[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49547-49549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19979]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in 
Indiana

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Limitation on Claims for Judicial Review of Actions 
by FHWA, United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), DOI, and 
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), DOD.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA, the USFWS, 
and the USACE that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). 
The actions relate to proposed highway projects for a 28.7 mile segment 
of I-69 in the Counties of Gibson, Pike and Daviess, State of Indiana, 
and a 25.73 mile segment of I-69 in the Counties of Daviess and Greene, 
State of Indiana, and grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the 
projects.

DATES: By this notice, the FHWA is advising the public that the FHWA, 
the USACE, and the USFWS have made decisions that are subject to 23 
U.S.C. 139(l)(1) and are final within the meaning of that law. A claim 
seeking judicial review of those Federal agency decisions on the 
proposed highway project will be barred unless the claim is filed on or 
before February 9, 2011. If the Federal law that authorizes judicial 
review of a claim provides a time period of less than 180 days for 
filing such claim, then the shorter time period applies.

[[Page 49548]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For the FHWA: Ms. Janice Osadczuk, 
Federal Highway Administration, Indiana Division, 575 North 
Pennsylvania Street, Room 254, Indianapolis, IN 46204-1576; telephone: 
(317) 226-7486; e-mail: [email protected]. The FHWA Indiana 
Division Office's normal business hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., e.t. 
For the USFWS: Mr. Scott Pruitt, Field Supervisor, Bloomington Field 
Office, USFWS, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403-2121; 
telephone: 812-334-4261; e-mail: [email protected]. Normal business 
hours for the USFWS Bloomington Field Office are: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
e.t. For the USACE: Mr. Greg Mckay, Chief, North Section Regulatory 
Branch, Louisville District, United States Army Corps of Engineers, 
P.O. Box 59, Louisville, KY 40201-0059; telephone: (502) 315-6685; e-
mail: [email protected]. Normal business hours are 8 a.m. 
to 5 p.m., e.t. You may also contact Mr. Thomas Seeman, Project 
Manager, Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), 100 North Senate 
Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204; telephone: (317) 232-5336; e-mail: 
[email protected]. Normal business hours for the Indiana Department 
of Transportation are: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the FHWA and 
other Federal agencies have taken final agency actions by issuing 
licenses, permits, and approvals for the highway projects in the State 
of Indiana that are listed below. The actions by the Federal agencies 
on a project, and the laws under which such actions were taken, are 
described in the Record of Decision (ROD), Reevaluation Documents to 
the final environmental impact statements (FEIS) issued in connection 
with the projects, Section 404 Water Quality Permit and Regional 
General Permit letters, and in other documents in the FHWA 
administrative record for the project. The ROD and other documents from 
the FHWA administrative record files for the listed projects are 
available by contacting the FHWA or the Indiana Department of 
Transportation (INDOT) at the addresses provided above. Project 
information may also be available through the INDOT I-69 Project Web 
site at http://www.i69indyevn.org/. People unable to access the Web 
site may contact FHWA or INDOT at the addresses listed above. This 
notice applies to all Federal agency decisions on the listed project as 
of the issuance date of this notice and all laws under which such 
actions were taken, including but not limited to: 1. National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321-4351]. 2. Endangered 
