NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Federal Consistency under the Coastal Zone Management Act; United States Army Corps of Engineers Erie Harbor Maintenance Dredging
[51 Pa.B. 1748]
[Saturday, March 27, 2021]This notice is published under section 306(d)(14) of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) (16 U.S.C.A. § 1455(d)(14)), regarding public participation during consistency determinations. The Department of Environmental Protection's (Department), Coastal Resources Management Program has received notice that the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is proposing to perform maintenance dredging of the Federal navigation channels at Erie Harbor in Erie County.
The USACE Buffalo District is planning to perform maintenance dredging and discharge sediment excavated from the authorized Federal navigation channels of Erie Harbor to maintain authorized channel depths. Federal navigation channels associated with the project at Erie Harbor include the entrance channel, harbor basin, approach area and two harbor areas. Up to one additional foot of sediment may be removed from the channels to ensure authorized depths are maintained and to account for dredging tolerance. An estimated 400,000 cubic yards of sediment is proposed to be dredged from the Federal navigation channels in this dredging cycle. All recovered sediment is proposed to be placed at the existing authorized 1-mile square open-water placement area in Lake Erie, located 3 1/3 miles from the Erie Harbor Pierhead light at an azimuth of 009°00`. The dredging operation is tentatively scheduled to be performed during the period between June 15, 2021, and September 15, 2021.
This activity is subject to Department review for Federal consistency because it is a Federal agency activity and will have reasonably foreseeable effects on the Commonwealth's coastal resources or uses.
In accordance with section 307 of the CZMA (16 U.S.C.A. § 1456) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regulations at 15 CFR Part 930, Subpart C (relating to consistency for Federal agency activities), USACE has determined that the proposed activity will be conducted in a manner consistent with the applicable enforceable policies of the Commonwealth's NOAA-approved Coastal Resources Management Program. Interested parties may request a copy of the Federal Consistency Determination from the Department contact listed as follows.
Questions regarding this review can be directed to Matthew Walderon, Federal Consistency Coordinator, at RA-Fed_Consistency@pa.gov or (717) 772-2196.
The Department will consider all comments received on or before Monday, April 12, 2021, before issuing a final Federal consistency concurrence or objection. Comments submitted by facsimile will not be accepted. All comments, including comments submitted by e-mail, must include the commentator's name and address. Commentators are encouraged to submit comments using the Department's online eComment tool at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment or by e-mail to ecomment@pa.gov. Written comments can be mailed to the Department of Environmental Protection, Policy Office, 400 Market Street, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063.
PATRICK McDONNELL,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-479. Filed for public inspection March 26, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]
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