Environmental Impact Statement: St. Clair County, Michigan, 65168-65169 [06-9099]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 215 / Tuesday, November 7, 2006 / Notices
Highway Administration, Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street,
SW., Washington, DC, 20590. Office
hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: State Right-of-Way Operations
Manuals.
OMB Control Number: 2125–0586.
Background: Section 23, of the Code
of Federal Regulations Part 710, reduces
Federal regulatory requirements and
places primary responsibility for a
number of approval actions at the State
level. Part 710.201 requires that States
must certify at 5-year intervals that their
State Right-of-Way Operations Manuals
are representative of their procedures, or
submit an updated manual. STDs are
required to update their manuals to
reflect changes in Federal requirements
for programs administered under Title
23 U.S.C. These manuals reflect how the
STD plans to perform real estate
acquisition and property management,
and maintain the integrity of the rightof-way for highway and related
transportation systems. The State
manuals may be submitted to FHWA
electronically or they can be made
available by postings on State Web sites.
Respondents: 50 State Departments of
Transportation, the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico.
Frequency: The States update their
operations manuals for review annually.
Estimated Average Burden per
Response: 75 hours per respondent.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: The total is 3,900 burden hours
annually.
Public Comments Invited: You are
asked to comment on any aspect of this
information collection, including: (1)
Whether the proposed collection is
necessary for the FHWA’s performance;
(2) the accuracy of the estimated
burden; (3) ways for the FHWA to
enhance the quality, usefulness, and
clarity of the collected information; and
(4) ways that the burden could be
minimized, including the use of
electronic technology, without reducing
the quality of the collected information.
The agency will summarize and/or
include your comments in the request
for OMB’s clearance of this information
collection.
ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended;
and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued on: November 1, 2006.
James R. Kabel,
Chief, Management Programs and Analysis
Division.
[FR Doc. E6–18700 Filed 11–6–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
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14:44 Nov 06, 2006
Jkt 211001
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: St.
Clair County, Michigan
Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The FHWA is reissuing this
notice to advise the public of changes to
the Environmental Impact Statement
that will be prepared for proposed
improvements to the United States Port
of Entry Plaza for the Blue Water Bridge
in St. Clair County, Michigan. This
Notice revises the published Notice of
Intent of January 12, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
James Kirschensteiner, Assistant
Division Administrator, Federal
Highway Administration, 315 W.
Allegan Street, Room 201, Lansing,
Michigan 48933, Telephone: (517) 702–
1835; or Mr. Paul McAllister,
Supervisor, Environmental Section,
Bureau of Transportation Planning,
Michigan Department of Transportation,
P.O. Box 30050, Lansing, MI 48909,
Telephone: (517) 335–2622.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
FHWA in cooperation with the
Michigan Department of Transportation
(MDOT) is preparing an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate
alternatives for potential improvements
to the United States Border Plaza at the
Blue Water Bridge. The Federal
cooperating agencies for the project
include: U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. General
Service Administration (GSA), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(U.S.EPA), U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP).
The Blue Water Bridge is a major
passenger and commercial border
crossing between the United States and
Canada and is the northern termination
point for Interstate Routes I–69 and I–
94 in the United States and for Highway
402 in Canada. MDOT owns and
operates the Blue Water Bridge Border
Plaza. Several agencies operate on the
United States Plaza. These agencies are
responsible for inspecting vehicles,
goods, and people entering the United
States and include: CBP, the United
States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). The inspection
agencies lease facilities on the United
States Plaza from MDOT through GSA,
which serves as the Federal leasing
agent. MDOT collects tolls from vehicles
departing the United States for Canada
on the plaza.
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The study area is located within the
City of Port Huron and Port Huron
Township. The study area consists of
approximately 30 blocks (195 acres) of
urban land use surrounding the existing
plaza and ramps, and it extends to the
west along I–69/I–94 for approximately
2.2 miles. The study area includes the
existing plaza, the Black River Bridge,
the Water Street interchange, and
locations for off-site inspection
facilities, located north of I–69/I–94 and
west of the Water Street Interchange.
In September 2002, this project
started as an Environmental Assessment
(EA) and has proceeded through the
scoping phase, purpose and need
documentation, and alternatives
development. Three resource agency
meetings and four public information
meetings have been held. As a result of
identified potentially significant
impacts, FHWA and MDOT concluded
that an environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) should be completed.
