[Federal Register: July 10, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 131)]
[Notices]
[Page 38964]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10jy06-104]
[[Page 38964]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Pulaski and Laurel
Counties, KY
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), USDOT.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA).
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SUMMARY: This announces the availability of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed interstate facility in the
south-central portion of Kentucky, between the Somerset Northern Bypass
(I-66) and London, KY. In accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), this DEIS examines the potential social,
economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed build alternatives
and includes the no-build alternative.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Mary Murray, Transportation
Engineer/Project Manager, Federal Highway Administration, 330 West
Broadway, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, (502) 223-6745, by e-mail to
Mary.Murrary@fhwa.dot.gov; or Mr. Joe Cox, Kentucky Transportation
Cabinet (KYTC), District 8, PO Box 780, Somerset, KY 42501, by e-mail
to Joe.Cox@kt.gov, by fax to (606) 677-4013.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Transamerica Transportation Corridor (I-66) was defined in an
Interstate 66 Feasibility Study. This study focused on the feasibility
of various alternative transportation concepts. The report recognized
that further analyses could find that some individual segments of the
Transamerica Transportation Corridor would be more feasible than others
and would be more desirable from a State or regional perspective. The
Interstate 66 Feasibility Study was funded through the 1991 U.S.
Department of Transportation Appropriation Act.
The Transamerica Transportation Corridor extended from the East
Coast to the West Coast, and was generally located between I-70 and I-
40. It included a ``Southern Kentucky Corridor'' centered on the cities
of Pikeville, Jenkins, Hazard, London, Somerset, Columbia, Bowling
Green, Hopkinsville, Benton and Paducah.
The Southern Kentucky Corridor, Economic Justification & Financial
Feasibility Study, May 1997, followed the Interstate 66 Feasibility
Study. This study included public participation through an advisory
committee, public meetings, press releases, and newsletters sent to all
parties who expressed an interest in the Southern Kentucky Corridor.
The study identified the Somerset to London segment of the proposed I-
66 Southern Kentucky Corridor as a high priority segment.
In June 2000, the I-66 Southern Kentucky Corridor Scoping Study
(Pulaski and Laurel Counties, KY) was completed. The document developed
an environmental footprint, gathered resources agency and public input,
and identified areas of concern, as well as the potential benefits of
an interstate facility within the Southern Kentucky Corridor.
The Federal Highway Administration issued a Notice of Intent to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the segment of I-66
between Somerset and London, Kentucky, on April 29, 2002 [FR Doc. 02-
10410].
This DEIS addresses the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts
from the proposed project on the natural and human environments. Six
Pulaski County and five Laurel County alternatives were analyzed in
detail. The DEIS addresses impacts from each of the interstate build
alternatives and, in addition, discusses the no-build alternative.
Public involvement was integral throughout the development of the
DEIS. Nine Citizens Advisory Group meetings were held with members
representing the concerns of Businesses, Economic Development,
Communities, and the Environment, in order to solicit input and provide
project development information prior to the publication of the DEIS.
Additional public involvement included public meetings, project
newsletters, press releases, and Section 106 consulting party meetings.
Resource agencies were consulted and invited to comment during
resource agency meetings held on December 14, 1999, March 14, 2000, and
July 10-11, 2003.
A public hearing Pulaski and Laurel counties will be held in
August, 2006. Public notice will be given of the time and place of the
hearings. All comments on the DEIS are to be sent to the Federal
Highway Administration, KY Division Office, 330 W. Broadway Street,
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 (Attn: Jose Sepulveda).
Electronic Access
A copy of the DEIS has been sent to affected Federal, State and
local agencies and made available for public review. In addition, the
document will be available electronically on the following Web site:
http://www.interstate66.com
An electronic copy of this NOA may be downloaded from the Office of
the Federal Register's home page at http://www.archives.gov/ federal-register and the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ fr/index.html.
(Catalogue 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) (23 U.S.C.
315; 49 CFR 1.48)
Dated: June 29, 2006.
Jose Sepulveda,
Kentucky Division Administrator.
[FR Doc. 06-6057 Filed 7-7-06; 8:45 am]
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