[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 67 (Thursday, April 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16255-16256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7693]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, TX and To Conduct 
Public Scoping Meetings

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) and to conduct public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this Notice of Intent to advise the public 
that the FAA will prepare an EIS under the provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The EIS will 
address proposed improvements to George Bush Intercontinental Airport 
(IAN). The Houston Airport System (HAS), the sponsor of the project, 
completed an Airport Master Plan (AMP) for IAN in 2006. The AMP showed 
that additional airfield capacity was needed. Airfield improvements 
including additional runway(s) were recommended to meet future capacity 
and reduce projected delays at IAH.
    Based on analysis presented in the AMP, FAA concurred that 
additional capacity was needed to meet forecast demand and began the 
EIS process. One of the first tasks in the process was to update the 
aviation forecast because of the decline in aviation operations since 
the AMP was completed. An updated forecast of aircraft operations was 
completed and reconfirmed the need to provide for additional capacity 
at IAH.
    The EIS will document the purpose and need for the proposed 
improvements as well as analyze a range of alternatives such as use of 
other modes of transportation or airports, construction of airfield 
improvements and as required by NEPA, the no action alternative. It is 
anticipated that the focus of the analysis will be on airfield 
improvement alternatives including: altering runway use and/or 
constructing taxiways; constructing a new runway between Runways 8L/26R 
and 8R/26L; and constructing a new runway south of Runway 9/27. To 
comply with NEPA, the FAA must also evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts of each of the reasonable alternatives such as 
and not limited to: noise impacts, impacts on air and water quality, 
wetlands, fish, wildlife, plants, floodplains, historic resources, 
hazardous wastes, socioeconomics, and economic factors.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Aviation Administration, 
Airports Division, Attn: Paul Blackford, ASW-652B, 2601 Meacham 
Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76137, E-mail: eis.org">pblackford.faa@iah-eis.org, 
Phone: 817-222-5607.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to inform 
federal, state, and local government agencies and the public, of FAA's 
intent to prepare an EIS and to conduct a public and agency scoping 
process. Information, data, opinions, and comments obtained throughout 
the scoping process will be considered in the preparation of the draft 
EIS. The scoping process for this EIS will include a comment period for 
interested agencies and parties to submit oral and/or written comments 
representing the concerns and issues they believe the EIS should 
address.
    Scoping Meetings: The purpose of the scoping meetings is to receive 
input from the public and agencies regarding the scope and process 
related to the EIS. Comments and suggestions are invited from all 
interested parties to ensure that issues and concerns related to the 
proposed action and its alternatives are addressed. Public and agency 
scoping meetings will be conducted to encourage submittal of comments 
to the FAA.
    Public scoping meetings will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on May 12, 
2009, at the Humble Civic Center and May 14, 2009, at the Nimitz High 
School. Each meeting will include an introductory presentation, 
exhibits for team members to further explain the project and process, 
and opportunities to submit oral or written comments. To notify the 
general public of the scoping process, a legal notice will be placed in 
newspapers having general circulation in the study area. The newspaper 
notice will notify the public that scoping meetings will be held to 
gain public input concerning the proposed action, alternatives to be 
considered, and environmental impacts to be evaluated. The notice will 
also identify where the scoping package will be available for review.
    An agency scoping meeting for all federal, state, and local 
regulatory agencies which have jurisdiction by law or have special 
expertise with respect to any potential environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. 
on May 12, 2009 at the Humble Civic Center. A notification letter along 
with a scoping package will be sent in advance of those meetings.
    The Scoping Meetings provide the first major opportunity for 
gathering comments from agency representatives and the general public. 
Comments received at the meetings, or by mail, e-mail and via the Web 
site (http://www.iah-eis.org) by June 15, 2009, will be included in the 
Scoping Report and considered for inclusion in the EIS. The Final 
Scoping Report will be made available to the public on the Web site.
    In addition to preparing the EIS to fulfill the requirements of 
NEPA, the FAA will prepare the EIS in order to comply with other 
applicable laws having public involvement requirements. Comments 
addressing other applicable laws should be

[[Page 16256]]

submitted to the listed contact person. Further information about the 
EIS and the proposed action will be posted when available at http://
www.iah-eis.org.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 30, 2009.
Mike Nicely,
Acting Manager, Airports Division.
[FR Doc. E9-7693 Filed 4-8-09; 8:45 am]
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