The purposes of this Environmental
Impact Statement are to:
• Accommodate projected 2030 traffic
growth and potential future facility
needs,
• Minimize backups on Highway 402
and I–69/I–94 and correct existing
traffic weaving issues,
• Accommodate the latest inspection
technologies and procedures,
• Provide flexibility to accommodate
future unknown inspection technologies
and procedures,
• Improve border security,
• Provide facilities that ensure cars
and trucks do not leave the plaza
without being inspected,
• Improve safety on the bridge, plaza,
and I–69/I–94,
• Reduce vehicle and pedestrian
conflicts on the plaza,
• Improve access between the plaza
and the Port Huron area, and
• Minimize routing of commercial
traffic to local roads during maintenance
operations.
The need for improvements to the
United States Plaza at the Blue Water
Bridge is supported by several key
issues including:
• Traffic growth and repeated traffic
backups,
• Insufficient truck parking for
inspection purposes,
• The introduction of new inspection
technology,
• Emerging Security issues,
• Insufficient space for the increased
number of border inspection agents,
• Traffic conflicts and crash history,
and
• Inadequate connections between
the plaza and local roads needing
improvements.
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ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 215 / Tuesday, November 7, 2006 / Notices
In the fall of 2005, a preliminary Draft
Environment Impact Statement (DEIS)
was completed and circulated to the
Federal cooperating agencies for review
and comment. As a result of this
coordination effort, the CBP requested
that another alternative be considered
for evaluation and inclusion in the
DEIS.
In an effort to continue to move
independent and critical road and
bridge portions of the project forward,
MDOT and FHWA have separated the
Blue Water Bridge Plaza Study into two
projects: (a) An EIS for the Blue Water
Bridge Plaza that will focus specifically
on plaza expansion and improvements,
and (b) An Environmental Assessment
that will address transportation
improvements along I–69/I–94 and the
creation of a new off-site welcome
center. The improvements covered in
the EA are independent of any of the
alternatives under consideration for the
plaza improvements. The FHWA has
reviewed and concluded that the
improvements that will be studied in
the EA have independent utility and
logical termini
The purposes of the I–69/I–94 EA
Corridor improvements are:
• Accommodate projected 2030 traffic
growth,
• Improve the safety on the Black
River Bridge and reduce weaving
movements at the Water Street
Interchange,
• Replace the aging Black River
Bridge spans,
• Improve vehicle access to the Port
Huron Area, and
• Create a more visible and accessible
Welcome Center.
The need for improvements to the I–
69/I–94 Corridor is supported by several
key issues:
• Traffic growth,
• Traffic backups,
• Traffic conflicts and crash history,
• The current condition of existing
roadways in the corridor, and
• The current condition of the Black
River Bridge.
The study boundaries for the I–69/I–
94 Environmental Assessment are
located along I–69/I–94 and the M–25
connector. The northern terminus for
the EA is the M–25 connector
intersection with Hancock Street and
the southern terminus is the I–69/I–94
bridge over Lapeer Road. The EA study
area includes the I–69/I–94 ramps to
and from the existing plaza, the Black
River Bridge, the Water Street
interchange and the Lapeer connector
interchange.
The purpose and need and study
boundaries for the plaza Environmental
Impact Statement remain the same as
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:44 Nov 06, 2006
Jkt 211001
described earlier. The study area
includes a potential location for a
relocated plaza in Port Huron
Township.
A range of plaza and transportation
improvement alternatives for the plaza
EIS, will be analyzed. Reasonable
alternatives under consideration
include: taking no action, expanding the
existing plaza location in the City of
Port Huron (two alternatives), and
relocating the major plaza functions to
an off-site plaza location in Port Huron
Township. The EIS study area for the
off-site plaza, along with subsequent
improvements to I–94/I–69 and the EA
improvements to I–94/I–69, overlap for
this alternative, but only for this
alternative.
Agencies and citizen involvement
will continue to be solicited throughout
this process. A public meeting and a
public hearing will be held on the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
Public notice will be given of the time
and place of the hearing. The DEIS will
be available for public and agency
review and comment prior to the public
hearing.
To ensure that the full range of issues
related to this proposed action are
addressed and all significant issues
identified, comments and suggestions
are invited from all interested parties.
