[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34508-34509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-16316]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for a Proposed New Runway at Norfolk International Airport, VA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare and consider an environmental 
impact statement and to conduct agency and public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this 
notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) will be prepared and considered for a proposed new runway at 
Norfolk International Airport, Virginia. In addition, to ensure that 
all major project-related issues are identified, agency scoping and 
public scoping meetings will be held. The Bureau of Utilities for the 
City of Norfolk, the Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III will 
be cooperating agencies on the EIS. Scoping meetings will be held to 
determine the scope of the EIS and to identify the major project-
related issues to be addressed and emphasized in the EIS. The FAA 
hereby invites the participation of Federal, State and local agencies, 
any affected Indian tribe, the proponent of the action, and any other 
interested parties. Two scoping meetings are planned--the first is an 
agency scoping meeting intended for organizations having jurisdiction 
by law or specific expertise with respect to any environmental impacts 
associated with the action; the second is a public meeting intended for 
other interested parties, including those who may not be in accord with 
the action on environmental grounds. However, both meetings are open to 
the public.
    The FAA further invites agencies, organizations, and the general 
public to

[[Page 34509]]

provide written comments relative to the action and the issues to be 
addressed in the EIS. Scoping comments should clearly describe specific 
issues or topics that the commentator believes the EIS should address.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to be included on a mailing 
list of persons interested in the EIS should be sent to Daisy Mather, 
Environmental Team Leader, Federal Aviation Administration Eastern 
Region, Airports Division AEA-610, 1 Aviation Plaza, Jamaica, New York 
11434.

DATES: The scoping meetings are scheduled for August 2, 2001. The 
agency scoping meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the Norfolk 
Airport Authority Conference Room at the Airport, while the public 
scoping meeting is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at the Norfolk Airport 
Hilton Hotel at 1500 North Military Highway, Norfolk, Virginia. 
Attendees may submit comments at the meetings, and written comments 
received by and postmarked by August 17, 2001 will be accepted for 
further consideration in the EIS process. Written comments should be 
sent to the address specified above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daisy Mather, Environmental Team 
Leader, Airports Division AEA-610, Federal Aviation Administration 
Eastern Region, 1 Aviation Plaza, Jamaica, New York 11434; Telephone 
(718) 553-2511; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Norfolk Airport Authority has completed 
a master plan update for future development projects at Norfolk 
International Airport, including construction of a new Runway 5R-23L. 
The proposed new runway project involves numerous airside improvements, 
including, but not limited to the following: runway and taxiway 
construction, taxiway relocation, runway safety area construction, new 
airfield lighting, improvements to existing lighting, relocation of the 
Very High Frequency Omni-directional Range/Tactical Air Navigation 
(VORTAC) facility, installation of a Medium Intensity Approach Lighting 
System with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights (MALSR) for Runway 23L 
and a Category II Instrument Landing MALSR (CAT II ILS/MALSR) for 
Runway 5R. Because the potential exists for this proposed new runway 
and other projects project to create significant environmental impacts, 
the FAA determined that preparation of an EIS was necessary.
    The Airport is located in the City of Norfolk, adjacent to the City 
of Virginia Beach municipal boundary and the U.S. Navy Little Creek 
Amphibious Base. The environmental issues of concern for evaluation in 
the EIS are anticipated to be noise, environmental justice, water 
quality, public parks and recreation areas, threatened and endangered 
species, biotic communities, wetlands, air quality, secondary impacts, 
and cumulative impacts. Other isues that will be addressed in the EIS 
include potential impacts to floodplains, cultural resources, 
utilities, and hazardous materials.
    With regard to project alternatives, the EIS will include an 
analysis of a variety of alternatives considered during the project 
planning phase of the process. In addition to the proposed action and 
the No Action alternatives, the analysis will include individual 
project site locations, mitigation alternatives, and other alternatives 
that may arise from the scoping process.

    Issued on June 22, 2001 in Jamaica, New York.
Thomas Felix,
Manager, Planning and Programming Branch, Airports Division, Eastern 
Region.
[FR Doc. 01-16316 Filed 6-27-01; 8:45 am]
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