[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78948-78950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30695]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
for the Route 460 Location Study From Prince George County to the City
of Suffolk, VA
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the United
States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Norfolk District, as joint lead
federal agencies, and in cooperation with the Virginia Department of
Transportation (VDOT), will prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
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Statement (SEIS) for the Route 460 Location Study Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS). The purpose of this SEIS is to evaluate new
information regarding the aquatic resource impacts and alternatives
described in the June 2008 FEIS and the September 2008 Record of
Decision (ROD). In addition, FHWA is evaluating proposed changes to the
termini of the selected alternative and the proposed interchange at
Route 620, and proposed changes to the selected alignment to avoid and
minimize aquatic resource impacts.
The USACE is preparing the document to produce a supplemented FEIS
that fully evaluates the new information and to gather information that
informs and supports the USACE's evaluation of the Department of the
Army Individual Permit (IP) application submitted by U.S. Route 460
Mobility Partners (the Applicant) for the discharge of fill material
into waters of the United States in conjunction with the construction
of the Route 460 Corridor Improvements Project (Project). The USACE was
a cooperating agency in the preparation of the June 2008 FEIS and will
adopt that document as appropriate.
DATES: Submit comments on or before January 27, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Alice Allen-Grimes, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory
Branch, 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510 or Ed Sundra, Division
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 400 North 8th Street,
Suite 750, Richmond, VA 23219.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alice Allen-Grimes, email:
[email protected]; (757) 201-7219. Ed Sundra, email:
[email protected]; (804) 775-3357.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Description of the Proposed Action and Background: U.S. Route
460 Mobility Partners proposes to construct a limited access principle
arterial tolled facility on new location for approximately 55 miles
which would be located to the south and roughly parallel to the
existing Route 460 corridor between Interstate 295 in Prince George
County and Route 58 in the City of Suffolk, Virginia. The typical
section consists of a four-lane, divided highway with two 12-foot lanes
in each direction, a 40-foot median, and paved shoulders. Seven
interchanges are proposed along the project at the secondary roads. The
Applicant has entered into a design-build contract with VDOT to design
and construct the Project. Upon determining that the submitted permit
application is complete, the USACE will issue a public notice and
continue processing the permit application.
An FEIS for the Route 460 Location Study was approved by FHWA in
June 2008 and a ROD was issued by FHWA in September 2008. U.S. Route
460 Mobility Partners has entered into a contract with VDOT to obtain
permits and construct the Preferred Alternative identified in the 2008
FEIS/ROD. In November 2012, based upon the information before them at
the time, FHWA completed a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Re-
evaluation of the FEIS concluding that an SEIS was not needed. Based on
new information bearing on the environmental impacts, including the
aquatic impacts, it was later decided that an SEIS is required.
This SEIS will review information from the Route 460 Location Study
FEIS/ROD, incorporate new information, update the alternatives and
impacts analyses, and assess impacts not previously evaluated in the
FEIS/ROD. To streamline federal processes, the SEIS will also include
the USACE's NEPA evaluation.
2. Alternatives: Alternatives to be considered for the proposed
project are the No-Build Alternative, the FHWA/VDOT preferred
alternative (Preferred Alternative from the 2008 FEIS/ROD) and the
FHWA/VDOT preferred alternative revised to include one or more of the
following proposed changes: changes to the termini, the proposed
interchange at Route 620, and alignment shifts to avoid and minimize
impacts.
Additionally, so that the USACE may fulfill its required
alternatives analysis responsibilities, consideration will also be
given to the alternative from the DEIS to improve the existing Route
460 corridor (CBA-2), an alternative to provide a limited access tolled
facility along the existing Route 460 corridor (CBA-2 Tolled), and
potentially, other alternatives identified during the SEIS process.
The SEIS will also document the alternatives previously eliminated
from consideration by FHWA. Actions available to the USACE for the
proposed project are to issue the IP, issue the IP with special
conditions, or deny the IP.
3. Scoping and Public Review Process: Throughout the development of
the project, a variety of scoping and public involvement opportunities
were provided to alert the public about the project, provide
information and updates, and solicit feedback. These opportunities
included but were not limited to a series of public hearings in the
corridor when the DEIS was issued in 2005 and a series of public
meetings in 2007 under Virginia's PPTA to evaluate conceptual proposals
received from the private sector in response to the solicitation of
proposals. Most recently, VDOT hosted public meetings in 2012 to update
the public on the project and respond to public input.
To ensure that a full range of issues related to the Project are
addressed and all significant issues identified, comments and
suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments and
suggestions concerning the range of issues to be evaluated under the
SEIS should be submitted to FHWA and the Corps at (see ADDRESSES)
within 30 days of the issuance of this notice to ensure timely
consideration.
Based on the extensive public involvement to date on the proposed
Project, no public input on the scope of the SEIS will be requested
beyond the solicitation by this notice for comments on the range of
issues to be evaluated. No formal scoping meetings will be held.
Notification of the availability of the draft SEIS for public and
agency review will be made in the Federal Register and using other
methods to be jointly determined by FHWA, USACE and VDOT. Those methods
will identify where interested parties can go to review a copy of the
draft SEIS.
For the draft SEIS, public meetings will be held and a minimum 45-
day comment period will be provided. The public meetings will be
conducted by VDOT and announced a minimum of 15 days in advance of the
meetings. VDOT will provide information for the public meetings,
including date, time and location through a variety of means including
their Web site (http://www.virginiadot.org/default_noflash.asp) and by
newspaper advertisement. In addition to the draft SEIS public
involvement opportunities, the USACE will issue a public notice for a
minimum 30-day comment period following receipt of a complete
application.
4. Issues: Based on coordination between FHWA, USACE, and VDOT, the
issues to be analyzed in the SEIS will include, but are not limited to,
alternatives based on the updated effects to aquatic resources
including wetland and stream impacts, threatened and endangered
species, relocations, cultural resources, and cost.
5. Additional Review and Consultation: The SEIS will comply with
other federal and state requirements including, but not limited to, the
state water quality certification under Section 401 of the CWA;
protection of water quality under the Virginia/National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System; consideration of
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minority and low income populations under Executive Order 12898;
protection of endangered and threatened species under Section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act; and protection of cultural resources under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
6. Availability of the Draft SEIS: The Draft SEIS is expected to be
published and circulated during the Spring of 2014, and a public
meeting will be held by VDOT after the publication of the Draft SEIS.
Dated: December 13, 2013.
Paul B. Olsen,
Colonel, U.S. Army, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2013-30695 Filed 12-26-13; 8:45 am]
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