Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Sonoran Corridor Between Interstate 10 (I-10) and Interstate 19 (I-19) South of Tucson International Airport in Pima County, Arizona

Topics:  Interstate Highway System

Karla S. Petty
Federal Highway Administration
12 May 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 91 (Friday, May 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22182-22183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09452]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Sonoran 
Corridor Between Interstate 10 (I-10) and Interstate 19 (I-19) South of 
Tucson International Airport in Pima County, Arizona

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Arizona Department of 
Transportation (ADOT), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Tier 1 Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: The FHWA, as the Federal Lead Agency, and the ADOT, as the 
Local Project Sponsor, are issuing this notice to advise the public of 
our intention to prepare a Tier 1 EIS for the Sonoran Corridor between 
I-19 and I-10 south of the Tucson International Airport in Pima County, 
Arizona. The Tier 1 EIS will assess the potential social, economic, and 
natural environmental impacts of a transportation facility in the 
designated Sonoran Corridor across a reasonable range of corridor 
alternatives, including a ``No Build'' alternative. The Tier 1 EIS will 
be prepared in accordance with regulations implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and provisions of Fixing America's 
Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For FHWA, contact Mr. Ammon Heier, 
Area Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, 4000 North Central 
Avenue, Suite 1500, Phoenix, AZ 85012, telephone at 602-382-8983, or 
via email at Ammon.Heier@dot.gov. Regular office hours are from 7:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For 
ADOT, contact Mr. Carlos Lopez, Sonoran Corridor Project Manager, 
Arizona Department of Transportation, 205 South 17th Avenue, Mail Drop 
605E, Phoenix, AZ 85007, telephone at 602-712-4786, or via email at 
CLopez@azdot.gov. Regular office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Project information can 
be obtained from the project Web site at: https://www.azdot.gov/SonoranCorridor.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Alert 
interested parties to FHWA's plan to prepare the Tier 1 EIS; (2) 
provide information on the nature of the proposed action; (3) solicit 
public and agency input regarding the scope of the Tier 1 EIS, 
including the purpose and need, alternatives to be considered, and 
impacts to be evaluated; and (4) announce that public and agency 
scoping meetings will be conducted. The FHWA intends to issue a single 
Final Tier 1 EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) document pursuant to the 
FAST Act Section 1311 requirements, unless FHWA determines statutory 
criteria or practicability considerations preclude issuance of a 
combined document.
    The Tier 1 EIS will ensure, to the fullest extent possible, all 
environmental investigations, reviews, and consultations are 
coordinated as a single process, and compliance with all applicable 
environmental requirements be reflected in the environmental document. 
The Sonoran Corridor is a critical transportation facility that could 
help diversify, support, and connect the economy of Southern Arizona, 
and the entire State of Arizona. The intent of the Sonoran Corridor is 
to help alleviate traffic and improve the movement of people, goods, 
and services by reducing travel distances, and eliminate the need for 
vehicles to travel through the existing I-10 and I-19 traffic 
interchange near downtown Tucson. On December 4, 2015, the President 
signed into law the FAST Act, which is a 5-year legislation that 
provides long term funding certainty for planning efforts and 
investments that will help improve the Nation's surface transportation 
infrastructure. The FAST Act formally designates the Sonoran Corridor 
as a high-priority corridor, thus reinforcing the need to conduct a 
study for a future transportation facility between I-10 and I-19 south 
of Tucson International Airport.
    The FHWA and ADOT will undertake a scoping process for the Sonoran 
Corridor that will allow the public and interested agencies to comment 
on the scope of the environmental review process. The FHWA and ADOT 
will invite all interested individuals, organizations, public agencies, 
and Native American Tribes to comment on the scope of the Tier 1, 
including the purpose and need, alternatives to be studied, impacts to 
be evaluated, and evaluation methods to be used. The formal scoping 
period is anticipated to extend from May 12, 2017 to July 15, 2017. Two 
public scoping meetings and one agency scoping meeting for Federal, 
State, regional and local resource and regulatory agencies will be held 
during the formal scoping period. In addition, cooperating and 
participating agency invitation letters will be sent to agencies that 
have jurisdiction or may have an interest in the Sonoran Corridor.
    The buildings used for the meetings are accessible to persons with 
disabilities. Any person who requires special assistance, such as a 
language interpreter, should contact the Sonoran Corridor Tier 1 EIS 
Study Team at telephone 855-712-8530 or via email at 
Sonorancorridor@azdot.gov at least 48 hours before the meeting.
    Written comments on the scope of the Tier 1 EIS should be mailed 
to: Sonoran Corridor Tier 1 EIS Study Team, c/o ADOT Communications, 
1655 West

[[Page 22183]]

Jackson Street, Mail Drop 126F, Phoenix, AZ 85007; sent via email to 
Sonorancorridor@azdot.gov; or submitted on the study's Web site at 
https://www.azdot.gov/SonoranCorridor.
    The Paperwork Reduction Act seeks, in part, to minimize the cost to 
the taxpayer of the creation, collection, maintenance, use 
dissemination, and disposition of information. Accordingly, unless a 
specific request for a complete hardcopy of the NEPA document is 
received before it is printed, the FHWA and ADOT will distribute only 
electronic versions of the NEPA document. A complete copy of the 
environmental document will be available for review at locations 
throughout the study area. An electronic copy of the complete 
environmental document will be available on the study's Web site at 
https://www.azdot.gov/SonoranCorridor.

    Authority:  23 U.S.C. 315; 23 CFR 771.123.

    Issued on: May 4, 2017.
Karla S. Petty,
Arizona Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-09452 Filed 5-11-17; 8:45 am]
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