Comments or questions concerning this
proposed action and the EIS should be
directed to the FHWA at the address
provided above.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning
and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372
regarding intergovernmental consultation of
Federal programs and activities apply to this
program.)
Issued on: October 31, 2006.
James A. Kirschensteiner,
Assistant Division Administrator, Lansing,
Michigan.
[FR Doc. 06–9099 Filed 11–6–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–M
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
Sunshine Act Meetings; Unified Carrier
Registration Plan Board of Directors
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, DOT.
TIME AND DATE: November 7, 2006, 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. and November 8, 2006 8
a.m. to 12 p.m.
PLACE: Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport,
O’Hare International Airport, Chicago,
IL 60666.
AGENCY:
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STATUS:
65169
Open to the public.
An
overview of the Unified Carrier
Registration Plan and Agreement
requirements set forth under section
4305 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users, and the administrative
functioning of the Board. In addition,
the Board will continue its work in
developing the Unified Carrier
Registration Agreement procedures and
toward recommending UCRA fees to the
Secretary.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
William Quade, (202)366–2172,
Director, Office of Safety Programs,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, or Mr. Bryan Price,
(412) 395–4816, FMCSA Pennsylvania
Division Office.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:
Dated: November 2, 2006.
Rose A. McMurray,
Associate Administrator, Policy and Program
Development.
[FR Doc. 06–9124 Filed 11–3–06; 2:23 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Creation of an Electronic Docket for a
Pending Environmental Impact Review
on the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern
Railroad’s Powder River Basin
Expansion Project Railroad
Rehabilitation and Improvement
Financing Program Loan Application
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of the Creation of an
Electronic Docket for the Comments
Received on the FRA’s Adoption of the
Environmental Impact Statements
Issued by the Surface Transportation
Board and FRA’s Draft Section 4(f)/303
Statement and Participation as a
Concurring Party to a Section 106
Programmatic Agreement.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: FRA is announcing the
creation of an electronic docket
containing comments submitted to the
agency in connection with the agency’s
environmental and historic preservation
review of the Dakota, Minnesota and
Eastern Railroad’s application for loan
to carry out its Powder River Basin
Expansion Project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Valenstein, Environmental
Program Manager, 1120 Vermont
Avenue, NW., Mail Stop 20,
Washington, DC 20590; Phone (202)
493–6368.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65168-65169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9099]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: St. Clair County, Michigan
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The FHWA is reissuing this notice to advise the public of
changes to the Environmental Impact Statement that will be prepared for
proposed improvements to the United States Port of Entry Plaza for the
Blue Water Bridge in St. Clair County, Michigan. This Notice revises
the published Notice of Intent of January 12, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James Kirschensteiner, Assistant
Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 315 W. Allegan
Street, Room 201, Lansing, Michigan 48933, Telephone: (517) 702-1835;
or Mr. Paul McAllister, Supervisor, Environmental Section, Bureau of
Transportation Planning, Michigan Department of Transportation, P.O.
Box 30050, Lansing, MI 48909, Telephone: (517) 335-2622.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA in cooperation with the Michigan
Department of Transportation (MDOT) is preparing an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate alternatives for potential
improvements to the United States Border Plaza at the Blue Water
Bridge. The Federal cooperating agencies for the project include: U.S.
Coast Guard, U.S. General Service Administration (GSA), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA), U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Blue Water Bridge is a major passenger and commercial border
crossing between the United States and Canada and is the northern
termination point for Interstate Routes I-69 and I-94 in the United
States and for Highway 402 in Canada. MDOT owns and operates the Blue
Water Bridge Border Plaza. Several agencies operate on the United
States Plaza. These agencies are responsible for inspecting vehicles,
goods, and people entering the United States and include: CBP, the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). The inspection agencies lease facilities on the
United States Plaza from MDOT through GSA, which serves as the Federal
leasing agent. MDOT collects tolls from vehicles departing the United
States for Canada on the plaza.
The study area is located within the City of Port Huron and Port
Huron Township. The study area consists of approximately 30 blocks (195
acres) of urban land use surrounding the existing plaza and ramps, and
it extends to the west along I-69/I-94 for approximately 2.2 miles. The
study area includes the existing plaza, the Black River Bridge, the
Water Street interchange, and locations for off-site inspection
facilities, located north of I-69/I-94 and west of the Water Street
Interchange.
