[Federal Register: November 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 222)]
[Notices]
[Page 67923-67924]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17no08-107]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement on Hatcher Pass
Recreational Area Trails and Transit Facilities in the Matanuska-
Susitna Borough, AK
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The FTA and Matanuska-Susitna Borough are issuing this notice
to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will
be prepared for the proposed Hatcher Pass Recreational Area Trails and
Transit Facilities project in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska.
The project would construct access roads, parking areas, and pedestrian
facilities for two day-use areas that would provide an opportunity for
skiing and other recreational opportunities for local and regional
residents. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with regulations
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as
provisions of the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
The purpose of the Notice of Intent (NOI) is to alert interested
parties regarding the plan to prepare the EIS, to provide information
on the nature of the proposed project, to invite participation in the
EIS process, including comments on the scope of the EIS proposed in
this notice, and to announce that public scoping meetings will be
conducted.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to Ms.
Kristi Stuller, DOWL HKM Public Involvement Coordinator, by December
24, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. at the location indicated under ADDRESSES below.
An interagency scoping meeting has been scheduled for December 8, 2008,
and the public scoping meeting will be held on December 11, 2008, from
5:30-8:30 p.m. at the location indicated under ADDRESSES below.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to
Ms. Kristi Stuller, DOWL HKM Public Involvement Coordinator, 4041 B
Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. Comments may also be offered at the
public and agency scoping meetings. The address for the public scoping
meeting is as follows: Colony Middle School, 9250 Colony Schools Drive,
Palmer, AK 99645.
The address for the agency scoping meeting is as follows:
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Lower Level Conference Room, 350 East Dahlia
Avenue, Palmer, AK 99645.
These locations are accessible to persons with disabilities. If
translation signing services or other special accommodations are
needed, please contact Public Involvement Coordinator Kristi Stuller at
(907) 562-2000 at least 48 hours before the meeting. A scoping
information packet is available on the project Web site at: http://
www.hatcherpass.com, or by calling Public Involvement Coordinator
Kristi Stuller at (907) 562-2000. Copies will also be available at the
scoping meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Linda Gehrke, Deputy Regional
Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Region 10 Office, at
(206) 220-4463.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Proposed Project: The FTA and Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB)
are proposing a project to construct access roads, parking lots, and
trail connections for two day-use areas that would provide
transportation access and transit facilities to serve recreational
opportunities for local and regional residents in the Hatcher Pass
area. The MSB intends to create a moderate sized development that would
include Nordic and alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, mountain
biking, hiking, sledding, and equestrian access in Hatcher Pass,
Alaska. The study area is located at approximately 61.734 north
latitude and 149.299 west longitude (Sections 2-5, 8-11, 14-22, and 26-
30 of T19N, R1E, Seward Meridian) (USGS Quadrangle Anchorage C6, C7,
and D7 1:63,360 Scale).
Preliminary Purposes and Need for the Proposed Project
Purpose. The preliminary statement of purpose of this project is to
provide transportation access and transit facilities to assist in the
transportation needs of proposed new Nordic and alpine ski and
recreational areas in Hatcher Pass, Alaska. Hatcher Pass is located
approximately 55 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, in the heart of the
MSB, Alaska's fastest growing community.
Need. The preliminary statement of need for the project is the lack
of existing transportation access, pedestrian amenities and trails, and
transit facilities to accommodate the proposed development of new
recreational areas at Hatcher Pass that otherwise has excellent road
access by both the Glenn and Parks Highways and is paved to the Alpine
base area as well as to nearly the top of the pass.
In the summer months, Hatcher Pass is a popular tourist destination
with activity focused around the Independence Mine State Historical
Park, which features the area's brief but intense hard rock mining
history. The area is also a very popular family hiking area with many
trail destinations. Hatcher Pass has been used as a winter sports venue
since the 1940s and sees use by cross-country and downhill skiers,
snowboarders and snowmobile riders. Their activities are currently
supported by small-scale businesses, which provide limited food and
lodging and some trail grooming services.
The Hatcher Pass Ski Area Project, as currently proposed by the
MSB, is not the large-scale four-season resort as is currently
described in the 1989 State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources
Hatcher Pass Management Plan. Rather, it will be a day-use area that
will provide an opportunity for skiing and other recreational
opportunities for local and regional residents that is financially
feasible and environmentally sensitive. The MSB's goal is a moderate
sized development that would include Nordic and alpine skiing,
snowboarding, biathlon (winter sport that combines cross-country skiing
with rifle shooting), mountain biking, hiking, sledding, and equestrian
access.
Preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 1,850 skiers will
visit the Nordic area day during the 150 day ski season. In the Alpine
area, the estimated visitation will be between 130,000-240,000 skiers
during the 100 day ski season. These estimates are a result of applying
economic trends and growth rates to the estimates in the Financial
Feasibility Study conducted by Economic Research Associates in 1995. As
of 2006, the average daily traffic (ADT) at the intersection of Palmer
Fishhook Road and Edgerton Parks Road was 502.
