[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 95 (Thursday, May 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28873-28875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11627]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2012-1091]
Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for the Proposed Modification of the Bayonne Bridge
Across the Kill Van Kull Between Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey and
Staten Island, Richmond County, New York
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a Final
Environmental Assessment (Final EA) which examines the reasonably
foreseeable environmental impacts and socio-economic impacts of the
proposed modification of the historic Bayonne Bridge across the Kill
Van Kull between Bayonne, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York. This
notice also announces the availability of the Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI). Because the Bayonne Bridge is a structure over
navigable waters of the United States, the proposed bridge modification
requires a Coast Guard Bridge Permit Amendment. This notice provides
information on where to view the Final EA and FONSI, which consider an
application by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) for
Coast Guard approval of the modification to the Bayonne Bridge across
the Kill Van Kull.
ADDRESSES: We have provided a copy of the Final EA and FONSI in our
online docket at http://www.regulations.gov. Also, the Coast Guard
First District Bridge Office at 1 South Street Bldg 1, New York, NY
10004-1466 will maintain a printed copy of the Final EA and FONSI for
public viewing. The document will be available for inspection at this
location between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. The document will also be available for inspection in
the locations shown in the section below titled ``Viewing the Final EA
and FONSI.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice,
call or email Christopher Bisignano, Bridge Management Specialist,
First Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 212-668-7165,
email [email protected]. If you have questions on
viewing material on the docket, call Docket Operations at 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority: The Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact have been prepared in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.); Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR
1500-1508) and associated CEQ guidelines; Department of Homeland
Security Management Directive 5100.1, Environmental Planning Program;
and United States Coast Guard Commandant Instruction M16475.1D,
National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures and Policy
for Considering Environmental Impacts.
Viewing the Final EA and FONSI: To view Final EA and FONSI go to
http://www.regulations.gov, insert ``USCG-2012-1091'' in the Search
box, press Enter, then click on the ``Open Docket Folder'' option. If
you do not have access to the internet, you may view the docket online
by visiting the Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the
ground floor of the Department of Transportation West Building, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. We have an agreement
with the Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management
Facility. The Final EA and FONSI are also available online at http://www.uscg.mil/d1/prevention/Bridges.asp, www.dhs.gov/nepa, and http://www.panynj.gov/bayonnebridge/, and are available from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.,
Monday through Friday (except federal holidays and as noted below), for
inspection at the following locations:
1. U.S. Coast Guard Battery Bldg, 1 South Street, Building 1, New
York, NY 10004
2. U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York, 212 Coast Guard Drive, Staten
Island, NY 10305
3. Bayonne City Hall, 630 Avenue C, Bayonne, NJ 07002
4. Staten Island Borough Hall, 10 Richmond Terrace, Room 100,
Staten Island, NY 10301
5. Bayonne Public Library, 630 Avenue C, Bayonne, NJ 07002 (Also
available from 12 p.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays)
6. Port Richmond-NY Public Library, 75 Bennett Street, Staten
Island, NY 10302 (Also available 12 p.m.-5 p.m. on Thursdays and
Saturdays)
7. Ironbound Community Corp, 317 Elm Street, Newark, NJ 07105
8. New York Assembly District 61, 853 Forest Avenue, Staten Island,
NY 10301
[[Page 28874]]
9. New Jersey Legislative District 31, 447 Broadway, Bayonne, NJ
07002
10. New York City Council District 49, 130 Stuyvesant Place, Staten
Island, NY 10301
11. Staten Island Community Board 1, 1 Edgewater Plaza, Room 217,
Staten Island, NY 10305
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review a
Privacy Act, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in
the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
Background and Purpose
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has proposed to
modify the Bayonne Bridge across navigable waters of the United States
by raising the roadway thereby increasing the vertical navigational
clearance from approximately 151 feet to 215 feet at Mean High Water. A
thorough description of the project and how it would be completed can
be found at the project's Web site: http://www.panynj.gov/bayonnebridge/.