In September 2002, this project started as an Environmental
Assessment (EA) and has proceeded through the scoping phase, purpose
and need documentation, and alternatives development. Three resource
agency meetings and four public information meetings have been held. As
a result of identified potentially significant impacts, FHWA and MDOT
concluded that an environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be
completed.
The purposes of this Environmental Impact Statement are to:
Accommodate projected 2030 traffic growth and potential
future facility needs,
Minimize backups on Highway 402 and I-69/I-94 and correct
existing traffic weaving issues,
Accommodate the latest inspection technologies and
procedures,
Provide flexibility to accommodate future unknown
inspection technologies and procedures,
Improve border security,
Provide facilities that ensure cars and trucks do not
leave the plaza without being inspected,
Improve safety on the bridge, plaza, and I-69/I-94,
Reduce vehicle and pedestrian conflicts on the plaza,
Improve access between the plaza and the Port Huron area,
and
Minimize routing of commercial traffic to local roads
during maintenance operations.
The need for improvements to the United States Plaza at the Blue
Water Bridge is supported by several key issues including:
Traffic growth and repeated traffic backups,
Insufficient truck parking for inspection purposes,
The introduction of new inspection technology,
Emerging Security issues,
Insufficient space for the increased number of border
inspection agents,
Traffic conflicts and crash history, and
Inadequate connections between the plaza and local roads
needing improvements.
[[Page 65169]]
In the fall of 2005, a preliminary Draft Environment Impact
Statement (DEIS) was completed and circulated to the Federal
cooperating agencies for review and comment. As a result of this
coordination effort, the CBP requested that another alternative be
considered for evaluation and inclusion in the DEIS.
In an effort to continue to move independent and critical road and
bridge portions of the project forward, MDOT and FHWA have separated
the Blue Water Bridge Plaza Study into two projects: (a) An EIS for the
Blue Water Bridge Plaza that will focus specifically on plaza expansion
and improvements, and (b) An Environmental Assessment that will address
transportation improvements along I-69/I-94 and the creation of a new
off-site welcome center. The improvements covered in the EA are
independent of any of the alternatives under consideration for the
plaza improvements. The FHWA has reviewed and concluded that the
improvements that will be studied in the EA have independent utility
and logical termini
The purposes of the I-69/I-94 EA Corridor improvements are:
Accommodate projected 2030 traffic growth,
Improve the safety on the Black River Bridge and reduce
weaving movements at the Water Street Interchange,
Replace the aging Black River Bridge spans,
Improve vehicle access to the Port Huron Area, and
Create a more visible and accessible Welcome Center.
The need for improvements to the I-69/I-94 Corridor is supported by
several key issues:
Traffic growth,
Traffic backups,
Traffic conflicts and crash history,
The current condition of existing roadways in the
corridor, and
The current condition of the Black River Bridge.
The study boundaries for the I-69/I-94 Environmental Assessment are
located along I-69/I-94 and the M-25 connector. The northern terminus
for the EA is the M-25 connector intersection with Hancock Street and
the southern terminus is the I-69/I-94 bridge over Lapeer Road. The EA
study area includes the I-69/I-94 ramps to and from the existing plaza,
the Black River Bridge, the Water Street interchange and the Lapeer
connector interchange.
The purpose and need and study boundaries for the plaza
Environmental Impact Statement remain the same as described earlier.
The study area includes a potential location for a relocated plaza in
Port Huron Township.
A range of plaza and transportation improvement alternatives for
the plaza EIS, will be analyzed. Reasonable alternatives under
consideration include: taking no action, expanding the existing plaza
location in the City of Port Huron (two alternatives), and relocating
the major plaza functions to an off-site plaza location in Port Huron
Township. The EIS study area for the off-site plaza, along with
subsequent improvements to I-94/I-69 and the EA improvements to I-94/I-
69, overlap for this alternative, but only for this alternative.
Agencies and citizen involvement will continue to be solicited
throughout this process. A public meeting and a public hearing will be
held on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Public notice
will be given of the time and place of the hearing. The DEIS will be
available for public and agency review and comment prior to the public
hearing.
To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed
action are addressed and all significant issues identified, comments
and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments or
questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS should be
directed to the FHWA at the address provided above.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation of
Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)
Issued on: October 31, 2006.
James A. Kirschensteiner,
Assistant Division Administrator, Lansing, Michigan.
[FR Doc. 06-9099 Filed 11-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-M
