[Federal Register: May 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 101)]
[Notices]
[Page 25572-25573]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28my09-91]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2009-0097]
Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement
and Announcement of Public Meetings for the Goethals Bridge Replacement
Project
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments; notice of
public meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and two public meetings, one in
Staten Island, New York (NY) and one in Elizabeth, New Jersey (NJ), on
the proposed replacement of the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey's (PANYNJ) Goethals Bridge across the Arthur Kill between Staten
Island, NY, and Elizabeth, NJ. We request your comments on the Goethals
Bridge Replacement DEIS.
DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to our
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before July 28, 2009
or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.
Two public meetings will be held, one on Wednesday, July 8, 2009,
from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and another on Thursday, July 9, from 4 p.m. to 8
p.m. to provide an opportunity for oral comments. Any oral comments
provided at the meeting will be transcribed and placed into the docket
by the Coast Guard. Please note that the meetings may close early if
all business is finished. Written comments and related material may
also be submitted to Coast Guard personnel specified at that meeting
for placement into the docket by the Coast Guard. The comment period
for the DEIS closes on July 28, 2009. All comments and related material
submitted after the meeting must either be submitted to our online
docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before July 28, 2009 or
reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2009-0097 using any one of the following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on
submitting comments.
The Coast Guard First District Bridge Office at One South Street,
Battery Park Building, New York, NY 10004-1466, will maintain a printed
copy of the DEIS for public review. The document will be available for
inspection or copying at this location between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
The public meeting on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, will be held in the
Council Chambers of Elizabeth City Hall, 50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ. The public meeting on Thursday, July 9, 2009, will be
held in the Harbor Room, Staten Island Hotel, 1415 Richmond Avenue,
Staten Island, NY. Please note that the meetings may close early if all
business is finished.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions regarding this
notice or either of the public meetings, call or e-mail Gary Kassof,
Bridge Program Manager, First Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard;
telephone 212-668-7165, e-mail gary.kassof@uscg.mil. If you have
questions regarding viewing or submitting material to the docket, call
Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-
9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments
We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the
Goethals Bridge Replacement DEIS. All comments received, including
comments received at the public meetings, will be posted, without
change, to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal
information you have provided. Submitting comments: If you submit a
comment, please include the docket number for this notice (USCG-2009-
0097) and provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You
may submit your comments and material online, by fax, mail, or hand
delivery, but please use only one of these means. We recommend that you
include your name and a mailing address, an e-mail address, or a
telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact
you if we have questions regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov,
select the Advanced Docket Search option on the right side of the
screen, insert ``USCG-2009-0097'' in the Docket ID box, press Enter,
and then click on the balloon shape in the Actions column. If you
submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an
unbound format, no larger than 81/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying
and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to
know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-
addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and
material received during the comment period.
Comments submitted to the docket are a matter of public record and
need not be resubmitted at the meetings. Speakers are encouraged to
provide written copies of their oral statements to the Coast Guard at
the time and place of the meeting. Each written comment should also
identify the proposed project including the docket number (USCG-2009-
0097), clearly state the reason for any objections, comments or
proposed changes to the project and include the name and address of the
person or organization submitting the comment. All comments received
whether in writing or presented orally at the public meetings, will be
fully considered before final agency action is taken on the proposed
bridge permit action.
Viewing the comments and the DEIS: To view the comments and the
DEIS, go to http://www.regulations.gov, select the Advanced Docket
Search option on the right side of the screen, insert USCG-2009-0097 in
the Docket ID box, press Enter, and then click on the item in the
Docket ID column. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may
view the docket online by visiting the Docket Management Facility in
Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of Transportation
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation to
use
[[Page 25573]]
the Docket Management Facility. The DEIS is also available online at
http://www.goethalseis.com/eis/ and is available for inspection at the
First Coast Guard District address given under ADDRESSES.