The proposed bridge modification project has been identified as a
nationally or regionally significant project under ''Implementing
Executive Order 13604 on Improving Performance of Federal Permitting
and Review of Infrastructure Projects: A Federal Plan for Modernizing
the Federal Permitting and Review Process for Better Projects, Improved
Environmental and Community Outcomes, and Quicker Decisions,'' dated
June 2012, which requires agencies to identify and expedite the
permitting and environmental review process for regionally or
nationally significant infrastructure projects. The existing Bayonne
Bridge has a vertical navigational clearance of approximately 151 feet
above the Kill Van Kull at Mean High Water. The applicant proposes to
increase the vertical navigational clearance to approximately 215 feet
above the waterway at Mean High Water to provide greater clearances to
accommodate larger, Post-Panamax vessels and thereby ensure the long-
term viability of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Post-Panamax
vessels are wider and taller ships with deeper drafts that will be able
to traverse through the Panama Canal once improvements on the canal are
completed in 2014. The expanded purpose of the Bayonne Bridge project
is to improve the substandard features and seismic stability of the
existing bridge and ensure it conforms to modern highway and structural
design standards. In addition, the existing bridge is eligible for
listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Therefore, the
Coast Guard initiated consultation under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act. The Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation accepted the Coast Guard invitation to participate in the
Section 106 process. As a result, a Section 106 Programmatic Agreement
was formulated and then executed on May 7, 2013. The Section 106
Programmatic Agreement has been included in the Final EA.
The Coast Guard issued a NEPA Workplan, dated September 2011, which
provided a discussion of the project's Purpose and Need, project
alternatives and the framework of the environmental analysis. On
October 31, 2011, the Coast Guard held a coordination meeting with
city, state and federal agencies to discuss the project's scope and the
NEPA Workplan. On November 14, 2011, the Coast Guard issued a
solicitation requesting comments from the general public for the scope
of the project and the NEPA Workplan. Comments received following the
meeting and during the solicitation comment period included concerns
from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the Environmental
Protection Agency, various private organizations and individuals, and
others regarding additional cargo volumes due to larger ships entering
the Port of New York and New Jersey, the expansion of the port and port
facilities, and the related impacts to air quality and traffic. In
response to these comments, an Induced Demand Analysis was conducted by
an independent source to study the impact of the proposed action to
those communities surrounding the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Further information regarding this analysis can be found in Chapter 18
of the Final EA and in Appendix I. In addition, the Coast Guard met
with representatives from minority and low income communities in Staten
Island, NY and Newark, NJ to explain the Coast Guard bridge permit
process and to ensure those communities had a voice in the public
comment process.
On January 4, 2013, the Coast Guard published a notice in the
Federal Register announcing the availability of the Draft EA, inviting
comments on it, and announcing the dates and locations of two public
meetings on the Draft EA (78 FR 740). On January 25, 2013, the Coast
Guard published a supplemental notice in the Federal Register
announcing the extension of the comment period to 60 days, and a third
public meeting. Public meetings were held on February 5, 2013, in
Bayonne, NJ, February 7, 2013, in Staten Island, NY, and February 13,
2013, in Newark, NJ. Based on the information received during the 60-
day public comment period, and during the three public meetings, the
Coast Guard has determined that a Final Environmental Assessment is the
most appropriate level of environmental documentation for this project.
The Coast Guard has determined that there are no significant impacts
and has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact. The Final EA and
appendices and FONSI are available online in the www.regulations.gov
docket as well as at http://www.uscg.mil/d1/prevention/Bridges.asp.
Alternatives for the proposed project considered include: (1)
Taking no action; (2) various build alternatives that satisfy the
purpose and need; (3) a tunnel; (4) new cargo terminals constructed
downstream of the Bayonne Bridge; and (5) a ferry service in lieu of
the bridge. Build alternatives included raising the roadway within the
existing superstructure (preferred), jacking the arch superstructure,
converting to a lift bridge, or constructing a new bridge.
As a structure over navigable waters of the United States, it
requires a Coast Guard Bridge Permit Amendment pursuant to the Bridge
Act of March 23, 1906, as amended, Title 33 U.S.C. 491. Additionally,
the bridge permit amendment would be the major federal action in this
undertaking since federal funds will not be used, and therefore the
Department of Homeland Security, through the Coast Guard is the federal
lead agency for review of potential effects on the human environment,
including historic properties, pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the
National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).
The Coast Guard, with assistance from PANYNJ, has prepared a Final
EA in accordance with NEPA. See ``Viewing the Final EA and FONSI''
above. The Final EA identifies and examines the reasonable alternatives
(including ``No Build'') and assesses the potential for impact to the
human environment, including historic properties, of the alternative
proposals.
This notice is issued under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552 (a).
Additionally, the Final EA and FONSI have been prepared in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act
[[Page 28875]]
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508) and associated CEQ
guidelines; Department of Homeland Security Management Directive
5100.1, Environmental Planning Program; and United States Coast Guard
Commandant Instruction M16475.1D, National Environmental Policy Act
Implementing Procedures and Policy for Considering Environmental
Impacts.
Dated: May 10, 2013.
Brian L. Dunn,
Administrator, Office of Bridge Programs, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2013-11627 Filed 5-15-13; 8:45 am]
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