Federal Highway Administration March 19, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Highway Administration, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division will serve as joint lead agencies in the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Foothills Parkway Section 8B, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Section 8B is located in Sevier and Cocke Counties, Tennessee. This effort will analyze the impacts of alternatives for this section of the Foothills Parkway. The public scoping process for this EIS has been initiated with issuance of this notice. The purpose of the scoping process is to elicit public comment regarding the full spectrum of public issues and concern that should be addressed in the EIS process, including a suitable range of alternatives, the nature and extent of potential environmental impacts, and appropriate mitigation strategies. A suitable range of alternatives will be considered along with the no-action alternative, including, but not limited to construction of a road through this section of the Parkway corridor, construction of a trail instead of a road, and construction of a combination road and trail. A scoping newsletter will be prepared in spring 2007 that will detail the issues identified to date. Copies of the newsletter when available may be obtained from the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site: https://parkplanning.nps.gov.