[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 83 (Friday, April 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 22758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10101]
[[Page 22758]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
Improvements to the U.S. 17 and Market Street (U.S. 17 Business)
Corridor in Northern New Hanover and Southern Pender Counties, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has
proposed improvements to the transportation system starting at Military
Cutoff Road in New Hanover County and extending to a point north of
Hampstead along U.S. 17, in Pender County, NC (TIP Projects U-4751 and
R-3300). The NCDOT is currently considering alternatives for this
project that will require authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and/or
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act). The USACE,Wilmington
District, Regulatory Division and the NCDOT intend to prepare a joint
environmental impact statement in accordance with regulations
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate
and compare alternatives and to assess associated impacts.
ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the proposed action and the DEIS should
be provided to both Mr. Brad Shaver, Regulatory Project Manager,
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, 69 Darlington Ave., Wilmington, NC
28403 and Ms. Olivia Farr, Project Development Engineer, North Carolina
Department of Transportation, 1548 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC
27699-1548.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and DEIS can be directed to Mr. Brad Shaver, Regulatory Project
Manager, telephone: (910) 251-4611 or Ms. Olivia Farr, Project
Development Engineer, telephone: (919) 733-7844, ext. 253.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NCDOT proposes to make transportation
improvements to the U.S. 17 and Market Street (U.S. 17 Business)
corridor in northern New Hanover and southern Pender Counties. Two
North Carolina Department of Transportation Improvement Program (TIPs
U-4751 and R-3300) projects are being evaluated as part of the U.S. 17
Corridor Study.
The purpose of the U.S. 17 Corridor Study project is to improve the
traffic carrying capacity and safety of the U.S. 17 and Market Street
corridor in the project area. The project study area is roughly bounded
on the west by I-40, on the north by the Northeast Cape Fear River,
Holly Shelter Game Lands to the east, and Market Street and U.S. 17 to
the south.
This project is being reviewed through the Merger 01 process
designed to streamline the project development and permitting
processes, agreed to by the USACE, North Carolina Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (Division of Water Quality, Division
of Coastal Management), Federal Highway Administration (for this
project not applicable), and the North Carolina Department of
Transportation and supported by other stakeholder agencies and local
units of government. The other partnering agencies include: U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; N.C.
Wildlife Resources Commission; N.C. Department of Cultural Resources;
and the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization. The Merger
process provides a forum for appropriate agency representatives to
discuss and reach consensus on ways to facilitate meeting the
regulatory requirements of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act during
the NEPA/State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) scoping phase of
transportation projects.
In 2006 the project was presented to Federal and State Resource and
Regulatory Agencies to gain concurrence on the purpose and need for the
project. The aforementioned purpose and need of the project was agreed
upon by participating agencies in September of 2006. In January 2007,
the project was again presented to participating agencies regarding the
preliminary corridor screening process in an attempt to decide which
alternatives would be carried forward for detailed analysis. In August
of 2007, the alternatives to carry forward were decided. Since this
time the Corps has been working closely with NCDOT and its
representatives to identify jurisdictional resources within the
alternatives carried forward. This effort should be completed sometime
in Spring of 2010.
Citizen informational workshops were held for the U.S. 17 Corridor
Study on April 23, 2007 in Hampstead and on April 24, 2007 in
Wilmington. A total of 174 participants signed in at the workshops with
40 comment sheets during April 23 and 47 comments during April 24,
2007. Thirty-four citizens noted their support for the proposed
Hampstead Bypass while six citizens voiced their opposition to the
project.
NEPA/SEPA Preparation: Because the proposed project requires
approvals from Federal and State agencies, a joint Federal and State
EIS will be prepared. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will serve as
the lead Federal agency for the process and the NCDOT will serve as the
lead State agency. The EIS will serve to satisfy the Corps' NEPA
requirements as well as the State of North Carolina's SEPA
requirements. Upon completion and review of the Final EIS, the Corps
will independently complete a Record of Decision (ROD) for the project.
The Wilmington District will periodically issue Public Notices
soliciting public and agency comment on the proposed action and
alternatives to the proposed action as they are developed.
Jefferson M. Ryscavage,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. 2010-10101 Filed 4-29-10; 8:45 am]
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