Environmental Impact Statement; Henry County, Virginia |
|---|
|
Mack Frost Jr.
Federal Highway Administration
22 February 2018
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 36 (Thursday, February 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7841-7842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03597]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement; Henry County, Virginia
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), in coordination with the Virginia Department of
Transportation (VDOT), is issuing this notice of intent to advise the
public, agencies, and stakeholders that an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) will be prepared to study the effects of a highway
project under consideration along the Route 220 corridor in Henry
County, Virginia.
DATES: To ensure that a full range of issues related to the study are
addressed and all potential issues are identified, comments and
suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments and
suggestions concerning the range of issues to be evaluated in the EIS
should be submitted to FHWA at the address below within 30 days of the
issuance of this notice to ensure timely consideration.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mack Frost, Planning and
Environment Specialist, Federal Highway Administration, 400 North 8th
Street, Suite 750, Richmond, VA 23219-4825; email: Mack.Frost@dot.gov;
(804)-775-3352.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The environmental review of transportation
improvement alternatives for the Route 220 corridor will be conducted
in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), 23
U.S.C. 139, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations
implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), FHWA regulations implementing
NEPA (23 CFR 771.101-771.139) and all applicable Federal, State, and
local governmental laws and regulations.
1. Description of the Proposed Action: The EIS will evaluate the
environmental effects from reasonable project alternatives and
determine the potential for significant impacts to social, economic,
natural or physical environmental resources associated with these
alternatives.
2. Description of Study Area: A study area large enough to
incorporate detailed studies for a full range of reasonable
alternatives to be considered for the project will be evaluated. The
study area is anticipated to generally encompass a portion of Henry
County southeast of the City of Martinsville, roughly following
Greensboro Road (U.S. Route 220) from the North Carolina state line
until turning northeast along William F. Stone Highway (U.S. Route 58
Bypass) until A.L. Philpott Highway (U.S. Route 58). The specific
geographic limits of the study area will be informed during scoping and
defined through the course of the study.
3. Scoping and Public Review Process: VDOT, in coordination with
FHWA, will solicit public and agency comments through this notice as
well as public scoping meetings on the proposed action. The locations,
dates, and times for each meeting will be publicized through the VDOT
website (http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/salem/default.asp) and in
newspapers with local and regional circulation, including the Roanoke
Times and the Martinsville Bulletin. Scoping materials will be
available at the meetings and oral and written comments will be
solicited. Comments may also be sent to the address above.
Notification of the draft EIS for public and agency review will be
made in the Federal Register and using other methods to be jointly
determined by FHWA and VDOT. Those methods will identify where
interested parties can go to review a copy of the draft EIS.
For the draft EIS, public hearings will be held and a minimum 45-
day comment period will be provided. The hearings will be conducted by
VDOT and announced a minimum of 15 days in advance of the meetings.
VDOT will provide information for the public hearings, including the
locations, dates, and times for each meeting through a variety of means
including the VDOT website (http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/salem/default.asp) and by newspaper advertisement.
4. Additional Review and Consultation: The EIS will comply with
other Federal and State requirements including, but not limited to:
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972, the State water quality
certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act of 1972;
protection of endangered and threatened species under Section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act; consideration of cultural resources under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; protection of
water quality under the Virginia/National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System; and consideration
[[Page 7842]]
of minority and low income populations under Executive Order 12898; 23
U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48; 33 CFR part 325.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on
Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)
Issued on: February 13, 2018.
Mack Frost Jr.,
Environmental Specialist, Federal Highway Administration, Richmond,
Virginia.
[FR Doc. 2018-03597 Filed 2-21-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P