[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38375-38376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15735]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) for the Taos Regional Airport Layout Plan
Improvements, Taos, NM
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement.
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Location: The Taos Regional Airport (SKX) is located in north Taos
County, New Mexico, approximately seven miles northwest of the Town of
Taos.
SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this Notice to advise the public that it
has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a
proposed new runway and associated facilities and improvements at the
Taos Regional Airport, Taos, New Mexico. The FEIS reflects the Section
106 consultations between the FAA, the Taos Pueblo, Town of Taos,
National Park Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, New
Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and the New Mexico
Department of Transportation regarding adverse effects on the Taos
Pueblo World Heritage Site and other traditional cultural properties
within the National Register Eligible Historic District associated with
the Taos Pueblo. The FEIS also includes floodplain impact evaluations.
The FAA is seeking comments on those sections of the FEIS that have
been updated and/or contain information that has become available since
the release of the DEIS. Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section below for more information.
The FAA is providing a thirty day (30) day FEIS review period. The
FEIS review period begins on the date of the publication of this Notice
of Availability in the Federal Register, and will close on July 30,
2012. The FAA must receive written comments on these subsections
postmarked no later than July 30, 2012. Comments received after that
date may not be considered by the FAA.
All comments on the FEIS are to be submitted to Mr. Dean McMath of
the FAA, at the address shown in the section below entitled, ``For
Further Information or to Submit Comments''.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA, as the lead Federal agency, has
prepared the EIS for the proposed new runway and related facilities and
improvements at SKX. The Department of Interior National Park Service
and the Taos Pueblo are Cooperating Agencies for the preparation of the
EIS.
The airport development action proposed by the Town of Taos (the
Airport Sponsor) is the construction of a new runway at SKX that would
be 8,600 feet long and 100 feet wide. Related facilities and
improvements proposed by the Airport Sponsor include grading and
drainage improvements, taxiways, new airfield lighting, communication
equipment, and navigational aids associated with the new runway;
shortening the existing Runway 4/22 by 420 feet; construction of a new
airport access road; and, extension of an on-airport access road.
The FAA published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in
October, 2006. The DEIS was prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The DEIS comparatively
assessed and disclosed the potential future impacts of the No-Action
[[Page 38376]]
Alternative and three proposed action alternatives designated as
Alternative 2-C, Alternative 2-D, and Alternative 3.
Since the publication of the DEIS, the FAA has addressed comments
received on the DEIS; addressed comments on the Preliminary FEIS
provided by Cooperating Agencies; conducted additional technical
analyses; conducted the Section 106 consultation process; and prepared
the FEIS. The Section 106 consultation process resulted in the
execution of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in February 2012.
Because the DEIS is more than three years old, the FAA evaluated
the DEIS to determine whether the consideration of alternatives,
affected environment, environmental impacts, and mitigation measures in
the DEIS remains applicable, accurate, and valid in accordance with FAA
Order 1050.1E, paragraph 514a and 5050.4B, Section 1401.b.3. The FAA
found that substantial changes in these factors have not occurred and
that a complete revision or supplement to the DEIS was not warranted.
However, FAA's review of current information did note that some social
and environmental changes have occurred since the DEIS was published in
2006. The FAA evaluated the new information and determined that the
changes did not affect the range of alternatives considered or the
detailed analysis of alternatives conducted in this FEIS. However, to
document and disclose the social and environmental changes that have
occurred, the FAA prepared a technical memorandum that presents the new
information and discusses any potential impacts related to the changed
social and environmental conditions. The technical memorandum is
contained in the FEIS.
The FAA is making available the FEIS it prepared addressing a
proposed new runway and associated facilities and improvements at the
Taos Regional Airport. The FEIS discloses:
The purpose and need for the proposed project;
Reasonable alternatives analyzed and the FAA's preferred
alternative;
Potential environmental impacts and consequences
associated with those alternatives;
FAA's responses to comments it received on the DEIS; and
How FAA has complied with various resource laws,
regulations and executive orders, including the National Environmental
Policy Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act,
Executive Order (EO) 12898, ``Federal Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations'', and EO
11988, ``Floodplain Management.''
Public Review and Comment: The FEIS is available for review during
normal business hours at the following locations:
FAA Southwest Regional Office, 2601 Meacham Boulevard,
Fort Worth, Texas 76137,
Taos Regional Airport, Highway 64 West, 1 Airport Road,
Taos, New Mexico 87571,
Taos Town Hall, 400 Camino de la Placita, Taos, New Mexico
87571, and
Taos Public Library, 402 Camino de la Placita, Taos, New
Mexico 87571.
Comments should be as specific as possible and address the analysis
of potential environmental impacts, the adequacy of the proposed
action, or the merits of alternatives and the mitigation being
considered. Reviewers should organize their participation so that it is
meaningful and makes the agency aware of the viewer's interests and
concerns using quotations and other specific references to the text of
the FEIS and related documents. This is intended to ensure that
substantive comments and concerns are made available to the FAA in a
timely manner so that the FAA has an opportunity to address them in its
Record of Decision (ROD).
Comments can only be accepted with the full name and address of the
individual commenting. Before including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal identifying information in your
comment, be advised that your entire comment--including your personal
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask the FAA in your comment to withhold from public
review your personal identifying information, the FAA cannot guarantee
that it will be able to do so.
After review and consideration of the comments received on the
FEIS, and sometime after the 30-day comment period on the FEIS has
ended, the FAA will issue its ROD.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT OR TO SUBMIT COMMENTS: Dean McMath,
ASW-613, Regional Environmental Programs Manager, Federal Aviation
Administration, Southwest Regional Office, Fort Worth, Texas 76193,
telephone (817) 222-5617.
Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 19, 2012.
Kelvin L. Solco,
Manager, Airports Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-15735 Filed 6-26-12; 8:45 am]
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