[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8071-8072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3975]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Conduct Scoping for Air Traffic Procedural Changes Associated With the 
Northern Utah Airspace Initiative

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Northwest Mountain 
Region, is issuing this notice to advise the public, pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, (NEPA) 42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C) that the FAA intends to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Northern Utah Airspace Initiative. 
This Notice of Intent is published as required by the President's 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations implementing the 
provisions of NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. This EIS will assess the 
potential environmental impacts resulting from proposed modifications 
to air traffic routings in the metropolitan Salt Lake City and 
surrounding areas. Airports in this area include Salt Lake City 
International Airport, Ogden-Hinckley Airport, Hill Air Force Base, and 
the Provo Airport, as well as other smaller general aviation use 
airports. All reasonable alternatives will be considered including a 
no-change alternative/option. In order to ensure that all significant 
issues pertaining to the proposed action are identified, public 
participation, through public scoping meetings, will be held.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clark Desing, (801) 325-9626, PO Box 
22867, AMF, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84122 or see the following Web site: 
http://www2.faa.gov/ats/nar/nw_mt/nw_mt_salt.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Northern Utah Airspace Initiative will 
examine the airspace surrounding the Salt Lake City International 
Airport, up to the en route structure. The airports in the study area 
are: Salt Lake City International Airport, Ogden-Hinckley Airport, Hill 
Air Force Base, and the Provo Airport, as well as other smaller general 
aviation use airports.
    In response to existing and forecast aviation demand generating a 
significant flow of air traffic in the study area, the FAA is examining 
alternative ways to modify air traffic routes and procedures to avoid 
degradation of safety, improve efficiency, and meet future traffic 
demands. The airspace redesign team is using sophisticated modeling 
tools to develop viable air traffic control (ATC) alternatives to 
current operations. The FAA will examine methods that will take 
advantage of new and emerging ATC technologies, improved performance 
characteristics of modern aircraft, as well as improvements in 
navigation capabilities. The proposal will address the merits of a 4-
corner post concept with consideration of an additional downwind. The 
project is not associated with any airport development projects or 
construction of any physical facilities.
    As part of the airspace redesign effort, the FAA will provide 
detailed analyses that will be use to evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts in the study area. During scoping, and upon 
publication of a draft EIS and a final EIS, the FAA will be contacting 
and coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as 
the public, to obtain comments and suggestions regarding the EIS for 
the proposed project. The EIS will assess impacts and reasonable 
alternatives including a ``no change'' alternative, pursuant to NEPA; 
FAA Order 1050.1, Policies and Procedures for Assessing Environmental 
Impacts; DOT Order 5610.1, Procedures for Considering Environmental 
Impacts; and the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
Regulations implementing the provisions of NEPA, 40 CFR Parts 1500-
1508, and other appropriate Agency guidance.
    Public Scoping Process: The FAA will use the scoping process as 
outlined in the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations and 
guidelines to facilitate public involvement. Concerned individuals and 
agencies are invited to express their views either in writing, or by 
providing oral comments at a scoping meeting. The purpose of a scoping 
process and scoping meetings are: (1) To provide a description of the 
proposed action, (2) to provide an early and open process to determine 
the scope of issues to be addressed and to identify potentially 
significant issues or impacts related to the proposed action that 
should be analyzed in the EIS, (3) to identify other coordination and 
any permit requirements associated with the proposed action, (4) to 
identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are not 
significant or those that have been adequately addressed during a prior 
environmental review process.
    The FAA has scheduled three public scoping meetings. Each meeting 
will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at sites listed below. Each of the 
meetings will begin with an overview of the project (7 p.m.-7:30 p.m.) 
and will be followed by an informal open house period (7:30 p.m.-9 
p.m.) The open house portion of each public scoping meeting will 
include redesign displays and graphics and will provide an opportunity 
for one-on-one interaction between the representatives of the FAA and 
the general public. Comments will be received via court reporter or 
written comment forms throughout the duration of the meeting. Formal 
comments for the record will not be accepted via E-mail. Meeting dates 
and locations are:

--March 18, 2003--Marriott City Center, Salt Lake City, UT.
--March 19, 2003--Marriott Hotel, Provo, UT.
--March 20, 2003--Marriott Hotel, Ogden, UT.

    In accordance with NEPA coordination requirements, the FAA has 
scheduled one meeting that will be dedicated primarily to federal, 
state and local agency staff, and Native American

[[Page 8072]]

governments. This meeting is scheduled on March 18, 2003, from 1 p.m. 
to 3 p.m. at the Marriott City Center, Salt Lake City. Although this 
meeting will be held primarily for the benefit of federal, tribal, 
state and local agency staff, it will also be open to the public.
    The scoping period begins with this announcement. To ensure that 
all issues are identified, the FAA is requesting comments and 
suggestions on the project scope from all interested federal, state and 
local agencies and other interested parties. In furtherance of this 
effort, the FAA has established an Internet Website that can be 
accessed at: http://www2.faa.gov/ats/nar/nw_mt/nw_mt_salt.htm. 
Additional information about the Northern Utah Airspace Initiative, 
including the scoping meeting schedule and meeting locations can be 
found at this Internet site. Additionally, the FAA will be maintaining 
the following telephone number for general information: (801) 325-9626.

DATES: The FAA will accept written scoping comments through May 16, 
2003. Such comments should be directed to the following address: 
Northern Utah Airspace Initiative, PO Box 22867, AMF, Salt Lake City, 
UT 84122.

    Issued in Renton, Washington on February 11, 2003.
Raul C. Trevino,
Acting Manager, Air Traffic Division, Northwest Mountain Region.
[FR Doc. 03-3975 Filed 2-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M