[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 19 (Friday, January 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5719-5720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1797]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Placer Parkway Partially Revised Draft Tier I Environmental 
Impact Statement

DATE: January 2009.
AGENCY: United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway 
Administration.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Placer Parkway Partially 
Revised Draft Tier I Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this 
notice to advise the public of the availability of a Partially Revised 
Draft Tier 1 EIS for the Placer Parkway Corridor Preservation Project, 
a proposed transportation corridor in western Placer and eastern Sutter 
Counties, California. Specifically, the action being considered and 
evaluated is to select and preserve a 500- to 1,000-foot-wide corridor 
in the project study area, within which the future four- or six-lane 
Placer Parkway may be constructed. Placer Parkway is intended to reduce 
anticipated congestion on both the local and regional transportation 
system and to advance economic development goals in south Sutter County 
and southwestern Placer County.
    Five corridor build alternatives and a no-build alternative are 
evaluated in the Draft Tier 1 EIS. Although the Parkway would be 
designed and construction-level impacts analyzed during Tier 2, for the 
purpose of the Draft Tier 1 EIS, several assumptions have been made 
about potential design and configuration concepts. These assumptions 
would be subject to further development and refinement, and specific 
decisions about design of the roadway would be made during the Tier 2 
process. The Parkway would be a high-speed, limited access roadway. 
Conceptually, interchanges would be located at SR 70/99 (at one-half 
mile north of Riego Road or at Sankey Road), one or two locations to be 
determined in southern Sutter County, Fiddyment Road, Foothills 
Boulevard, and SR 65 at Whitney Ranch Parkway. Access would be 
restricted for the 7-mile segment between Pleasant Grove Road and 
Fiddyment Road. The Draft Tier 1 EIS assumes no interchanges in this 
segment.
    Revisions to the Draft Tier 1 EIS and Additional Analyses in the 
Partially Revised Draft Tier 1 EIS: The Partially Revised Draft Tier 1 
EIS serves as a supplement to the Draft Tier 1 EIS issued in June 2007, 
to reflect additional analyses developed since the publication of the 
prior draft. The Partially Revised Draft Tier 1 EIS provides revisions 
to the Draft Tier 1 EIS, including updates to farmland classification 
data and greenhouse gas emissions. It also includes additional analyses 
of growth inducement, secondary and indirect impacts and cumulative 
impacts based on hypothetical future scenarios prepared for the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    Public Review and Comment Period: Comments regarding the Partially 
Revised Draft Tier 1 EIS shall be accepted beginning on January 30, 
2009 and must be submitted in writing by 5 p.m. on March 15, 2009 to 
Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA) via regular mail 
to PCTPA, Attention: Celia McAdam, Executive Director, 299 Nevada St., 
Auburn, California 95603, or via e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Celia McAdam, Executive Director, 
299 Nevada St., Auburn, California 95603, or via e-mail to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by using a 
computer, modem and suitable communications software from the 
Government Printing Office's Electronic Bulletin Board Service at (202) 
512-1661. Internet users may reach the Office of Federal Register's 
home page at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg and the Government Printing 
Office's Web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov.nara.
    Background: The FHWA, in cooperation with the California Department 
of Transportation (Caltrans), Sutter County, and the South Placer 
Regional Transportation Authority (SPRTA), prepared a Partially Revised 
Draft Tier 1 EIS on a proposal to select and preserve a corridor for 
the future construction of Placer Parkway, a new east-west roadway 
linking State Route (SR) 70/99 in Sutter County east to SR 65 in Placer 
County. Placer Parkway is intended to reduce anticipated congestion on 
both the local and regional transportation system and to advance 
economic development goals in south Sutter County and southwestern 
Placer County.
    Specifically, the action being considered and evaluated by FHWA, 
Caltrans and SPRTA is to select and preserve a 500- to 1,000-foot-wide 
corridor in the project study area, within which the future four- or 
six-lane Placer Parkway may be constructed. Five or six interchanges 
are proposed, depending on the corridor alignment alternative.
    The proposed Parkway project is identified in the Sacramento 
Council of Government's (SACOG) 2025 Metropolitan Transportation Plan 
(MTP) and the 2022 Placer County Regional Transportation Plan. The 
planning for Placer Parkway involves two phases: (1) The present 
action, selection of a corridor (titled the Placer Parkway Corridor 
Preservation Project), and (2) the future selection of a precise 
alignment within the corridor and a decision whether or not to build 
the Parkway. If a build alternative is selected and pursued after the 
second phase, the ultimate Placer Parkway project would be constructed 
and operated. Each phase will be subject to its own environmental 
review, a process known as ``tiered'' environmental review under both 
state and federal law. The selection of a corridor is the subject of 
the Tier 1 EIS.
    The Placer Parkway Corridor Preservation Draft Tier 1 EIS was 
completed on June 29, 2007. It was circulated for public comment on 
July 2, 2007. The comment period ended on September 10, 2007. To the 
degree feasible, the Draft Tier 1 EIS reviewed the reasonably 
foreseeable environmental effects of the construction and operation of 
the Parkway. Selection of a more precise alignment within the corridor, 
and construction and operation of the Parkway, will be the subject of a 
later Tier 2 environmental document.
    The Revised Draft Tier 1 EIS serves as a supplement to the Draft 
Tier 1 EIS issued in June 2007, to reflect additional analyses 
developed since the publication of the prior draft. The Revised Draft 
Tier 1 EIS provides revisions to the Draft Tier 1 EIS, including 
updates to farmland classification data, and greenhouse gas emissions. 
It also includes additional analyses of growth inducement, secondary 
and indirect impacts and cumulative impacts based on hypothetical 
future scenarios prepared

