Environmental Impact Statements: National Summary of Rescinded Notices of Intent |
|---|
Topics: Federal Highway Administration
|
Victor M. Mendez
Federal Register
June 1, 2011
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31676-31677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13541]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statements: National Summary of Rescinded
Notices of Intent
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that 11
States have rescinded Notices of Intent (NOIs) to prepare 21
Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for proposed highway projects.
The FHWA Division Offices, in consultation with the State departments
of transportation (State DOTs), determined that six projects were no
longer viable and have formally cancelled the projects. No further
Federal resources will be expended on these projects; the environmental
review process has been terminated. Seven projects have been reduced in
scope or found not to have significant impacts and now meet the
criteria for an Environmental Assessment (EA) or a Categorical
Exclusion (CE). Six projects are currently undergoing re-scoping. After
additional study, two individual projects were combined into a new
single corridor project and a new EIS will be prepared.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kreig Larson, Office of Project
Development and Environmental Review, (202) 366-2056, or Janet Myers,
Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-2019; Federal Highway
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by accessing
the Federal Register's home page at: http://www.archives.gov and the
Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara.
Background
The FHWA, as lead Federal agency under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and in furtherance of its oversight and stewardship
responsibilities under the Federal-aid highway program, periodically
requests that its Division Offices review, with the State DOTs, the
status of all EISs and place those projects that are not actively
progressing in a timely manner in an inactive project status. The FHWA
maintains lists of active and inactive EIS projects on its Web site at
http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/. The FHWA has determined that
inactive projects that are no longer a priority or that lack financial
resources should be rescinded with a Federal Register notice notifying
the public that project activity has been terminated. This notice
covers the time period since the last summary was issued on July 6,
2010, and published in the Federal Register at 75 FR 44044 (July 27,
2010). As always, FHWA encourages State DOTs to work with their FHWA
Division Office to determine when it is most prudent to initiate an EIS
in order to best balance available resources as well as the
expectations of the public.
The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that at the
request of 11 States (California, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, New
Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington) the FHWA
recently rescinded previously issued NOIs for 21 EISs for proposed
highway projects. A listing of these projects, general location,
original NOI date of publication in the Federal Register, and the date
that the NOI was formally rescinded by notice published in the Federal
Register, is provided below.
The FHWA Division Offices, in consultation with the State DOTs,
determined that six of these projects were no longer viable projects
and have formally cancelled those projects. The projects are: The
Skowhegan transportation and accessibility project in Somerset County,
Maine; the I-10/SR-25 connector in Harrison and Stone Counties,
Mississippi; US-49/I-20 interchange in Ranking County, Mississippi; US-
82/I-69 connector in Washington and Bolivar Counties, Mississippi;
proposed SR-15 near Beaumont, Harrison, George, Greene, Jackson, Perry,
and Stone, Mississippi; and the Southeastern Parkway and Greenbelt in
Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The FHWA Division Offices, in consultation with the State DOTs,
determined that seven additional projects would be reduced in scope or
are expected not to have significant impacts. In California, the
proposed 24th Street Improvement Project in Kern County has been
reduced in scope and now meets the criteria for an EA. New Mexico's
Northwest Loop project in Sandoval and Bernalillo Counties has been
reduced in scope and is now eligible for a CE. The Bridge
Rehabilitation and Interchange Improvements Project in Queens County,
New York, has been reduced in scope and will be eligible for a CE.
Route 475 in Knoxville, Loudon, Knox, and Anderson Counties, Tennessee,
now expects a significantly smaller traffic volume and will no longer
require an EIS. Seattle, Washington's Seattle Ferry Terminal (Colman
Dock) project has been reduced in scope and will require an EA or CE.
The Forest Road 56 improvement project in King County, Washington, has
been reduced in scope and an EA will be published. The extension of SR-
374 in Montgomery County, Tennessee, is not expected to have a
significant environmental impact and an EA will now be prepared.
Six projects are currently undergoing re-scoping and are expected
to require either an EA or CE when re-scoping is complete. These
projects include: The SH-44 project in Ada and Canyon Counties, Idaho;
the roadway improvement project in Warren County, Iowa; SH-71 in Travis
County, Texas; US-181/SH-286 in Nueces County, Texas; US-181/SH-286 in
Cameron County, Texas; and the proposed I-69
[[Page 31677]]
extension near Laredo and the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
In addition, after further study and interagency coordination, it
was determined that the SR138 and SR18 projects in Los Angeles County
and San Bernardino County, California, should be combined into one
project. A new NOI was issued and an EIS will be prepared.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Rescinded
State Project name NOI date NOI date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CA.......... New State Route 138 project in Los 10/12/07 9/24/2010
Angeles County.
CA.......... High Desert Corridor project, 1/27/2009 9/24/2010
State Route 18, in San Bernardino
County.
CA.......... 24th Street Improvement Project in 4/23/2008 11/10/2010
Kern County.
ID.......... State Highway 44 in Ada and Canyon 8/28/2007 3/17/2011
County.
IA.......... Roadway improvement project in 4/26/2007 8/4/2010
Warren County.
ME.......... The Skowhegan transportation and 11/29/2005 9/3/2010
accessibility project in Somerset
County.
MS.......... I-10/SR-25 connector in Harrison 8/12/2005 11/22/2010
and Stone Counties.
MS.......... US-49/I-20 interchange in Ranking 5/22/2009 11/30/2010
County.
MS.......... US-82/I-69 connector in Washington 11/29/2005 12/1/2010
and Bolivar Counties.
MS.......... SR-15 near Beaumont, Harrison, 5/28/2009 12/28/2010
George, Greene, Jackson, Perry,
and Stone.
NM.......... Northwest Loop project in Sandoval 1/16/2009 4/15/2011
and Bernalillo Counties.
NY.......... Bridge Rehabilitation and 3/12/2004 9/7/2010
Interchange Improvements Project,
Queens County.
TN.......... Route 475 in Knoxville, Loudon, 11/4/2005 9/21/2010
Knox, and Anderson Counties.
TN.......... SR-374 extension in Montgomery 4/21/2010 1/19/2011
County.
TX.......... SH-71 in Travis County............ 6/2/2008 9/7/2010
TX.......... US-181/SH-286 in Cameron County... 4/6/2007 10/15/2010
TX.......... US-181/SH-286 in Nueces County.... 4/6/2007 11/3/2010
TX.......... I-69 extension near Laredo and the 1/15/2004 1/25/2011
Lower Rio Grande Valley.
VA.......... Southeastern Parkway and Greenbelt 12/24/2003 11/17/2010
in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
WA.......... Seattle Ferry Terminal (Colman 3/17/2006 2/10/2011
Dock) in Seattle.
WA.......... Forest Road 56 in King County..... 4/27/2001 2/28/2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: May 23, 2011.
Victor M. Mendez,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011-13541 Filed 5-31-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P