[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34516-34518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14696]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 7052]
Issuance of an Amended Presidential Permit Authorizing the
Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of a Two-Span International
Bridge Near Brownsville, Texas, at the International Boundary Between
the United States and Mexico
SUMMARY: At the request of the permittee, the Department of State has
amended the Presidential permit, originally issued in 1993, that
authorizes Cameron County, Texas to construct, operate, and maintain an
international bridge known as ``Veterans Bridge at Los Tomates'' near
Brownsville, Texas, at the international boundary between the United
States and Mexico. The amendment allows the permittee to build a second
adjacent bridge, essentially identical to the existing four-lane
bridge, to accommodate increasing traffic volume, to improve pedestrian
safety, and to allow more efficient separation of different types of
traffic as it approaches the border inspection station owned by the
General Services Administration and operated by the Department of
Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection. In making its
determination
[[Page 34517]]
to amend the permit, the Department provided public notice of the
proposed amendment and provided the opportunity for comment (73 FR
55586, Sept. 25, 2008) and also consulted with other Federal agencies,
as required by Executive Order 11423, as amended.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stewart Tuttle, U.S.-Mexico Border
Affairs Coordinator, via e-mail at [email protected]; by
phone at 202-647-6356; or by mail at Office of Mexican Affairs--Room
3909, Department of State, 2201 C St., NW., Washington, DC 20520.
Information about Presidential permits is available on the Internet at
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/permit/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is the text of the amended
permit:
Amended Presidential Permit Authorizing Cameron County, Texas, to
Construct, Operate, and Maintain a Two-span International Bridge, its
Approaches, and Facilities at the International Boundary between the
United States and Mexico.
By virtue of the authority vested in me as Under Secretary of State
for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs under Executive Order
11423 of August 16, 1968, 33 FR 11741; as amended by Executive Order
12847 of May 17, 1993, 58 FR 29511; Executive Order 13284 of January
23, 2003, 68 FR 4075; Executive Order 13337 of April 30, 2004, 69 FR
25299; the International Bridge Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 731; 33 U.S.C.
535 et seq.); and Department of State Delegation of Authority number
118-2 of January 26, 2006; having considered the environmental effects
of the proposed action in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (83 Stat. 852; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), having
considered the proposed action in accordance with the National Historic
Preservation Act (80 Stat. 917, 16 U.S.C. 470f et seq., and having
requested and received the views of various of the Federal departments
and other interested persons; I hereby grant permission, subject to the
conditions herein set forth, to Cameron County, Texas (herinafter
referred to as ``permittee'') in partnership with the City of
Brownsville, Texas, pursuant to interlocal agreement, to construct,
operate, and maintain a two-span international vehicular and pedestrian
bridge in the ``Los Tomates'' vicinity of Brownsville, Texas and
Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
The term ``facilities'' as used in this permit means the bridge,
its approaches, and any land, structure, or installations appurtenant
thereto.
The term ``United States facilities'' as used in this permit means
that part of the facilities in the United States.
This permit is subject to the following conditions:
Article 1. The United States facilities herein described, and all
aspects of their operation, shall be subject to the conditions,
provisions, and requirements of this permit or any amendment thereof;
further that this permit may be terminated at the will of the Secretary
of State or the Secretary's delegate or may be amended by the Secretary
of State or the Secretary's delegate at will or upon proper application
therefor; further that the permittee shall make no substantial change
in the location of the United States facilities or in the operation
authorized by this permit until such changes have been approved by the
Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate.
Article 2. (1) Standards for, and manner of, the construction,
operation and maintenance of the United States facilities shall be
subject to inspection and approval by the representatives of
appropriate Federal or State agencies. The permittee shall allow duly
authorized officers and employees of such agencies free and
unrestricted access to said facilities in the performance of their
official duties.
(2) Prior to initiation of construction, the permittee shall obtain
the approval of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to such
construction, in conformity with Section 5 of the International Bridge
Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 535c) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Delegation of Authority Number 0170.1.
Article 3. The permittee shall comply with all Federal and State
laws and regulations regarding the construction, operation, and
maintenance of the United States facilities, and with all applicable
industrial codes.
Article 4. Upon the termination, revocation, or surrender of this
permit, and unless otherwise agreed by the Secretary of State or the
Secretary's delegate, the United States facilities in the immediate
vicinity of the international boundary shall be removed by and at the
expense of the permittee within such time as the Secretary of State or
the Secretary's delegate may specify, and upon failure of the permittee
to remove this portion of the United States facilities as ordered, the
Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate may direct that
possession of such facilities be taken and that they be removed at the
expense of the permittee; and the permittee shall have no claim for
damages by reason of such possession or removal.