Copies of all written communications from the public meetings will
be available for review by interested persons after the meetings on the
Internet at http://www.goethalseis.com as well as on the Federal
rulemaking docket at http://www.regulations.gov. Transcripts of the
meetings will be available for public review approximately 30 days
after the meetings. All comments will be made part of the rulemaking
docket.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review a
Privacy Act, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in
the January 17, 2008 issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
Background and Purpose
The PANYNJ, a transportation and development agency in the Port of
New York and New Jersey, has proposed replacement of the functionally
and physically obsolete Goethals Bridge, which carries I-278 vehicular
traffic between Staten Island, NY, and Elizabeth, NJ. Over the past two
decades, PANYNJ studies have shown the need to: Address design
deficiencies of the existing bridge; provide safer operating conditions
and reduce accidents on the bridge; provide for safe and reliable truck
access as part of the regional commercial network; reduce life-cycle
costs; provide transportation system redundancy; and improve traffic
service. The project consists of a new cable-stayed bridge to replace
the existing bridge, which is proposed for demolition. The new bridge
would consist of six 12-foot travel lanes, three on each roadway deck,
inner and outer shoulders, a bikeway/sidewalk and a central area of
sufficient width to accommodate the potential for a future transit
system.
As a structure over navigable waters of the United States, any
replacement bridge requires a U.S. Coast Guard Bridge Permit pursuant
to the General Bridge Act of 1946 (Title 33 U.S.C. 525-533).
Additionally, the bridge permit would be the major Federal action in
this undertaking since Federal funds will not be used, and therefore
the Department of Homeland Security, through the United States Coast
Guard is the Federal lead agency for review of potential effects on the
human environment, including historic properties, pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as
amended (16 U.S.C. 470). The Coast Guard has prepared a DEIS. See
``Viewing the comments and DEIS'' above. The DEIS identifies and
examines the reasonable alternatives (including No Build) and assesses
the potential for impact to the human environment, including historic
properties, of the alternative proposals. The DEIS provides an in-depth
analysis of four alternative build sites, two north and two south of
the existing bridge.
We are requesting your comments on environmental and historic
preservation concerns that you may have related to the DEIS. This
includes suggesting analyses and methodologies for use in the DEIS or
possible sources of data or information not included in the DEIS. Your
comments will be considered in preparing the final Environmental Impact
Statement.
Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meetings,
contact Gary Kassof, Bridge Program Manager, First Coast Guard
District, U.S. Coast Guard; at the telephone number or e-mail address
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
notice. Any requests for an oral or sign language interpreter must be
received by June 24, 2009.
Public Meeting
The Coast Guard will hold two public meetings regarding the DEIS:
1. On Wednesday, July 8, 2009, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Council
Chambers of Elizabeth City Hall, 50 Winfield Scott Plaza, Elizabeth,
NJ;
2. On Thursday, July 9, 2009, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Harbor
Room of The Staten Island Hotel, 1415 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island,
NY.
The purpose of these meetings is to consider an application by the
PANYNJ for Coast Guard approval of the location and plans of a proposed
six lane fixed, vehicular bridge across Arthur Kill, mile 11.5 between
Staten Island, NY, and Elizabeth, NJ, which would replace the existing
Goethals Bridge. All interested parties may present data, views and
comments, orally or in writing, concerning the impact of the proposed
bridge project on navigation and the human environment. Of particular
concern at this time is the impact the proposed action will have on the
human environment and historic properties.
The public meetings will be informal. A representative of the Coast
Guard will preside, make a brief opening statement and announce the
procedure to be followed at the meetings. Attendees who request an
opportunity to present oral comments at a public meeting must sign up
to speak at the meeting site at the designated time of the meeting.
Speakers will be called in the order of receipt of the request.
Attendees at the meeting, who wish to present testimony, and have not
previously made a request to do so, will follow those having submitted
a request, as time permits. All oral presentations will be limited to
three minutes. Please note that the meetings may close early if all
business is finished.
This notice is issued under authority of the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553 (c)); the General Bridge Act of 1946 (Title
33 U.S.C. 525-533); and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(Section 102 (2)(c)), as implemented by the Council on Environmental
Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), Department of Homeland
Security Directive 023-01, and Coast Guard Commandant Instruction
M16475.1D.
Dated: May 21, 2009.
Hala Elgaaly,
Administrator, Bridge Program, United States Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. E9-12335 Filed 5-27-09; 8:45 am]
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