[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29359-29361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12476]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Tamiami Trail
Modifications: Next Steps Project, Everglades National Park
Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps Project, Draft
Environmental Impact Statement, Everglades National Park, Florida. The
Notice of Intent (NOI) for this project referred to it as a
``Feasibility Study and Report'' based on language in the authorizing
legislation.
[[Page 29360]]
This new appellation was a result of public scoping and internal
National Park Service discussions.
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps Project,
Everglades National Park.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 and National Park Service (NPS) policy in Director's
Order Number 2 (Park Planning) and Director's Order Number 12
(Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis, and Decision-
making), the NPS announces the availability of a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41)
Modifications: Next Steps Project for Everglades National Park,
Florida.
The 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, H.R. 1105: Omnibus
Appropriations Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-008, dated March 11, 2009)
directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to construct
modifications to U.S. Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail) that were approved in
the 2008 Limited Reevaluation Report and Environmental Assessment. The
2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act also directed the Department of the
Interior's National Park Service to ``immediately evaluate the
feasibility of additional bridge length, beyond that to be constructed
pursuant to the Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park
Project (16 U.S.C. 410r-8), including a continuous bridge, or
additional bridges or some combination thereof, for the Tamiami Trail
to restore more natural water flow to Everglades National Park (ENP)
and Florida Bay and for the purpose of restoring habitat within the
Park and the ecological connectivity between the Park and the Water
Conservation Areas'' (2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 111-
008).
DATES: There will be a 60-day comment period beginning with the
Environmental Protection Agency's publication of its Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. Public meeting(s) will be held
during the review period. The date, time, and location of the public
meeting(s) will be announced through the NPS Planning, Environment, and
Public Comment (PEPC) Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever, a news
release, and/or a mailed announcement to be released in May 2010.
ADDRESSES: The document will be available for public review and comment
online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. CDs and hard copies are
available at Park headquarters. You may also request a hard copy or CD
by contacting Everglades National Park, 40001 State Road 9336,
Homestead, FL 33034-6733; telephone 305-242-7700.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public scoping was initiated in the summer
of 2009. A newsletter was distributed on May 31, 2009, and a public
meeting was held on June 2, 2009, to keep the public informed and
involved throughout the planning process. As the lead agency, the NPS
conducted several inter-agency/Tribal meetings and one workshop to
develop project objectives, identify alternatives, evaluate the
benefits of alternatives, and identify a preferred alternative. The
DEIS provides historical information, existing conditions, alternatives
for infrastructure modifications, and related impacts of the
alternatives. The DEIS describes six alternatives for consideration,
including a no-action alternative that provides for the continuation of
the current Tamiami Trail infrastructure configuration. The five action
alternatives present a range of infrastructure modification
opportunities. The environmental impacts of each alternative, including
the no-action alternative, are systematically analyzed in the document.
The six alternatives (with corresponding identifiers) as they
appear in the document are as follows:
No Action Alternative: The No-Action Alternative consists
of a 1-mile eastern bridge and elevation of the remaining roadway to
allow for 8.5 feet stages in the L-29 Canal. This alternative continues
the status quo.
Alternative 1: 2.2 miles of bridges and remaining roadway
elevated: Alternative 1 would involve creating conveyance openings
through Tamiami Trail by removing 2.2 miles of the existing highway and
embankment. Four bridges (or ConSpan) would be constructed in the
openings to replace the removed section of road and maintain vehicle
traffic across the openings. This alternative would create 2.2 miles of
ecological connectivity and better distribute flows in the western area
of the 11 mile project corridor.
Alternative 2a: 3.3 miles of bridges and remaining roadway
elevated: Alternative 2a would involve creating conveyance openings
through Tamiami Trail by removing 3.3 miles of the existing highway and
embankment. Six bridges would be constructed in the openings to replace
the removed section of road and maintain vehicle traffic across the
openings. This alternative would create 3.3 miles of ecological
connectivity and moderately reduce the adverse effects of high velocity
discharges associated with the existing culverts.
Alternative 4: 1.0 miles of bridging and remaining roadway
elevated: Alternative 4 would involve creating conveyance openings
through Tamiami Trail by removing 1.0 mile of the existing highway and
embankment where the bridging is proposed. This alternative would
increase ecological connectivity by 1.0 mile.
Alternative 5: 1.5 miles of bridging and remaining roadway
elevated: Alternative 5 would involve creating conveyance openings
through Tamiami Trail by removing 1.5 miles of the existing highway and
embankment. Three bridges would be constructed in the opening to
replace the removed section of road and maintain vehicle traffic. This
alternative would increase ecological connectivity by 1.5 miles.
Alternative 6E: 5.5 miles of bridging and remaining
roadway elevated. Alternative 6E is the maximum bridging option and
involves creating conveyance openings through Tamiami Trail by removing
5.5 miles of the existing highway and embankment. Four bridges would be
constructed in the opening to replace the removed section of road and
maintain vehicle traffic. This alternative would increase ecological
connectivity by 5.5 miles, reduce flow velocities below the 0.10 fps
threshold that causes harm to marshes, and substantially restore the
flow patterns associated with a healthy ridge and slough landscape in
Northeast Shark River Slough.
Common to all action alternatives: The remaining highway
embankments along stretches of the road that are not bridged would be
reconstructed to raise the crown elevation to 12.3 feet, the minimum
required based on the design high water of 9.7 feet and the roadway
cross section geometry.
Preferred Alternative: Alternative 6E was determined to be the
preferred alternative by the NPS and the U.S. Department of the
Interior.
If you wish to comment on the DEIS for the Tamiami Trail
Modifications: Next Steps Project, you may submit your comments by any
one of several methods. The preferred method for submitting comments is
via the Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. If you do not
receive a confirmation from the system that we have received your
internet message, please contact us directly at the address above. You
may
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also mail comments to the Park at the address shown above. Finally, you
may present your comments in person at the public meeting(s) to be held
during the public review period or at the address listed above.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so. We will always make submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives of or officials or organizations or businesses,
available for public inspection in their entirety.
Authority: The authority for publishing this notice is 40 CFR
1506.6.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Everglades National Park at
the address and telephone number shown above.
The responsible official for this Draft EIS is the Regional
Director, Southeast Region, NPS, 100 Alabama Street, SW., 1924
Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Dated: March 31, 2010.
David Vela,
Regional Director, Southeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-12476 Filed 5-24-10; 8:45 am]
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