Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed Highway Project in Arkansas

Vivien N. Hoang
Federal Highway Administration
1 July 2021

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 124 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35145-35147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14062]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2021-0009]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
a Proposed Highway Project in Arkansas

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: FHWA, in coordination with the Arkansas Department of 
Transportation (ARDOT), is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
solicit comments and advise the public, agencies, and stakeholders of 
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be prepared to study 
the effects of a highway project under consideration for the Highway 67 
corridor in Clay, Greene, Lawrence, and Randolph counties, Arkansas. 
This notice contains a summary of the information as required in the 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) regulations. This NOI should be reviewed together with the 
Supplementary NOI Information document which contains important details 
about the proposed project.

DATES: Comments on the NOI or the Supplementary NOI Information 
document must be received on or before August 2, 2021.

ADDRESSES: This NOI and the Supplementary NOI Information document are 
available in the docket referenced above at http://www.regulations.gov 
and on the project website located at 
Future57.transportationplanroom.com. The Supplementary NOI Information 
document also will be mailed upon request. Interested parties are 
invited to submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Website: For access to the documents, go to the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal located at http://www.regulations.gov or the project website 
located at Future57.transportationplanroom.com. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Fax: Randal Looney at 501-324-6423.
    Mailing address or for hand delivery or courier: Federal Highway 
Administration, Arkansas Division, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room 3130, 
Little Rock, AR 72201.
    Email address: Randal.Looney@dot.gov.

All submissions should include the agency name and the docket number 
that appears in the heading of this Notice. All comments received will 
be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov or 
Future57.transportationplanroom.com, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to get 
on the project mailing list, contact Mr. Randal Looney, Environmental 
Coordinator, Federal Highway Administration, Arkansas Division Office, 
700 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 3130, Little Rock, AR 72201-3298, email: 
randal.looney@dot.gov, (501) 324-6430; or Mr. Bill McAbee, 
Environmental Project Manager, Garver, 4701 Northshore Drive, North 
Little Rock, Arkansas 72118, email: WCMcAbee@GarverUSA.com, (501) 376-
3633.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The environmental review of transportation 
alternatives for the Highway 67 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, 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.
    The EIS will evaluate the environmental effects of all reasonable 
project alternatives and determine the

[[Page 35146]]

