Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East, proposes to pave approximately 3,100 feet of the land side slope on the 17th Street Canal levee, between levee station 553+89 and 585+66, Metairie, Louisiana, in Jefferson Parish. The purpose of the proposed project is to protect the structural integrity of the levee of the 17th Street Canal along Orpheum Avenue. Large vehicles turning onto Orpheum Avenue run atop the levee toe, creating rutted areas resulting in erosion that displaces soil from the levee into the street and private driveways along Orpheum Avenue. Approximately 9,011 cubic yards of concrete fill will be required for the approximately 3,100 feet (approximately 1.3 acres) of the proposed project area. The required slope paving will tie into the existing walkway atop the levee and the roadway. Only actions requiring a Section 408 permission are considered in this evaluation.
The authority to grant permission for temporary or permanent use, occupation or alteration of any USACE civil works project is contained in Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended, codified at 33 U.S.C. 408 (“Section 408”). Section 408 authorizes the Secretary of the Army to grant permission for the alteration or occupation or use of a USACE project if the Secretary determines that the activity will not be injurious to the public interest and will not impact the usefulness of the project.
This request will be reviewed pursuant to Section 408 and USACE Engineering Circular (EC) 1165-2-220, which provides policy and procedural guidance for processing requests to alter USACE civil works projects. The decision whether to grant permission for the requested alteration will be based on several factors. The benefits that reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal will be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. Review of the requests for modification will be reviewed by a USACE technical review team considering the following factors:
1) Potential to Impair the Usefulness of the Project. Proposed alterations will be reviewed to determine whether the alteration would limit the ability of the USACE project to function as authorized, or would compromise or change any authorized project conditions, purposes or outputs. If USACE determines that the usefulness of the authorized project would be impaired, the request will be denied.
2) Potential to be Injurious to the Public Interest. Proposed alterations will be reviewed to determine the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, on the public interest. Factors that may be relevant to the public interest depend upon the type of USACE project being altered and may include, but are not limited to, such things as conservation, economic development, historic properties, cultural resources, environmental impacts, water supply, water quality, flood hazards, floodplains, residual risk, induced damages, navigation, shore erosion or accretion, and recreation. This evaluation will consider information received from the interested parties, including tribes, agencies, and the public. The decision whether to approve an alteration will be determined by the consideration of whether benefits are commensurate with risks. If the potential detriments are found to outweigh the potential benefits, then it may be determined that the proposed alteration is injurious to the public interest.
3) Environmental Compliance. A decision on a Section 408 request is a Federal action and is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental compliance requirements. USACE is preparing an Environmental Assessment to evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed alteration on important resources. Comments received on this public notice will be used in the evaluation. The EA will not be published for public comment as this notice fulfills NEPA requirements for public participation. Any comments regarding the proposed alteration should be submitted during the public comment period.
WRITTEN COMMENTS MAY BE MAILED TO:
Department of the Army
Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District
ATTN: Tyler Stevens (CEMVN-PDC-C)
7400 Leake Ave.
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
WRITTEN COMMENTS MAY BE EMAILED TO: tyler.stevens@usace.army.mil
USACE is soliciting comments from interested parties to evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed alteration. Comments will be considered to assess impacts on the public interest factors listed above, as well as endangered species, historic properties, water quality, and general environmental effects. Comments will be used for environmental compliance coordination as required by NEPA.
Issuance of this notice does not imply Corps of Engineers endorsement of the project as described.
If you have any questions, please contact Tyler Stevens, Project Manager, by telephone at 504-862-1290 or via email at tyler.stevens@usace.army.mil.
Comments due by April 7, 2023.