Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Route 460 Location Study From Prince George County to the City of Suffolk, VA, 78948-78950 [2013-30695]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78948-78950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing 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

[[Page 78949]]

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: 
alice.w.allen-arimes@usace.army.mil; (757) 201-7219. Ed Sundra, email: 
ed.sundra@dot.gov; (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 (https://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

[[Page 78950]]

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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