[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 77 (Monday, April 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20160-20161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2000]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) and Section 4(f) Evaluation for Proposed Development 
Activities at the Juneau International Airport, Juneau, AK; Notice of 
Public Comment Period for the FEIS and Schedule of Public Information 
Meeting; Notice of New Construction Significantly Affecting Wetlands 
and Finding of No Practicable Alternative

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Marine Fisheries Services 
(NMFS) and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) are cooperating 
agencies, by virtue of their jurisdictional authority, expertise, and/
or resources management responsibilities.

ACTION:  Notice of availability of Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, notice of public information meeting, and notice of public 
comment period.

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Location of the Proposed Action: The Juneau International Airport is 
located within the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ), approximately 9 
miles northwest of downtown Juneau. Airport property encompasses 
approximately 662 acres of land. Approximately 21.3 acres of land 
located immediately east and west of the Airport on Mendenhall Wetlands 
State Game Refuge would need to be acquired for implementation of the 
preferred alternatives.
SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration announces that a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Proposed Development 
Activities at the Juneau International Airport (JNU) has been prepared 
and is available for public review and comment. The FEIS includes the 
results of consultation with state and federal agencies regarding 
applicable statutes. The FEIS also discusses impacts to the base 
floodplain, wetlands and waters of the U.S. historic properties, 
essential fish habitat, wildlife, and DOT Section 4(f) resources and 
measures to mitigate those impacts.
    The FAA is seeking comments on the FEIS, with specific attention to 
those sections that have been substantively updated since publication 
of the Draft EIS (DEIS). See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a summary of 
the substantive changes contained in the FEIS. All comments on the FEIS 
are to be submitted either at the public meeting, or to SWCA 
Environmental Consultants, at the address shown in the section below 
entitled ``Written Comments Should Be Sent To'' or via the project Web 
site at http://www.jnu-eis.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA as lead agency has prepared the FEIS 
for proposed development activities at the Juneau International Airport 
(JNU), Juneau, Alaska. These development activities include actions to:
     Bring the Airport into compliance with FAA standards for 
runway safety area,
     Improve navigational alignment with Runway 26 at night and 
during poor weather,
     Construct and use a new, larger snow removal equipment and 
maintenance facility,
     Develop an improved, safer, and more secure access route 
to the fuel farm,

[[Page 20161]]

     Construct new aircraft parking and storage facilities to 
meet existing and future demands, and
     Implement an improved wildlife hazard management program 
that will reduce potential for aircraft collisions with wildlife.
    FAA published the Draft EIS (DEIS) in April 2005. The DEIS was 
prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA). The DEIS disclosed the environmental consequences 
associated with the proposed development activities at JNU and analyzed 
multiple alternatives associated with six Proposed Actions, including 
No Action Alternatives.
    After publication of the FEIS, FAA issued new guidance (a change to 
Advisory Circular 150/5300-13) regarding undershoot protection 
requirements for runway safety areas (RSA). This new guidance provided 
FAA an opportunity to change some of the RSA configurations analyzed in 
the DEIS. As a result, the FEIS includes three additional RSA 
alternatives representing modifications of alternatives evaluated in 
the DEIS. These alternatives are identified as RSA-5D--Relocate Runway 
26 Threshold and Construct Additional Runway and Safety Areas; RSA-5E--
Displace Runway 08 Threshold 120 Feet and Construct Additional 26 
Runway and Safety Area (Sponsor's Proposed Project); and RSA-6D--
Threshold Displacement using Declared Distance Criteria with Option for 
EMAS. One of these modified alternatives, RSA-5E, was adopted by the 
Airport Sponsor as the Proposed Action and is the FAA's preferred 
alternative.
    Other substantive FEIS changes were made in response to public 
comment on the DEIS, with particular efforts to reduce environmental 
impacts to the Refuge and important habitat. Among the changes included 
are an alternative location for placement of the Automated Surface 
Observation System, a modified channel configuration for the relocation 
of lower Duck Creek, additional hydraulic modeling for the tidal 
sloughs east of the existing runway, analysis of potential affects on 
Mendenhall River hydraulics and geomorphology, a conceptual 
compensatory mitigation plan, updated cost estimates, and detailed 
analysis of potential impacts to Alaska Airlines special navigation 
procedures employed at JNU.
    Those portions of the FEIS containing the substantively updated 
information include but are not limited to the following sections and 
their subsections and their subsections: 2.2.2, 2.6, 2.11, 2.12, 2.13, 
4.2, 4.3, and Appendices A, C, I, J, K, L, and M.
    The proposed Airport improvements would be completed during the 
2007-2015 time period and would result in impacts to wetlands, water 
quality, wildlife habitat, vegetation, essential fish habitat, visual 
quality, socioeconomics, air, noise and two DOT Section 4(f) 
properties, the Dike Trail and the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game 
Refuge.
    FAA will not make decisions on the Proposed Actions for a minimum 
of 30 days following publication of this Notice of Availability of the 
FEIS in the Federal Register. FAA will record the appropriate decisions 
in a Record of Decision.

