PUBLIC NOTICE
REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO ALTER A U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PROJECT UNDER SECTION 408
TITLE: Rio Grande Levee Realignment – Geotechnical Testing (408-SPA-2024-003)
PUBLIC NOTICE COMMENT PERIOD:
Begins: August 18, 2025
Ends: September 17, 2025
REQUESTER: In compliance with U.S.C. Title 33, Chapter 9, Subchapter 1, Section 408, the City of Alamosa (requester and non-federal sponsor of the federally authorized project) has requested permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to alter the Alamosa Rio Grande Right Levee project, which is a federal flood risk management project authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1986.
LOCATION: The Rio Grande Levee Realignment – Geotechnical Testing project is located in Alamosa County, Colorado, in the City of Alamosa, on the eastern edge of Cole Park, at approximately Latitude 37.47192°, Longitude -105.86234°.
REQUESTER’S PROPOSED ACTON: The purpose of the Rio Grande Levee Realignment – Geotechnical Testing project is to perform subsurface drilling and collection of soil samples utilizing standard penetration tests (SPT) (ASTM D1586) to collect samples for laboratory testing. The proposed subsurface investigation is necessary for the collection of data to aid in the design for the proposed realignment of the Rio Grande levee in Alamosa, Colorado as part of the overall Alamosa Riverfront Project.
The Alamosa Riverfront Project aims to restore river health and increase recreation along the Rio Grande River within Alamosa, Colorado. The currently proposed subsurface drilling will provide geotechnical information to aid in design of the proposed realignment of the section of the Rio Grande levee along Cole Park. The levee setback is planned to allow for a gently sloped beach toward the river to allow safe river access with ADA compliant accessible trails and improvements.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION:
The project site includes approximately 400 linear feet of the levee. A total of two borings are proposed for collecting the subsurface data required for the project. Due to site access constraints, both borings will be located at the approximate centerline of the levee.
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
The Corps has reviewed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's latest published version of federally listed endangered and threatened species located in Alamosa County, Colorado to determine if any listed species or their critical habitat may occur in the proposed project action area. The listed species include the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus), the threatened western yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus), the threatened silverspot butterfly (Speyeria nokomis nokomis), the proposed endangered Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi) and the proposed threatened monarch butterfly (Danaus Plexippus). The Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project will not affect any federally listed endangered or threatened species or their critical habitats that are protected by the Endangered Species Act.
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
The Corps consulted district files and records, the latest version of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and state records of NRHP-eligible and potentially eligible historic properties to determine if there are any historic properties that may be affected by the proposed undertaking. The proposed project permit area has been extensively modified by previous work and the project involves work of a limited nature and scope and has little likelihood of impinging upon a historic property even if such properties were to be present. Based on this initial information, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project will not likely affect any historic properties that meet the criteria for inclusion in the NRHP.
AUTHORITY: 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, on the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers, 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 impair the usefulness of the project. The Secretary of Army’s authority under Section 408 has been delegated to the USACE, Chief of Engineers. The USACE Chief of Engineers has further delegated the authority to the USACE, Directorate of Civil Works and Division and District Engineers, depending upon the nature of the activity.
LIMITS OF SECTION 408 AUTHORITY: A requester has the responsibility to acquire all other permissions or authorizations required by federal, state, and local laws or regulations, including any required permits from the USACE Regulatory Program under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403) and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1344). In addition, an approval under Section 408 does not grant any property rights or exclusive privileges nor does it authorize any injury to the property or rights of others.
EVALUATION FACTORS: The decision whether to grant the requested permission for project alteration under Section 408 will be based on several factors. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefit which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. Review of requests for alteration will be reviewed by a USACE technical review team considering the following factors:
1) Impair the Usefulness of the Project Determination. The review team will determine if the proposed 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. In order for an alteration to be approved, the requester must demonstrate that the alteration does not impair the usefulness of the federally authorized project.
2) Injurious to the Public Interest Determination. 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 evaluation depend upon the type of USACE project being altered and the nature of the proposed alteration 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 benefits that reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal must be compared against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. The decision whether to approve an alteration will be determined by the consideration of whether benefits are commensurate with risks and by the net impact of the alteration on the public interest using the public interest factors.
3) Environmental Compliance. A decision on a Section 408 request is a federal action, and therefore subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental compliance requirements. While USACE is responsible for ensuring environmental compliance, the requester is responsible for providing all information that the Albuquerque District identifies as necessary to satisfy all applicable federal laws, executive orders, regulations, policies, and procedures. NEPA and other analysis completed to comply with other environmental statutes (e.g. Endangered Species Act) should be commensurate with the scale and potential effects of the activity that would alter the USACE project. The Albuquerque District will work with the requester to determine the requirements, which will be scaled to the likely impacts of the proposed alteration and should convey the relevant considerations and impacts in a concise and effective manner.
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public; federal, state, and local agencies and officials; tribes; and other interested parties regarding the Rio Grande Levee Realignment – Geotechnical Testing Project, a proposed alteration to a proposed federally authorized project. Comments received within 30 days of publication of this notice will be used in the evaluation of potential impacts of the proposed action on important resources and in the evaluation of whether the proposed alteration would be injurious to the public interest and/or would impair the usefulness of the authorized project. Only the specific activities that have the potential to occupy, use or alter the Alamosa Rio Grande Right Levee will be evaluated. Please limit comments to the area of the alteration and those adjacent areas that would be directly or indirectly affected by the alteration to the Alamosa Rio Grande Right Levee. Please note that all comment letters received are subject to release to the public through the Freedom of Information Act.
SUBMITTING COMMENTS: Written comments, referencing Department of the Army file number 408-SPA-2024-003 must be submitted to the office listed below on or before September 17, 2025.
S. Brad Crosson, Section 408 Coordinator, Regulatory Division, Albuquerque District
Email: CESPA-408@usace.army.mil
Attachments:
1) Proposed Project Vicinity and Location Map
2) Project Map
3) Site Plan Drawing