Environmental Impact Statement: Will and Kankakee Counties, IL and Lake County, IN

J. Michael Bowen
Federal Highway Administration
February 13, 2013

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 10249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03289]



[[Page 10249]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Will and Kankakee Counties, IL 
and Lake County, IN

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a 
Tier Two Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared for the 
Illiana Corridor in Will and Kankakee Counties, Illinois and Lake 
County, Indiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. Michael Bowen, P.E., Acting 
Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 3250 Executive 
Park Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703, Phone: (217) 492-4600. John 
Fortmann, P.E., Deputy Director of Highways, Region One Engineer, 
Illinois Department of Transportation, 201 West Center Court, 
Schaumburg, Illinois 60196, Phone: (847) 705-4000. James A. Earl, II, 
P.E., Project Manager, Indiana Department of Transportation, 100 North 
Senate Avenue, IGCN 642, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, Phone: (317) 232-
2072.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Illinois 
Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Indiana Department of 
Transportation (INDOT), will prepare a Tier Two Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Illiana Corridor. The study area is an 
approximately 2,000 foot wide, 47-mile long east-west oriented corridor 
with a western terminus at I-55 just north of the City of Wilmington in 
Illinois and an eastern terminus at I-65 approximately 3 miles north of 
State Route 2 in Indiana. The Tier Two EIS will present further detail 
on a range of alternatives within the selected corridor identified in 
Tier One, an evaluation of impacts of the alternatives, and actions for 
mitigating project impacts to environmental resources. In general, the 
range of alternatives considered in a Tier Two study will be confined 
to the selected corridor. However, the flexibility will exist to 
consider alternatives with minor excursions outside the selected 
corridor to avoid impacts within the selected corridor not anticipated 
in the Tier One EIS, or to address context sensitive design issues in a 
way that does not materially increase overall impacts.
    The primary environmental resources that may be affected are: 
residential properties, agricultural land, floodplains, wetlands, and 
sensitive wildlife species. This project is being developed using the 
Context Sensitive Solutions policies of the Illinois and Indiana 
Departments of Transportation and will strive to achieve sustainable 
design concepts. Alternatives to be evaluated will include (1) taking 
no action and (2) evaluating alternatives within the corridor that was 
selected in Tier One, including consideration of multiple alignment or 
design options within the selected corridor, financing options, and 
construction sequencing options.
    As part of the EIS process, a scoping meeting for obtaining input 
from federal and state resource and regulatory agencies will be held on 
February 22, 2013. The scoping meeting will discuss the level of detail 
and methodologies to be used in the Tier Two EIS, as well as addressing 
the continuation of the bi-state agency coordination process, and will 
be conducted interactively on February 22, 2013 at multiple locations 
including Chicago and Springfield, Illinois and Indianapolis, Indiana. 
For details regarding these locations, Mr. J. Michael Bowen may be 
contacted at (217) 492-4600. A Tier Two Stakeholder Involvement Plan 
(SIP), which meets the requirements of a coordination plan, will be 
developed to ensure that a full range of issues related to the Tier Two 
studies are identified and addressed. The SIP provides meaningful 
opportunities for all stakeholders to participate in defining 
transportation issues and solutions for the study area. The web site 
established for this project (http://illianacorridor.org/) is one 
element of the public involvement program.
    Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the Tier 
Two EIS are invited from all interested parties and should be directed 
to the FHWA at the address provided above. The Tier Two Draft EIS will 
be available for public and agency review after its publication. A 
public hearing will be held during the public comment period for the 
Draft EIS. Public notice will be given of the time and place of public 
meetings and hearings.
    The Tier Two EIS will conclude with a Record of Decision 
identifying a selected alignment for the transportation facility.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations 
implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental 
consultation on Federal programs and activities apply to this 
program).

    Issued on: February 7, 2013.
J. Michael Bowen,
Acting Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 
Springfield, Illinois.
[FR Doc. 2013-03289 Filed 2-12-13; 8:45 am]
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