[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62652-62653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27756]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Hold 
Scoping Meetings for Mammoth Yosemite Airport, Mammoth Lakes, CA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration.

ACTION: Notice to hold one (1) public scoping meeting and one (1) 
governmental and public agency scoping meeting.

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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 for the proposed expansion of Mammoth Yosemite 
Airport, Mammoth Lakes, California. To ensure that all significant 
issues related to the proposed action are identified, one (1) public 
scoping meeting and one (1) governmental and public agency scoping 
meeting will be held.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Camille Garibaldi, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, San Francisco Airports District Office, Federal 
Aviation Administration, Western-Pacific Region, 831 Mitten Road, Room 
210, Burlingame, California 94010-1303. Telephone: 650/876-2927. 
Comments on the scope of the EIS should be submitted to the address 
above and must be received no later than 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 
on Monday, December 29, 2003.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA will prepare an EIS for the proposed 
future expansion of Mammoth Yosemite

[[Page 62653]]

Airport. Proposed expansion of Mammoth Yosemite Airport has been the 
subject of a series of environmental analyses pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the California 
Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (CEQA). A Draft Environmental 
Assessment (EA) was prepared and issued on the current Proposed Airport 
Expansion Project in October 2000. A Final EA for the Mammoth Yosemite 
Airport Expansion Project was published in December 2000. The FAA 
approved the Final EA as a Federal document and issued a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) on December 21, 2000. The Town of Mammoth 
Lakes issued a Draft Supplement to Subsequent Environmental Impact 
Report of the 1997 Environmental Impact Report in October 2001. The 
Final Supplement to Subsequent Environmental Impact Report was 
certified by the Town of Mammoth Lakes on March 6, 2002. Following 
FAA's approval of the FONSI in December 2000, additional and 
supplemental information regarding the proposed project became 
available. On July 29, 2002, the FAA issued its Record of Decision that 
re-examined the December 21, 2000, FONSI, and approved the Town of 
Mammoth Lakes' proposed expansion plan for the airport. Subsequent to 
the publication of FAA's Record of Decision, litigation was filed 
against the FAA in two civil cases numbered C02-04621 BZ and C02-04623 
BZ in the United States District Court for the Northern District of 
California. On April 28, 2003, an opinion was issued that requires the 
FAA to prepare an EIS to further evaluate the Town of Mammoth Lakes' 
proposed expansion project for Mammoth Yosemite Airport.
    Mammoth Yosemite Airport is a limited certificate airport (title 
14, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Sec.  39.209(a)). The airport is 
located approximately five miles east of the Town of Mammoth Lakes and 
north of U.S. Route 395 in Mono County. The airport has one east-west 
oriented runway (9/27) with a parallel and connecting taxiway system. 
Runway 9/27 is paved with asphalt and is 7,000 feet long by 100 feet 
wide. The airport has a field elevation of 7,128-feet above mean sea 
level. The airport accommodates general aviation aircraft operations 
including aircraft hangars and outdoor tiedowns. The airport provides 
facilities that can accommodate commercial airlines, commuter airlines, 
and airline support/maintenance. The airport has approximately 40-based 
aircraft and accommodates approximately 6,000 annual aircraft 
operations.
    The FAA is the lead agency responsible for the preparation of the 
EIS.[FEDREG][VOL]*[/VOL][NO]*[/NO][DATE]*[/
DATE][NOTICES][NOTICE][PREAMB][AGENCY]*[/AGENCY][SUBJECT]*[/SUBJECT][/
PREAMB][SUPLINF][HED]*[/HED]?
    The following Alternatives are proposed to be evaluated in the EIS, 
additional reasonable alternatives may be evaluated in the EIS as a 
result of the scoping process.
    No Action Alternative: This alternative consists of not 
implementing any of the Expansion Project's elements. No new 
development items identified in the Expansion Project would be 
constructed or implemented.
    Proposed Airport Expansion Project Alternative: This alternative 
consists of implementing the Town of Mammoth Lakes' Proposed Airport 
Expansion Project including demolition, construction and replacement of 
various facilities of the airport, primarily in the vicinity of the 
passenger terminal area and the runway. The primary feature of this 
alternative is the construction of a 1,200-foot runway extension to the 
west and widening of the runway 50-feet for a total runway length of 
8,200-feet and width of 150-feet. This would require the Town of 
Mammoth Lakes to purchase the property or obtain a special use permit 
from the United States Forest Service (USFS) for the additional 25-feet 
of land to the south and 25-feet of land to the west of Airport 
property for the runway safety area. A new passenger terminal building 
and associated facilities would also be constructed. This alternative 
was identified in the Final EA as the Proposed Action.
    A 9,000-Foot Runway Alternative: This alternative extends Runway 9/
27 to the west by 2,000 feet to achieve a total runway length of 9,000 
feet. Similar to the Proposed Airport Expansion Project this 
alternative also widens the existing runway from 100-feet to 150-feet, 
and includes construction of a new passenger terminal building and 
associated facilities. This would require the Town of Mammoth Lakes to 
purchase the property or obtain a special use permit from the USFS for 
the additional 25-feet of land to the south and 825-feet or land to the 
west of Airport property for the runway safety area.
    Develop Another Airport in the Region: This alternative consists of 
developing the next nearest airport to the Town of Mammoth Lakes in 
Bishop, CA.
    Use Alternative Modes of Transportation: This alternative would 
utilize other types of transportation modes such as rail, inter-city 
bus and automobiles to transport skier visitors to the area.
    Develop a New Airport in the Region at a Different Site: This 
alternative consists of construction of a new airport facility instead 
of further developing the existing facility at Mammoth Yosemite 
Airport.
    Comments and suggestions are invited from Federal, State and local 
agencies, and other interested parties to ensure that the full range of 
issues related to the proposed project and the alternatives are 
addressed and all significant issues are identified. Written comments 
and suggestions concerning the scope of the EIS may be mailed to the 
FAA informational contact listed above and must be received no later 
than 5 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, on Monday, December 29, 2003.
    Public Scoping Meetings: The FAA will hold one (1) public and one 
(1) governmental and public agency scoping meeting to solicit input 
from the public and various Federal, State and local agencies which 
have jurisdiction by law or have specific expertise with respect to any 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed projects. A scoping 
meeting specifically for governmental and public agencies will be held 
on Wednesday, December 10, 2003, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific 
Standard Time, at the Mammoth Lakes Community Center, 1000 Forest 
Trail, Mammoth Lakes, California. The public scoping meeting will be 
held at the same location on Wednesday, December 10, 2003, from 6 p.m. 
to 9 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.

    Issued in Hawthorne, California, on October 28, 2003.
Ellsworth L. Chan,
Acting Manager, Airports Division, Western-Pacific Region, AWP-600.
[FR Doc. 03-27756 Filed 11-4-03; 8:45 am]
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