potential impacts to social, economic, natural, and physical 
environmental resources associated with these alternatives. Federal 
agencies will work together to identify and mitigate any potentially 
significant impacts through the NEPA process. All reasonable 
alternatives, including new location alignments and improvements to 
existing Highway 67, will be considered, screened, and carried forward 
for detailed analysis in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) based on their ability to address the project's purpose and need 
while minimizing adverse impacts to the natural and social 
environments.
    The project team sent letters describing the proposed NEPA study 
and soliciting input to the appropriate federal, tribal, state, and 
local agencies who have expressed or are known to have an interest or 
legal role in this project. Additional comments from the public, 
interest groups, private organizations, and other agencies will be 
solicited through an additional public hearing for the DEIS. The 
project is needed because there is a gap in the system linkage that 
diminishes connectivity and mobility of the National Highway System. 
Additionally, there is a lack of reliable transportation infrastructure 
to support economic development and a need to enhance resiliency to 
extreme weather events along the route. Furthermore, Federal 
legislation designated this high priority corridor as future Interstate 
Route 57 (I-57). The project's purpose is to develop an interstate 
highway system that addresses the above-described needs while 
minimizing the negative impacts to the natural and social environment.
    All build alternatives begin at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas and end at 
the Arkansas-Missouri state line, a distance of approximately 42 miles. 
There are currently three build alternatives and the no-build 
alternative under consideration. The build alternatives include 
Alternative 1, an evaluation of improvements to existing Highway 67 
with new location bypasses around the towns of Pocahontas and Corning; 
Alternative 2, which generally lies between Highway 67 and the Dave 
Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area (DDWMA) turning north on 
the east side of Corning up to the Arkansas-Missouri state line on all-
new location; and Alternative 3, which generally parallels the Highway 
90 corridor east of the DDWMA until reaching the town of Knobel where 
the study corridor turns north passing east of Corning and to the 
Arkansas-Missouri state line and is all on new location. Three 
approximately 1.7-mile alternatives provide the final connection 
between the main alternatives and the Arkansas-Missouri state line. 
These ``connector'' alternatives are named A, B, and C: Alternative A 
lies to the east of Highway 67 on new location, Alternative B improves 
existing Highway 67, and Alternative C lies to the west of Highway 67 
on new location. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is a 
cooperating agency on this project and is working closely with ARDOT on 
the connector location because this will determine the southern 
terminal for the MoDOT section of future I-57. The No-build Alternative 
will not meet the purpose and need but is retained throughout the study 
process to help evaluate the positive and negative impacts of the build 
alternatives. Maps of the study area and alternatives are included in 
the Supplementary NOI Information document and on the project website 
interactive map.
    Anticipated environmental constraints for the project include 
potential impacts to the DDWMA, the Black and Current Rivers, vegetated 
and farmed wetlands, floodplains, threatened and endangered species and 
their habitat, cultural resources, residential homes, businesses, and 
farmlands. Alternative 1 has the greatest potential to impact homes, 
businesses, and cultural resources due to improvements to the already 
developed Highway 67 corridor. Alternatives 2 and 3 are on new location 
with minor impacts to the human environment but have the greatest 
potential impact on farmlands and farmed wetlands. Preliminary 
estimates of possible impacts can be seen in the Supplementary NOI 
Information document.
    Permits and authorizations anticipated for the project include a 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Section 404 of the Clean Water (33 
U.S.C. 1344) and Section 10 (33 U.S.C. 403) of the Rivers and Harbors 
Act standard (individual) permit for wetland/stream impacts and impacts 
to navigable waters, and Section 408 (U.S.C. 33 U.S.C. 408) approval 
for Civil Works project impacts such as levees.
    Formal coordination with the USACE began in November 2020 when they 
accepted the responsibility to be a cooperating agency. A Section 401 
Water Quality Certification from the Arkansas Department of Energy and 
Environment (ADEE) will be required for potential impacts to surface 
waters. Formal coordination began in May 2020 when ADEE accepted the 
responsibility to be a participating agency. Consultation with the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pursuant to Section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. Section 1536), will be required for 
biological assessments and threatened and endangered species surveys. 
Formal coordination with the USFWS began in May 2020 when they accepted 
the responsibility to be a cooperating agency. A Request for Technical 
Assistance for USFWS was completed in early 2020 and a preliminary plan 
for habitat resource evaluations and bat and mussel surveys was 
recently submitted to the USFWS for review. Consultation with the State 
Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) for compliance with Section 106 
regulations will be required for historical and archeological resources 
potentially impacted. Formal coordination with the SHPO began in 
January 2021 when they accepted the responsibility to be a 
participating agency.
    Early scoping for this EIS study started with the local official 
and public meetings held in August and September 2020 and it will 
continue for 30 days after publication of this NOI. Project scoping 
also includes the previous studies' public meetings as described below. 
In 1996, ARDOT completed a planning study specifically for the current 
project area. In 2015, ARDOT conducted a second planning study and 
included substantial public and local official input and consideration 
of environmental impacts. The 2015 planning study recommendations are 
the basis for the preliminary range of alternatives currently under 
consideration. In August 2020, the project team held virtual meetings 
with local officials and the public and included the draft purpose and 
need document, three 1,000-foot-wide corridors, and other project 
information. The project team solicited comments on the presented 
materials and encouraged the public to be as detailed and specific as 
possible. Additional public, local official, and agency outreach will 
be conducted for the DEIS.
    The publication date of the NOI will start a two-year time clock 
for the agency to reach its final decision on the project (40 CFR 
1501.10(a) and (b)(2)). The schedule for completing the Draft EIS, 
Final EIS/Record of Decision (ROD), and permits is as follows: Draft 
EIS May 31, 2022; Final EIS/ROD February 28, 2023; Section 404, 408, 
and 10 permit--July 31, 2023; Section 401 certification July 31, 2023; 
Section 106 consultation May 31, 2022; Section 7 consultation June 15, 
2022.
    With this Notice, FHWA and ARDOT request and encourage State, 
Tribal, and local government agencies, and the

[[Page 35147]]

general public, to review the complete NOI (including the Supplementary 
NOI Information document) and submit comments on any aspect of the 
project that might benefit the project understanding. Specifically, 
agencies and the public are asked to identify and submit potential 
alternatives for consideration and information such as anticipated 
significant issues or environmental impacts and analyses relevant to 
the proposed action for consideration by the lead and cooperating 
agencies in developing the Draft EIS. There are several methods to 
submit comments as described in the Addresses section of this Notice. 
Any questions concerning this proposed action should be directed to 
FHWA at the physical address, email address, or phone number provided 
in the For Further Information Contact section of this Notice.

(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.)

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 23 CFR part 771.

Vivien N. Hoang,
Division Administrator, Little Rock, Arkansas.
[FR Doc. 2021-14062 Filed 6-30-21; 8:45 am]
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