Species Act [16 U.S.C. 1531-1544]. 3. Federal-Aid Highway Act [23 
U.S.C. 109 and 23 U.S.C. 128]. 4. Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401-
7671(q). 5. Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 
1966 [49 U.S.C. 303]. 6. Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act of 1966, as amended [16 U.S.C. 470(f) et seq.]. 7. 
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act [16 U.S.C. 688-688d]. 8. Clean 
Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251-1377 (Section 404, Section 402, Section 401, 
Section 319). Previous actions taken by the USFWS for the Tier 1, I-69 
project, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 
included its concurrence with the FHWA's determination that the I-69 
project was not likely to adversely affect the eastern fanshell mussel 
(Cyprogenia stegaria) and that the project was likely to adversely 
affect, but not jeopardize, the bald eagle. The USFWS also concluded 
that the project was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence 
of the Indiana bat and was not likely to adversely modify the bat's 
designated Critical Habitat. These USFWS decisions were described in 
the Programmatic Biological Opinion issued on December 3, 2003, the 
Revised Programmatic Biological Opinion issued on August 24, 2006, and 
other documents in the Tier 1 project records. A Notice of Limitation 
on Claims for Judicial Review of these actions and decisions by the 
USFWS, DOI, was published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2007. A 
claim seeking judicial review of the Tier 1 decisions must have been 
filed by October 15, 2007, to avoid being barred under 23 U.S.C. 
139(l).
    The projects subject to this notice are:
    1. Project: Section 2 of the I-69 highway project from Evansville 
to Indianapolis. Location: Oakland City, Indiana to Washington, 
Indiana, Gibson, Pike and Daviess Counties. Notice is hereby given that 
the FHWA has approved a Tier 2 Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(FEIS) for Section 2 of the I-69 highway project from Evansville to 
Indianapolis and issued a Record of Decision (Section 2 ROD) for 
Section 2 on April 30, 2010. Section 2 of the I-69 project extends from 
approximately one-half mile north of SR 64 near Oakland City to US 50 
east of Washington. Section 2 is a new alignment, fully access-
controlled highway. As approved in the Tier 1 ROD, the corridor is 
generally 2000-feet wide, but corridor width varies and is at its 
narrowest crossing the Patoka River, where it narrows to 420 feet. The 
Section 2 ROD selected Refined Preferred Alternative 1 for Section 2, 
as described in the I-69 Evansville to Indianapolis, Indiana, Tier 2 
Final Environmental Impact Statement, Oakland City to Washington, 
Indiana (FEIS), available at http://www.i69indyevn.org/section2_FEIS.html. The Section 2 ROD also approved the locations of the 
interchanges, grade separations, and access roads (which include new 
roads, road relocations, and realignments). The FHWA had previously 
issued a Tier 1 FEIS and ROD for the entire I-69 project from 
Evansville to Indianapolis, Indiana. A Notice of Limitation on Claims 
for Judicial Review of Actions by FHWA and United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS), DOI, was published in the Federal Register on 
April 17, 2007. A claim seeking judicial review of the Tier 1 decisions 
must have been filed by October 15, 2007, to avoid being barred under 
23 U.S.C. 139(l). Decisions in the FHWA Tier 1 ROD that were cited in 
that Federal Register notice included, but were not limited to, the 
following:
    1. Purpose and need for the project.
    2. Range of alternatives for analysis.
    3. Selection of the Interstate highway build alternative and 
highway corridor for the project, as Alternative 3C.
    4. Elimination of other alternatives from consideration in Tier 2 
NEPA proceedings.
    5. Process for completing the Tier 2 alternatives analysis and 
studies for the project, including the designation of six Tier 2 
sections and a decision to prepare a separate environmental impact 
statement for each Tier 2 section.

