[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39074-39075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15476]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statements: National Summary of Rescinded 
Notices of Intent

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that 11 
States have rescinded Notices of Intent (NOI) to prepare 19 
Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for proposed highway projects. 
FHWA Division Offices, in consultation with the State Departments of 
Transportation (State DOT), determined that 15 of these projects were 
no longer viable projects and have formally cancelled the projects. No 
resources will be expended on these projects; the environmental review 
process has been terminated. Four projects in four States have been 
reduced in scope and now meet the criteria for an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) rather than an EIS, or a revised NOI will be issued 
restarting the EIS process.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lamar Smith, Office of Project 
Development and Environmental Review, (202) 366-8994; Janet Myers, 
Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-2019; Federal Highway 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by accessing 
the Federal Register's home page at: http://www.archives.gov and the 
Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara.

Background

    The FHWA, as lead Federal agency under the National Environmental

[[Page 39075]]

Policy Act and in furtherance of its oversight and stewardship 
responsibilities under the Federal-aid Highway Program, has requested 
that its Division Offices review, with the State DOTs, the status of 
all EISs and place those projects that are not actively progressing in 
a timely manner in an inactive project status. The FHWA maintains lists 
of active and inactive projects on its Web site at http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/. The FHWA has determined that inactive 
projects that are no longer a priority or that lack resources should be 
rescinded with a Federal Register notice notifying the public that 
project activity has been terminated. As always, FHWA encourages State 
DOTs to work with their FHWA Division Office to determine when it is 
most prudent to initiate an EIS in order to best balance available 
resources as well as the expectations of the public.
    The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that 11 States 
(Alabama, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington) have recently 
rescinded previously issued NOIs for 19 EISs for proposed highway 
projects. A listing of these projects, general location, original NOI 
date of publication in the Federal Register, and the date that the NOI 
was formally rescinded by notice published in the Federal Register, is 
provided below. The FHWA Division Offices, in consultation with the 
State DOTs, determined that 15 of these projects were no longer viable 
projects and have formally cancelled those projects. Four projects in 
California, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington have been reduced in 
scope and now meet the criteria for performing an EA rather than an 
EIS, or a revised NOI will be issued restarting the environmental 
review process. The South Stockton Six-Lane Project in Joaquin County, 
California, and the NE Novelty Hill project in King County, Washington, 
have been reduced in scope and will undergo analysis as EAs. The Mid-
Currituck Sound Bridge Project in Currituck and Dare Counties, North 
Carolina, issued a notice on June 3, 2008, rescinding the original July 
6, 1995, NOI as well as the January 1998 Draft EIS due to project 
changes including the adaptation of the project by the North Carolina 
Turnpike Authority. A new NOI for this project is expected. The South 
Padre Island Second Access Project in Cameron County, Texas, issued a 
revised NOI to rescind the original July 11, 2003, NOI and start the 
environmental review process again with an April 23, 2008, NOI.

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                   State                            Project name--location           NOI date     Rescinded date
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AL.........................................  West Mobile Loop--Mobile County....       8/28/2002        5/7/2008
 AL........................................  Birmingham Northern Beltline               8/2/2006       4/7/22008
                                              Extension--St. Clair County.
CA.........................................  South Stockton Six-Lane Project--         1/29/2002       3/13/2008
                                              Joaquin County.
FL.........................................  Suncoast Parkway 2--Hernando and          6/11/2002       3/11/2008
                                              Citrus Counties.
FL.........................................  Upper Manatee River Road--Manatee         1/21/2004       3/14/2008
                                              County.
NC.........................................   Mid-Currituck Sound Bridge                7/6/1995        6/3/2008
                                              Project--Currituck and Dare
                                              Counties.
OR.........................................  Astoria Bypass--Clatsop County.....       9/28/1994        4/7/2008
PA.........................................  Ligonier Truck Route--Westmoreland        1/29/1993       2/20/2008
                                              County.
TN.........................................  Appalachian Development Highway          10/28/1999       5/21/2008
                                              System Corridor K--Polk County.
TX.........................................   South Padre Island Second Access         7/11/2003       4/23/2008
                                              Project--Cameron County.
TX.........................................  Bolivar Bridge--Galveston County...       2/10/2006       1/30/2008
TX.........................................  SH 122 Roadway between SH 6 and           9/16/2002       3/14/2008
                                              SH99--Fort Bend County.
UT.........................................  I-15 North Corridor--Salt Lake City       1/22/1997       4/10/2008
                                              to Kaysville.
VA.........................................  Outer Connector--Stafford and              6/1/1995       5/22/2008
                                              Spotsylvania Counties.
VA.........................................  I-77/I-81 Improvement Project--           5/10/2001       5/22/2008
                                              Wythe County.
VA.........................................  Interstate 66 Multimodal                  1/11/2002       5/22/2008
                                              Transportation and Environmental
                                              Study--Fairfax and Prince William
                                              Counties.
VA.........................................  Route 29 South Bypass Improvement          3/4/2002       5/22/2008
                                              Project--near Lynchburg.
VA.........................................  Spotsylvania Parkway--Spotsylvania       11/15/2002       5/22/2008
                                              County.
WA.........................................  NE Novelty Hill--King County.......       1/18/2001        4/2/2008
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(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing 
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on 
Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)

    Issued on: June 30, 2008.
James D. Ray,
Acting Federal Highway Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E8-15476 Filed 7-7-08; 8:45 am]
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