[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17995-17996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6793]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ-220-08-5101-ER-A235; AZA-34177]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Initiate Public Scoping for a Proposed Road (Sonoran Valley Parkway 
Project), Maricopa County, AZ

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will direct the 
preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and conduct 
public scoping meetings for a road right-of-way (ROW) proposal 
submitted by the City of Goodyear pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4332, the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The 
proposed project includes the construction, operation, and maintenance 
of a two-lane roadway across public land in order to access the 
Goodyear Master Planning Area (MPA). The MPA encompasses approximately 
67 square miles annexed in May 2007.

DATES: Publication of this notice initiates the 30-day public scoping 
process. Written comments must be submitted to the BLM within 30 days 
following the date the notice is published in the Federal Register. The 
BLM will host public scoping meetings. The dates, times, and locations 
of these meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through 
local news media and the BLM Arizona Web site: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and issues related to the proposed EIS can 
be mailed to or hand delivered to the District Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, Phoenix District, 21605 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 
85027. They may also be faxed to the BLM at 623-580-5580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Camille Champion, Project Manager, 
Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix District, 21605 North 7th Avenue, 
Phoenix, AZ 85027; 623-580-5526; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 7, 2008, the BLM received a ROW 
application from the City of Goodyear to construct and operate a 200-
foot-wide roadway for the Sonoran Valley Parkway project. The length of 
the road would be between 12 and 16 miles long, depending on BLM-
selected alternatives.
    The roadway construction will commence at Section 13, T. 4 S., R. 1 
W., Gila and Salt River Meridian, AZ, and run in a northwesterly 
direction approximately parallel to the existing El Paso Natural Gas 
corridor to the alignment of Rainbow Valley Road, then northerly along 
Rainbow Valley Road to tie into existing pavement at the intersection 
of Rainbow Valley Road and Riggs Road in Section 35, T. 2 S., R. 2 W., 
Gila and Salt River Meridian, AZ. A map of the proposed area will be 
available on the BLM Arizona website with the news release announcing 
the public meetings.
    The EIS will consider the impacts of the Proposed Action, 
Alternative Actions, and the No-Action Alternative. The No-Action 
Alternative is required by Council on Environmental Quality regulation 
to be evaluated as part of the EIS, and will be fully addressed in the 
EIS as one of the alternatives. Specific alternatives and options will 
not be known until after data collection and public scoping has taken 
place.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues, concerns, and ideas that will influence the scope of the 
environmental analysis and EIS alternatives. The public is invited to 
submit comments and

[[Page 17996]]

resource information and identify issues or concerns to be considered 
in the preparation of the draft EIS. All comments received will aid the 
BLM in identifying alternatives and mitigating measures and will help 
assure that all issues are considered in the EIS.
    Preliminary issues that have been identified by the BLM include: 
water resources; vegetation; endangered and threatened species; 
wildlife; soils and geology; recreation, cultural resources; land use; 
and socioeconomics and environmental justice. If you have specific 
concerns regarding the above issues, or have other concerns or issues 
that the BLM should consider in processing this proposed ROW, please 
provide them in writing at the address listed above or state them 
verbally at one of the upcoming public scoping meetings. Those 
individuals, organizations, and agencies with a known interest in the 
proposal have been sent a scoping letter requesting comments on the 
proposal. Persons wishing to be added to the mailing list for this EIS 
may do so by contacting the BLM at the above address.
    It is important that those interested in the proposed action 
participate during the scoping and draft EIS review processes so that 
any substantive comments are provided at a time when the BLM can 
meaningfully consider them. Comments, including names and addresses of 
respondents, will be available for public review at the Phoenix 
District office during regular business hours, 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. 
Monday through Friday (except holidays), and may be published as part 
of the EIS or other related documents.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. If you do wish to withhold your name or address from 
public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 
you must clearly state this at the beginning of your written comment. 
Such requests will be evaluated and honored to the extent allowed. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7.

    Dated: March 20, 2008.
Teresa A. Raml,
District Manager.
 [FR Doc. E8-6793 Filed 4-1-08; 8:45 am]
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