Article 5. If, in the future, it should appear to the United States
Coast Guard and the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary's
delegate that any facilities or operations permitted hereunder cause
unreasonable obstructions to the free navigation of any of the
navigable waters of the United States, the permittee may be required,
upon notice from the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary's
delegate, to remove or alter such of the facilities as are owned by it
so as to render navigation through such waters free and unobstructed.
Article 6. This permit and the operation of the United States
facilities hereunder shall be subject to the regulations issued by any
competent agency of the United States Government, including but not
limited to the United States Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland
Security, and the United States Section of the International Boundary
and Water Commission (USIBWC). This permit shall continue in force and
effect only so long as the permittee shall continue the operations
hereby authorized in exact accordance with such limitations, terms and
conditions.
Article 7. When, in the opinion of the President of the United
States, the national security of the United States demands it, due
notice being given by the Secretary of State or the Secretary's
delegate, the United States shall have the right to enter upon and take
possession of any of the United States facilities or parts thereof; to
retain possession, management or control thereof for such length of
time as may appear to the President to be necessary; and thereafter to
restore possession and control to the permittee. In the event that the
United States shall exercise such right, it shall pay to the permittee
just and fair compensation for the use of such United States facilities
upon the basis of a reasonable profit in normal conditions, and the
cost of restoring said facilities to as good condition as existed at
the time of entering and taking over the same, less the reasonable
value of any improvements that may have been made by the United States.
Article 8. Any transfer of ownership or control of the United
States facilities or any part thereof shall be immediately notified in
writing to the United States Department of State, including the
submission of information identifying the transferee. This permit shall
remain in force subject to all the conditions, permissions and
requirements of this permit and any amendments thereto unless
subsequently terminated or
[[Page 34518]]
amended by the Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate.
Article 9. (1) The permittee shall acquire such right-of-way
grants, easements, permits and other authorizations as may become
necessary and appropriate.
(2) The permittee shall save harmless the United States from any
claimed or adjudged liability arising out of the construction,
completion or maintenance of the facilities.
(3) The permittee shall maintain the United States facilities and
every part thereof in a condition of good repair for their safe
operation.
Article 10. The permittee shall provide to the General Services
Administration (GSA), at no cost to the Federal government, a site that
is adequate and acceptable to GSA on which to construct border station
facilities at the United States terminal of the bridge. The permittee
shall fully comply with all National Environmental Policy Act and
National Historic Preservation Act mitigation provisions and
stipulations for transfer of the site to the General Services
Administration.
Article 11. The permittee shall take all appropriate measures to
prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts or disruption of
significant archeological resources in connection with the
construction, operation and maintenance of the United States
facilities. The permittee shall submit to the USIBWC the plans approved
by the Texas Water Commission for sewage collection and treatment
facilities, and their discharge limitations, along with any plans
approved by the Texas Water Commission regarding water rights for water
diversion facilities in the Rio Grande.
Article 12. The permittee shall submit to the U.S. Commissioner,
IBWC, for review by the USIBWC the conceptual and final levee
relocation plan that forms a part of the international bridge proposal.
Permittee shall comply with any appropriate changes required by the
USIBWC and also arrange for transfers of lands, rights-of-way and other
works proposed as part of the new bridge construction and levee
relocation plan.
Article 13. The permittee shall comply with all agreed actions and
obligations undertaken to be performed by it in the Supplemental
Environmental Assessment dated June 4, 1993, including but not limited
to the mitigation Plan attached thereto as Appendix A, as supplemented
by the Environmental Assessment dated October 2009 and the Finding of
No Significant Impact dated January 10, 2010. Construction of the
United States facilities shall be performed in substantial conformity
with Alternatives A or C described in the Supplemental Environmental
Assessment dated June 4, 1993, as supplemented by the Environmental
Assessment dated October 2009 and the Finding of No Significant Impact
dated January 10, 2010.
Article 14. The permittee shall file with the appropriate agencies
of the Government of the United States such statements or reports under
oath with respect to the United States facilities, and/or permittee's
actions in connection therewith, as are now or may hereafter be
required under any laws or regulations of the Government of the United
States or its agencies.
Article 15. The permittee shall send notice to the Department of
State at such time as the construction authorized by this permit is
begun, and again at such time as construction is completed,
interrupted, or discontinued.
In witness thereof, I, Robert D. Hormats, Under Secretary of State
for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, have hereunto set my
hand this 1st day of June, 2010, in the City of Washington, District of
Columbia.
This permit supersedes the permit signed on October 7, 1993 by
Under Secretary of State Joan E. Spero.
End Permit text.
Dated: June 10, 2010.
Alex Lee,
Director, Office of Mexican Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2010-14696 Filed 6-16-10; 8:45 am]
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