The Tier 1 ROD and Notice specifically noted that the ultimate 
alignment of the highway within the corridor, and the location and 
number of interchanges and rest areas would be evaluated in the Tier 2 
NEPA proceedings. Those proceedings for Section 2 of the I-69 project 
from Evansville to Indianapolis have culminated in the April 30, 2010, 
ROD and this Notice. Interested parties may consult the Tier 2, Section 
2 ROD and FEIS for details about each of the decisions described above 
and for information on other issues decided. The Tier 2, Section 2 ROD 
can be viewed and downloaded from the project Web site at http://www.i69indyevn.org/.
    For the Tier 2, Section 2, 28.7 mile I-69 project in Gibson, Pike 
and Daviess Counties, an individual Biological Opinion by the USFWS was 
issued in February 2010 that concluded that the Section 2 project was 
not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of

[[Page 49549]]

the Indiana bat and was not likely to adversely modify the bat's 
designated Critical Habitat. In addition, the USFWS issued an 
Incidental Take Statement subject to specified terms and conditions. 
The biological opinions and other project records relating to the USFWS 
actions, taken pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531-
1544, are available by contacting the FHWA, INDOT, or USFWS at the 
addresses provided above. The Tier 2, Section 2, Biological Opinion can 
be viewed and downloaded from the project Web site at http://www.deis.i69indyevn.org/FEIS_Sec2/2F_Appendix_Y2.pdf.
    2. Project: Section 3 of the I-69 highway project from Evansville 
to Indianapolis. Location: U.S. 50 east of the city of Washington, 
Indiana to U.S. 231 near the Crane NSWC, Daviess and Greene Counties. 
Notice is hereby given that the FHWA has approved four Reevaluations of 
the Tier 2, Section 3 Record of Decision issued on January 28, 2010. 
Section 3 of the I-69 project extends from U.S. 50 east of the city of 
Washington, Indiana to U.S. 231 near the Crane NSWC. Section 3 is a new 
alignment, fully access-controlled highway. As approved in the Tier 1 
ROD, the corridor is generally 2000-feet wide. The corridor width 
varies at two locations within Section 3. It narrows to 1200-feet wide 
near First Creek and expands to 6400-feet wide near the Thousand Acre 
Woods. The ROD selected Refined Preferred Alternative 1 for Section 3, 
as described in the I-69 Evansville to Indianapolis, Indiana, Tier 2 
Final Environmental Impact Statement, Washington to Crane NSWC, Indiana 
(FEIS), available at http://www.i69indyevn.org/section3_FEIS.html. The 
ROD also approved the locations of the interchanges, grade separations, 
and access roads (which include new roads, road relocations, and 
realignments). A Notice of Limitation on Claims for Judicial Review of 
Actions by FHWA and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), 
DOI, was published in the Federal Register on February 25, 2010 (75 FR 
8786-01). A claim seeking judicial review of the Tier 2, Section 3 
decisions must be filed by August 24, 2010, to avoid being barred under 
23 U.S.C. 139(l). The four Reevaluations of the Tier 2, Section 3 ROD 
include: (1) The June 15, 2010 Reevaluation, which was prepared to 
evaluate the impacts of additional right-of-way areas made necessary as 
a result of final design of Section 3 that were not analyzed in the 
Tier 2 Section 3 ROD or FEIS; (2) the April 18, 2010 Revaluation, which 
was prepared to analyze the impacts of additional right-of-way areas 
made necessary based on final design Section 3 that were not analyzed 
in the Tier 2 Section 3 ROD or FEIS (approved April 18, 2010); (3) the 
February 18, 2010 Reevaluation, which was prepared to evaluate the 
impacts of additional right-of-way to accommodate grade separation, 
drive construction and building removal, made necessary based on final 
design of several bridges; and (4) the May 6, 2010 Reevaluation, which 
was prepared to evaluate the impacts of minor bridge design changes and 
acquisition of additional permanent flood easements made necessary 
based on final design that were not analyzed in the Tier 2 Section 3 
ROD or FEIS. The analysis in each of the four reevaluations completed 
supports the FHWA's conclusions that none of the changes examined will 
have impacts sufficient to require preparation of a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) or an additional Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Section 3. The detailed 
analysis of the reevaluation documents along with the Federal decision 
of minimal impact can be found on the project Web site at http://www.i69indyevn.org/reevaluation.html.
    In addition, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has 
taken final agency action by issuing a permit and approval for the 
Section 3, 25.73 mile I-69 project in Daviess and Greene Counties. On 
January 7, 2010, INDOT filed an application with the USACE for 
authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1344, 
to construct the 25.73 mile Section 3 of I-69. As part of the Section 3 
project, which begins at the terminus of the Section 2 project, there 
are six crossings of water resources requiring individual permits from 
the USACE, including streams, open water and emergent, scrub-shrub and 
forested wetlands. Subject to the permit conditions, INDOT is permitted 
to discharge fill material below the Ordinary Highway Water mark of 
8,925 linear feet of Doan's Creek and intermittent and ephemeral 
tributaries of Eagan Ditch and Doan's Creek, and to discharge fill 
material into 4.64 acres of open water and emergent, scrub-shrub and 
forested wetlands adjacent to First Creek and Doan's Creek in 
constructing these crossings. The action taken by the USACE, related 
final actions by other Federal agencies, and the laws under which such 
actions were taken are described in the USACE decision and its 
administrative record for the Projects, referenced as Section 404 Water 
Quality Permit Number LRL-2010-39-djd, issued on July 14, 2010. In 
addition, in two letters dated January 20, 2010 and May 4, 2010, the 
USACE has authorized impacts at 32 other sites under their jurisdiction 
within Section 3 of the I-69 project in Daviess and Greene Counties via 
the Regional General Permit No. 1 issued jointly by the Louisville and 
Chicago Districts on December 15, 2009. All of this information is 
available on the project Web site at http://www.i69indyevn.org/404permits.html, or by contacting the USACE at the address provided 
above.

(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.)

    Authority:  23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1).

Robert F. Tally Jr.,
Division Administrator, Indianapolis, Indiana.
[FR Doc. 2010-19979 Filed 8-12-10; 8:45 am]
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