[[Page 5720]]

for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers.
    To ensure that a full range of issues related to this proposed 
action are addressed and all significant issues identified, comments 
and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments or 
questions concerning this proposed action should be directed to the 
FHWA at the address provided above or to Celia McAdam, Executive 
Director, PCTPA, 299 Nevada Street, Auburn, CA 95603, no later than 
March 8, 2009.
    The public, as well as agencies and local jurisdictions, are also 
invited to comment on the Partially Revised Draft Tier 1 EIS at either 
of two public hearings:
     February 23, 2009--6 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial 
Community Building, 1425 Veterans Memorial Circle in Yuba City, 
California.
     February 25, 2009--10:45 a.m. at the Placer County Board 
of Supervisors Chambers (The Domes), 175 Fulweiler Avenue, Auburn, CA 
95603.
    Availability of the Partially Revised Draft Tier 1 EIS for Public 
Review: Copies are available for review at the following locations:

Placer County Transportation Planning Agency, 299 Nevada Street, 
Auburn, CA
Placer County Planning Department, 3091 County Center Drive, Auburn, CA
Placer County Public Works Department, 3091 County Center Drive, 
Auburn, CA
Placer County Library, 350 Nevada Street, Auburn, CA
Placer County Library, Loomis, 6050 Library Drive, Loomis, CA
Sutter County Library, Main Branch, 7504 Forbes Avenue, Yuba City, CA
Sutter County Library, Pleasant Grove Branch, 3093 Howsley Road, 
Pleasant Grove, CA
Sutter County Library, Browns Branch, 1248 Pacific Avenue, Rio Oso, CA
Sacramento County Public Library, 828 I Street, Sacramento, CA
California State University, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA
Sutter County Planning Department, 1130 Civic Center Blvd., Yuba City, 
CA
Sacramento County Planning Department, 827 7th Street, Room 230, 
Sacramento, CA
Roseville Public Library--Downtown, 225 Taylor Street, Roseville, CA
Roseville Public Library--Maidu 1530 Maidu Drive, Roseville, CA
Rocklin Library, 5400 Fifth Street, Rocklin, CA
Lincoln Library, 590 Fifth Street, Lincoln, CA
Sierra College Library, 5000 Rocklin Road, Rocklin, CA
Sacramento County Library, North Natomas, 2500 New Market Drive, 
Sacramento, CA
Sacramento County Library, North Highlands--Antelope, 4235 Antelope 
Road, Antelope, CA

    Copies can also be obtained electronically from PCTPA's project Web 
site at http://www.pctpa.net. Additional information, including 
documents referenced in the Partially Revised Draft Tier 1 EIS, may be 
obtained by contacting Celia McAdam at the Placer County Transportation 
Planning Agency at 530-823-4030, Monday through Friday between the 
hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

    Issued on: January 22, 2009.
Sandra Garcia-Aline,
Director, Local Agency Programs, Federal Highway Administration, 
Sacramento, CA.
[FR Doc. E9-1797 Filed 1-29-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P