Environmental Impact Statement: Mid-States Corridor, Southern Indiana

Mayela Sosa
Federal Highway Administration
5 July 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32251-32252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14306]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Mid-States Corridor, Southern 
Indiana

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this 
notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) will be prepared for the proposed Mid-States Corridor in Southern 
Indiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Allen, Environmental 
Specialist, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Building, Room 254, 
575 North Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, Telephone 
(317) 226-7344, or Laura Hilden, Director of Environmental Services, 
Indiana Department of Transportation, 100 N Senate Avenue, Room N642, 
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, Telephone (317) 232-5018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA in cooperation with the Indiana 
Department of Transportation (INDOT) and the Mid-States Corridor 
Regional Development Authority (RDA) will prepare a Tier 1 EIS on 
proposed highway corridors to improve access to Southern Indiana 
population, manufacturing, and multimodal centers (e.g., river barge 
and rail connections).
    The southern terminus of the proposed action will be US 231 at the 
Indiana end of the Natcher Bridge crossing of the Ohio River near 
Rockport. The northern terminus will be at either I-69 or SR 37 at a 
location south of the intersection of these two routes in Monroe 
County, Indiana.
    The Tier 1 EIS for this proposed action will be to resolve ``big 
picture'' planning issues such as ``build'' vs. ``no-build''; facility 
type; preferred corridor; and logical termini for ``projects of 
independent utility'' within the preferred corridor. This proposed 
action is intended to strengthen the highway network in Southern 
Indiana by providing improved linkages among the existing highway 
routes in the region and by providing more direct connections among the 
region's major population and economic centers. By

[[Page 32252]]

strengthening the highway network, this proposed action is intended to 
stimulate economic growth in Southern Indiana by enhancing access to 
existing centers of economic activity and creating new opportunities 
where possible.
    The FHWA is using a tiered EIS to focus on issues in an organized 
manner as discussed in the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
regulations at 40 CFR 1502.20. The Tier 1 document will include in-
depth analysis of environmental, transportation, and economic impacts, 
as well as cost estimates. This document will provide the basis for 
FHWA to grant location approval for a specific corridor.
    The Tier 2 environmental documents will result from a series of 
smaller studies for individual sections of the corridor. Within each 
section of the corridor, specific alignments would be identified and 
evaluated based upon their social, economic and environmental impacts. 
The Tier 2 documents would be more closely tailored to address 
transportation needs within each project section.
    A scoping meeting will be held for the regulatory agencies. There 
also will be several public scoping meetings held at various locations 
in the project area. Early coordination letters describing the proposed 
action and soliciting comments will be sent to appropriate Federal, 
State, and local agencies. As part of the process, public hearings will 
also be held. Public notice will be given as to the time and place of 
the meetings and hearings. The public hearings will be held after the 
draft EIS is available for review.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed 
action is addressed and any significant impacts are identified, 
comments and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. 
Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and this Tier 1 
EIS should be directed to the FHWA or the INDOT at the address provided 
above.

(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: June 28, 2019.
Mayela Sosa,
Division Administrator, Indianapolis, IN.
[FR Doc. 2019-14306 Filed 7-3-19; 8:45 am]
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