1. ERDC Knowledge Core
2. United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
3. South Atlantic Division
4. Jacksonville District
5. Environmental Documents

Title:	Herbert Hoover Dike Major Rehabilitation, Palm Beach County, Florida : Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
Authors:	United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Jacksonville District
Keywords:	Okeechobee, Lake (Fla.) Dikes (Engineering) Flood control
Publisher:	United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Jacksonville District.
Abstract:	The Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD) is approximately 143 miles long and was constructed around Lake Okeechobee, a 724‐square‐mile freshwater lake in south central Florida, for the purposes of flood risk management, navigation, agricultural and municipal water supply, prevention of saltwater intrusion, recreation, and the enhancement of environmental resources. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Jacksonville District, has operated and maintained HHD for over 75 years, with its highest priority being the continued safety of communities surrounding HHD. The HHD spans the following five counties around the perimeter of Lake Okeechobee: Glades, Hendry, Martin, Okeechobee, and Palm Beach (Figure 1‐1). In 1993, the Corps established priorities to address structural problems at individual sections of HHD according to the perceived risk of dike failure at that time (USACE, 1993); these sections were classified as Reaches (Figure 1‐2). Each reach was assigned a priority rating which corresponded to the assumed severity of potential seepage and stability problems within that Reach. Reach 1 was assigned the highest priority and rehabilitation efforts are nearing completion based on designs from the 2005 Supplemental MRR and EIS and subsequent Environmental Assessments (EA). The current construction of the cutoff wall should be considered successful at reducing the probability of life‐loss, and a step forward in reducing the Damn Safety Action Classification (DSAC) rating of the dam. However, during high lake stages (greater than 25 feet), a breach in Reach 3 (the 6.8 mile portion of the dike adjacent to Reach 1 between the Belle Glade and Lake Harbor) would flood much of the same area as a breach in Reach 1. Together this area (Reach 1 and 3) is known as Common Consequence Zone (CCZ) A (Figure 1‐3), and within the Dam Safety Modification Study, CCZ A was identified as the most at risk section of HHD. Since rehabilitation measures have been undertaken within all reaches within CCZ A with the exception of Reach 3, it is imperative that alternative rehabilitation measures extend through the rest of the CCZ A to avoid economic and environmental damages associated with a breach that would impact stakeholders and resources downstream of CCZ A. A breach would result in flooding to downstream areas, including the cities of Pahokee, Belle Glade, Lake Harbor and South Bay. Potential damages include life loss and human suffering, economic damages including impacts to the economically significant agriculture industry (including sugar cane), environmental damages to the Everglades, and adverse social impact. This 2015 Supplemental MRR EA (to the 2000 MRR) is evaluating alternatives for remediation of the dike for the 6.8 miles between Belle Glade and Lake Harbor within CCZ A (Figure 1‐3). Throughout the rest of this EA, the area of proposed remediation is referred to as CCZ A from Belle Glade to Lake Harbor.
Description:	Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact
Rights:	Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/11681/27242
Appears in Collections:	Environmental Documents