or expertise, and the public provide information that may be pertinent to this assessment. Comments or information that may be pertinent to this assessment may be provided to the address listed below until January 30, 2019. A timely review of the enclosed map and a written response will be greatly appreciated and will assist us with the preparation of the EA.

A public meeting will be held after the initial public comment period, ending January 30, 2019, to allow opportunity for the public to submit ideas, comments, and feedback on the Draft Master Plan and Draft EA. This public meeting is planned to occur in March 2019. A Public Notice will be posted, for interested parties, on the project’s website and social media, and sent out via individual mailings, in advance of the meeting, indicating the location and time of the event. All updates regarding the Master Plan Update and public meetings may be found on the following site: https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/WPL-Master-Plan-Revision/.

If you would like to request a public scoping meeting before the formulation of the Draft Master Plan and Draft EA to discuss the scope and intent of this project please do so by December 31, 2018 OR if you have any questions, please contact Major Terrence Harrington at (410) 962-1846 or at Terrence.G.Harrington@usace.army.mil. Additionally, questions can be mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Planning Division, Subject: Whitney Point Lake Project, 2 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201.

 

Daniel M. Bierly, P.E.

Chief, Civil Project Development Branch