[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 96 (Monday, May 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27140-27141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-12448]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Cooper Landing, Kenai Peninsula 
Borough, AK

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Alaska

[[Page 27141]]

Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF).

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: ADOT&PF, on behalf of FHWA, will be preparing a supplemental 
draft environmental impact statement (SDEIS) and section 4(f) 
Evaluation, in accordance with Title 23 CFR part 771, for the Sterling 
Highway MP 45 to MP 60 project and invites public comment. The 
supplement updates a draft EIS approved and circulated for public 
review in 1994.
    The Sterling Highway is the only highway connecting the western 
Kenai Peninsula with the remainder of the nation's highway system. The 
highway parallels the Kenai River and passes through State and federal 
public lands and the community of Cooper Landing.
    The proposed project provides a highway meeting current design 
standards. Alternatives under consideration include: (1) The No-Build 
Alternative, (2) constructing a new location facility north of the 
existing Sterling Highway, (3) constructing a new location facility 
south of the existing Sterling Highway, (4) constructing an improved 
facility along the same corridor as the existing facility.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tim Haugh, Environmental and 
Right-of-Way Programs Manager, Alaska Division FHWA, P.O. Box 21648, 
Juneau, Alaska 99802-1648, Telephone (907) 586-7430; Ms. Miriam Tanaka, 
P.E., Project Manager, Preliminary Design and Environmental, ADOT&PF, 
P.O. Box 196900, Anchorage, Alaska 99519-6900, Telephone (907) 269-
0546. ADOT&PF has established a Web site for the project: http://www.sterlinghighway.net.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ADOT&PF and FHWA published a Draft EIS for 
the Sterling Highway MP 37 to 60 Project in 1994. The following year, 
FHWA agreed to advance a portion of the proposed improvements under a 
separate environmental document. The current supplement reexamines the 
MP 45 to 60 portion of the improvement studied in the Draft EIS.
    Public lands in the project area include the Mystery Creek 
Wilderness Unit of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Chugach National 
Forest (including campgrounds, recreation areas, and trails), the 
Resurrection Pass National Recreation Trail, and the State of Alaska 
Kenai River Special Management Area. The project area also includes the 
Sqilantnu Archaeological District and the Cooper Landing Historic 
District.
    The existing highway is narrow without shoulders or clear zones and 
has many curves and driveways. The proposed improved highway includes 
wider shoulders, passing and turning lanes, clear zones or barricades, 
new bridge construction, improved drainage systems, and slope 
stabilization. Title XI of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (ANILCA), which addresses transportation corridors 
that cross certain conservation lands contains additional procedural 
review requirements and specific timeframes should a preferred 
alternative be chosen that impacts an ANILCA Title XI resource. The 
Resurrection Pass National Recreation Trail and Mystery Creek 
Wilderness Unit warrant ANILCA Title XI procedures in addition to FHWA 
regulations governing implementation of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), 23 CFR part 771.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service 
Regional Administrator, and the USDA Forest Service, Chugach Forest 
Supervisor, have agreed to combine the environmental requirements 
imposed by ANILCA with the requirements of 23 CFR part 771 by 
designating the FHWA as the lead agency for compliance with NEPA.
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service, and 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are cooperating agencies in the 
development of the SDEIS.
    ADOT&PF is undertaking an on-going, large-scale public involvement 
program including public events in Cooper Landing, the Soldotna area, 
and Anchorage. Public notices will continue to be published in local 
newspapers and on the project Web site (http://www.sterlinghighway.net) 
regarding the times and places of all events. These events, with on-
going public comment, are intended to provide a public forum that 
affords a full opportunity for presenting views on the social, 
economic, natural, and other effects of the alternative locations and 
design features. Comments and suggestions are invited from all 
interested parties and should be directed to the FHWA and/or ADOT&PF at 
the addresses provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway Research, Planning and Construction)

    Issued on: April 28,2003.
David C. Miller,
Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-12448 Filed 5-16-03; 8:45 am]
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