Request for Public Comments Regarding the Construction of Pedestrian Barrier Within Certain Areas in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, 30745-30746 [2019-13670]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 124 (Thursday, June 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30745-30746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13670]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[Docket No. USCBP-2019-0018]


Request for Public Comments Regarding the Construction of 
Pedestrian Barrier Within Certain Areas in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: Request for comments regarding the location of proposed 
pedestrian barrier.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is proposing to 
construct primary pedestrian barrier within the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) 
in Starr County, Texas, including within the cities of Roma, Escobares, 
La Grulla, Rio Grande City, and the census-designated place of 
Salineno, Texas (the Affected Areas). CBP is requesting comments on its 
proposal to locate and construct primary pedestrian barrier in the 
Affected Areas as required by section 232(b) of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2019. CBP is also seeking input on potential 
impacts to the environment, historical preservation, culture, quality 
of life, and commerce, including socioeconomic impacts from the 
construction of primary pedestrian barrier in the Affected Areas. 
Comments should be fact-based, including links to supporting data or 
research, and should provide detailed information on potential impacts 
to the environment, historical preservation, culture, quality of life, 
and commerce, including socioeconomic impacts. Following an analysis of 
comments received, CBP will publish its responses along with its plans 
for construction.

DATES: The public comment period will be 60 days. To ensure 
consideration, comments must be received by August 26, 2019. Comments 
may be submitted as set forth in the ADDRESSES section of this 
document.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted electronically through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Search docket #USCBP-
2019-0018 and follow the instructions for sending comments.
    Instructions: All comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments, see the 
``Request for Public Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Enriquez, Acquisition, Real 
Estate, and Environmental Director, Border Wall Program Management 
Office, U.S. Border Patrol at (949) 643-6365 or visit CBP's website: 
https://www.cbp.gov/about/environmental-cultural-stewardship/nepa-documents/docs-review.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

Construction of Primary Pedestrian Barrier in the Rio Grande Valley

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) protects the nation's 
borders from terrorism, human trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal 
migration, unsafe/illegal goods, and agricultural pests, while 
facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade. CBP advances its 
mission by integrating modern technology, deploying highly-trained law 
enforcement officers, and leveraging public and private sector 
partnerships.
    The Rio Grande Valley's (RGV) varied terrain includes areas of 
dense vegetation, agricultural land, and fast vanishing points that can 
be easily exploited by smugglers, illegal aliens, and traffickers. CBP 
has identified priority areas in the RGV that require additional 
resources, including new primary pedestrian barrier. CBP's preferred 
design for pedestrian barrier in Starr County is a bollard wall system 
that includes all-weather roads, surveillance systems, lighting, a 150-
foot enforcement zone, and other supporting infrastructure. These 
resources will help CBP achieve operational control of the southern 
border commensurate with Executive Order 13767.\1\
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    \1\ E.O. 13767, Border Security and Immigration Enforcement 
Improvements, published in the Federal Register at 82 FR 8793 (Jan. 
30, 2017).
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    Section 232 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Pub. L. 
115-141, 132 Stat. 348 (Feb. 15, 2019) (the ``Consolidated 
Appropriations Act'')) makes funds available for the construction of 
physical barriers in RGV, including within the Texas cities of Roma, 
Escobares, La Grulla, Rio Grande City, and the census-designated place 
of Salineno, Texas (the Affected Areas). The Consolidated 
Appropriations Act requires that CBP utilize barrier designs that are 
operationally effective and that have been deployed as of the date of 
the Consolidated Appropriations Action of 2017 (Pub. L. 115-31, 131 
Stat. 135 (May 5, 2017)).
    The proposed action in the Affected Areas is one of a number of 
border infrastructure projects in the RGV that CBP has proposed, 
including approximately 13 miles of levee wall presently under 
construction in Hidalgo, County, Texas, funded by Congress through the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141, 132 Stat. 348 
(March 23, 2018)). CBP collected public feedback for these projects 
from September 2018 to November 2018. Information gathered from this 
effort is used to inform CBP on potential impacts to the environment, 
culture, quality of life, and commerce. A Stakeholder Feedback Report 
that summarizes the feedback collected from September 2018 to November 
2018 is available on CBP's website: https://www.cbp.gov/about/
environmental-

[[Page 30746]]

cultural-stewardship/nepa-documents/docs-review.

Proposed Action

Construction of Starr County Primary Pedestrian Barrier

    The proposed action would involve the construction of primary 
pedestrian barrier within the Affected Areas. The Supporting Documents 
section of docket #USCBP-2019-0018 (available at https://www.regulations.gov) includes maps that depict the Affected Areas as 
well as the location of proposed pedestrian barriers in areas that are 
adjacent to the Affected Areas. The exact location of the barrier 
within the Affected Areas will depend on operational requirements, 
impact to the water flows and other environmental concerns, as well as 
input from the elected officials of the Affected Areas and from the 
general public.
    CBP's standard design for the primary pedestrian barrier is a 
border wall system that consists of 30-foot tall steel bollards and 
includes a 150-foot enforcement zone on the south or river side of the 
border wall system, detection and surveillance technology, automated 
vehicle gates, pedestrian gates, an all-weather patrol road that would 
run parallel to the south or river side of the border wall system, and 
enforcement zone lighting. Trees and other vegetation within the 
roadway or construction site would be grubbed or cut back to facilitate 
safe vehicle passage and construction.

Request for Public Comments

    All interested parties are invited to participate in the comment 
process. CBP invites agencies, organizations and the general public to 
provide input on location of the pedestrian barrier and issues related 
to the environment, historical preservation, culture, quality of life, 
and commerce, including socioeconomic impacts.
    All interested parties are encouraged to submit comments through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. If you 
cannot submit your material by using https://www.regulations.gov, 
contact the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document for alternative instructions. When submitting comments, 
please include your name and contact information. Comments received in 
response to this solicitation, including names and contact information 
of those who comment, will be part of the public record for this 
proposed action. Documents mentioned in this notice, and all public 
comments, will be available in our online docket at https://www.regulations.gov, and can be viewed by following that website's 
instructions. Additionally, if you visit the online docket and sign up 
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted.
    After the public comment period is complete and CBP has reviewed 
the results, a response to the comments received will be published in 
the Federal Register and made available on CBP's website: https://www.cbp.gov/about/environmental-cultural-stewardship/nepa-documents/docs-review.

Next Steps

    Following the public comment period, CBP will review all comments. 
Responses to the comments received will be published in the Federal 
Register within 90 days following the close of the comment period and 
made available on CBP's website: https://www.cbp.gov/about/environmental-cultural-stewardship/nepa-documents/docs-review. 
Information collected will be taken into consideration in CBP's 
planning for the proposed barrier, and will inform the review of 
impacts to the environment, historical preservation, culture, quality 
of life, and commerce, including socioeconomic impacts.

    Dated: June 21, 2019.
Loren Flossman,
Acting Executive Director, Program Management Office Directorate, 
Border Wall Program Management Office, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2019-13670 Filed 6-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-14-P