[Federal Register: November 4, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 213)]
[Notices]
[Page 64360-64361]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04no04-89]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: City and Borough of Sitka, AK
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an
environmental impact statement will be prepared for improved access to
Sitka, Alaska. The project is located on Baranof Island within the
Northern Panhandle Region of Southeast Alaska.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edrie Vinson, Environmental Project
Manager, Federal Highway Administration, Alaska Division, P.O. Box
21648, Juneau, Alaska 99802-1648, (907) 586-7418, fax: (907) 586-7420,
e-mail: edrie.vinson@fhwa.dot.gov or Andy Hughes, Regional Planning
Chief, Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
(ADOT&PF), 6860 Glacier Highway, Juneau, Alaska 99801; (907) 465.1776,
fax (907) 465.2016, e-mail andy_hughes@dot.state.ak.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with ADOT&PF, will
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to
improve transportation access to the City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska.
Sitka is on the west side of Baranof Island, and has unsheltered
exposure to the Pacific Ocean. Currently, access to Sitka is limited to
air service and service by Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) ferries
and commercial freight. Strong tidal currents through Sergins Narrows
in Peril Strait constrain AMHS ferry service and commercial marine
freight service schedules. These scheduling issues affect Sitka and
other Northern Panhandle communities that rely on marine transportation
and freight services.
The Sitka Access EIS will evaluate alternatives to improve access
to Sitka. The alternatives considered may allow for more convenient and
frequent surface transportation at lower cost to the user and AMHS. The
EIS will consider a range of alternatives
[[Page 64361]]
including: (a) No Action; (b) new road links between Sitka and new
ferry/marine terminals on the east side of Baranof Island with ferry
service links to other communities, and; (c) all marine alternatives
linking directly to Sitka or to a transfer facility and then Sitka.
Below is a brief description of several possible alternatives that may
meet the goals of the proposed project.
(1) Constructing a new road from Sitka north and east to Rodman Bay
and constructing and operating a new ferry/marine terminal with ferry
service links to other communities. This would allow marine
transportation and freight services to avoid the restrictive Sergins
Narrows.
(2) Constructing a road due east of Sitka to Warm Springs Bay and
constructing and operating a new ferry/marine terminal with ferry
service links to other communities. Included in this road would be an
approximately two-mile-long tunnel through mountainous terrain. This
alternative would allow marine transportation and freight services to
completely avoid the Peril Straits.
(3) Constructing an AMHS transfer facility on Chatham Strait where
passengers and freight would disembark and re-board a vessel that is
not restricted by the tidal currents in Sergins Narrows such as a fast
shuttle ferry. These fast shuttle ferries would then connect to the
existing Sitka Terminal.
(4) Fast Vehicle Ferry service linking Sitka to Juneau, Petersburg
or other surrounding communities.
During the scoping process, the FHWA and the ADOT&PF will solicit
input from the public and interested agencies on the alternatives to be
considered and the nature and extent of issues and impacts to be
addressed in the EIS and the methods by which they will be evaluated.
Questionnaires, public notices and newsletters describing the
proposed action alternatives and soliciting comments will be sent to
appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, tribes, private
organizations, and citizens who have previously expressed or are known
to have interest in this proposal.
Public scoping meetings will be held between December 2004 and
January 2005 at each of the following communities: Angoon, Baranof Warm
Springs, Elfin Cove, Gustavus, Hoonah, Kake, Pelican, Port Alexander,
Sitka, Tenakee Springs, Juneau and Petersburg. As the meeting dates
approach, a public notice announcing the exact date, time and location
of the meetings will be published in the Juneau Empire, Sitka Sentinel,
Petersburg Pilot, and the Capital City Weekly. The comment period will
be provided.
Contact information for people with special needs will be included
in the public notice announcements.
Two agency scoping meetings, one in Juneau and one in Sitka, will
be held in December 2004. Agency staff will be given an opportunity to
express their concerns, ask questions, and provide written comment. The
ADOT&PF will contact the agencies by mail with the exact date, time,
and location of the meetings. The agency comment period will be
provided.
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 or the ADOT&PF at the addresses provided above.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on
Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)
Issued on: October 25, 2004.
Karen A. Schmidt,
Assistant Division Administrator, Juneau, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 04-24588 Filed 11-3-04; 8:45 am]
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