FEIS Availability and Review

    Copies of the FEIS may be viewed during regular business hours at 
the following locations:
    1. Federal Aviation Administration, Airports Division, 222 W. 7th 
Avenue 14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7504. (907) 271-5454 or (907) 
271-5438.
    2. Juneau International Airport, Airport Managers Office, 1873 
Shell Simmons Drive, Juneau, AK (907) 789-7821.
    3. Valley Branch Public Library, Mendenhall Mall, Juneau, AK 99801. 
(907) 789-0125.
    4. Downtown Juneau Public Library, 292 Marine Way, Juneau, AK 
99801. (907) 586-5249. The Juneau International Airport, Airport 
Manager's office has a limited number of CDs of the entire FEIS and 
Executive Summaries available for public distribution. These may be 
obtained by contacting the Airport Manager's Office at (907) 789-7821. 
The FEIS may also be viewed at the following Web site: http://www.jnu-eis.org.
    Public Comment and Information Meeting: A public information 
meeting will be held on May 14, 2007, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. (ADT) 
at Centennial Hall, 101 Egan Drive, Juneau, AK 99801. A presentation 
regarding the FAA's preferred alternatives will be provided at 6:30 
p.m. (ADT). Written comments on the sections of the document identified 
above may be submitted during the public information meeting or to the 
address listed in the section entitled ``Written Comments Should Be 
Sent to''.
    On-line comments may be submitted using the form provided at the 
project Web site http://www.jnu-eis.org by following the links to 
Public Comment Form. Comments should be as specific as possible and 
address the analysis of potential environmental impacts and the 
adequacy of the proposed action or merits of alternatives and the 
mitigation being considered. Reviewers should organize their 
participation so that it is meaningful and makes the agency aware of 
the reviewer's interests and concerns using quotations and other 
specific references to the text of the Final EIS and related documents. 
Matters that could have been raised with specificity during the comment 
period on the Draft EIS or Final EIS may not be considered if they are 
raised later in the decision process. This commenting procedure is 
intended to ensure that substantive comments and concerns are made 
available to the FAA in a timely manner so that the FAA has an 
opportunity to address them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patti Sullivan, Environmental 
Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, Alaskan Region, Airports 
Division, 222 W. 7th Avenue 14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7504. Ms. 
Sullivan may be contacted during business hours at (907) 271-5454 
(phone) and (907) 271-2851 (facsimile).
    Written Comments Should Be Sent to: SWCA Environmental Consultants, 
ATTN: Juneau Airport EIS, 257 East 200 South, Ste. 200, Salt Lake City, 
Utah 84111.
    Electronic comments may be submitted via the EIS Web site at http://www.jnu-eis.org.
    All comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. (ADT) on June 
11, 2007.

    Issued in Anchorage, Alaska on April 17, 2007.
Byron K. Huffman,
Manager, Airports Division, Alaskan Region.
[FR Doc. 07-2000 Filed 4-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M