Alternatives: The proposed project includes improvements at two
areas in Hatcher Pass--the North Side Alpine Ski Area and the South
Side Recreational Area. Proposed improvements include the following:
[[Page 67924]]
North Side (Alpine Ski Area)
Reconstruction of an existing gravel access road,
approximately 1,400-ft in length
Reconstruction of an existing gravel parking area
Construction of a covered 20-30 passenger transit shelter
at the south end of the parking lot
South Side Recreational Area
Construction of a new access road off of Edgerton Park
Road, approximately 5,500-ft in length
Nordic and other non-motorized multiple-use trails
Parking areas and trailheads
Construction of a covered 20-30 passenger transit shelter
at the south end of the parking lot
The Hatcher Pass Ski Area project involves MSB's plans to construct
two Alpine ski lifts, Alpine trails, and a small day lodge providing
food and ski concessions as part of the overall Alpine ski area
development, and a small chalet and conference facility as part of the
overall South Side Recreational Area development. These components are
not part of the FTA-funded project, but will be considered in the EIS
as part of the secondary and cumulative impact analysis.
Three preliminary road alignments have been developed for the South
Side Recreational Area access road. MSB plans to utilize the EIS
scoping process to continue refining and exploring the various
development options for this project. These refinements will be
developed in consultation with state and local agencies and the
surrounding community, and will be explored in the context of the EIS.
The EIS Process and the Role of Participating Agencies and the
Public: The purpose of the EIS process is to explore in a public
setting potentially significant effects of implementing the proposed
action and alternatives on the physical, human, and natural
environment. Areas of investigation include but are not limited to:
land use, development potential, land acquisition and displacements,
historic resources, visual and aesthetic qualities, air quality, noise
and vibration, energy use, safety and security, and ecosystems,
including threatened and endangered species. Measures to avoid,
minimize, or mitigate any significant adverse impacts will be
identified. Regulations implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of the
recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), call for public
involvement in the EIS process. Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires
that FTA and the MSB do the following: (1) Extend an invitation to
other Federal and non-Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have
an interest in the proposed project to become ``participating
agencies,'' (2) provide an opportunity for involvement by participating
agencies and the public in helping to define the purpose and need for a
proposed project as well as the range of alternatives for consideration
in the impact statement, and (3) establish a plan for coordinating
public and agency participation in and comment on the environmental
review process. An invitation to become a participating agency, with
the scoping information packet appended, will be extended to other
Federal and non-Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have an
interest in the proposed project. It is possible that we may not be
able to identify all Federal and non-Federal agencies and Indian tribes
that may have such interest. Any Federal or non-Federal agency or
Indian tribe interested in the proposed project that does not receive
an invitation to become a participating agency should notify at the
earliest opportunity the contacts identified above under ADDRESSES.
A comprehensive public involvement program has been developed and a
public and agency involvement Coordination Plan will be created. The
program includes a project Web site (http://www.hatcherpass.com);
outreach to local and Borough officials and community and civic groups;
a public scoping process to define the issues of concern among all
parties interested in the project; establishment of a community
advisory committee and organizing periodic meetings with that
committee; a public hearing on release of the draft environmental
impact statement (DEIS); establishment of a walk-in project office near
the project area; and development and distribution of project
newsletters.
The purposes of and need for the proposed project have been
preliminarily identified in this notice. We invite the public and
participating agencies to consider the preliminary statement of
purposes of and need for the proposed project, and to provide input on
the purpose and need statement and potential alternatives that should
be considered. Suggestions for modifications to the statement of
purposes of and need for the proposed project and any other
alternatives that meet the purpose of and need for the proposed project
are welcomed and will be given serious consideration. Comments on
potentially significant environmental impacts that may be associated
with the proposed project and alternatives are also welcomed. There
will be additional opportunities to participate in the scoping process
at the public meeting announced in this notice.
In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a) and 771.133, FTA will comply
with all Federal environmental laws, regulations, and executive orders
applicable to the proposed project during the environmental review
process to the maximum extent practicable. These requirements include,
but are not limited to, the regulations of the Council on Environmental
Quality and FTA implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and 23 CFR
Part 771), the project-level air quality conformity regulation of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (40 CFR part 93), the
Section 404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part 230), the regulation
implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36
CFR part 800), the regulation implementing section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act (50 CFR part 402), Section 4(f) of the Department of
Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135) and Executive Orders 12898 on
environmental justice, 11988 on floodplain management, and 11990 on
wetlands.
Issued on: November 6, 2008.
Linda Gehrke,
Deputy Regional Administrator, FTA Region 10.
[FR Doc. E8-27147 Filed 11-14-08; 8:45 am]
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