[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38375-38376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15735]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) for the Taos Regional Airport Layout Plan 
Improvements, Taos, NM

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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    Location: The Taos Regional Airport (SKX) is located in north Taos 
County, New Mexico, approximately seven miles northwest of the Town of 
Taos.
SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this Notice to advise the public that it 
has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a 
proposed new runway and associated facilities and improvements at the 
Taos Regional Airport, Taos, New Mexico. The FEIS reflects the Section 
106 consultations between the FAA, the Taos Pueblo, Town of Taos, 
National Park Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, New 
Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and the New Mexico 
Department of Transportation regarding adverse effects on the Taos 
Pueblo World Heritage Site and other traditional cultural properties 
within the National Register Eligible Historic District associated with 
the Taos Pueblo. The FEIS also includes floodplain impact evaluations.
    The FAA is seeking comments on those sections of the FEIS that have 
been updated and/or contain information that has become available since 
the release of the DEIS. Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section below for more information.
    The FAA is providing a thirty day (30) day FEIS review period. The 
FEIS review period begins on the date of the publication of this Notice 
of Availability in the Federal Register, and will close on July 30, 
2012. The FAA must receive written comments on these subsections 
postmarked no later than July 30, 2012. Comments received after that 
date may not be considered by the FAA.
    All comments on the FEIS are to be submitted to Mr. Dean McMath of 
the FAA, at the address shown in the section below entitled, ``For 
Further Information or to Submit Comments''.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA, as the lead Federal agency, has 
prepared the EIS for the proposed new runway and related facilities and 
improvements at SKX. The Department of Interior National Park Service 
and the Taos Pueblo are Cooperating Agencies for the preparation of the 
EIS.
    The airport development action proposed by the Town of Taos (the 
Airport Sponsor) is the construction of a new runway at SKX that would 
be 8,600 feet long and 100 feet wide. Related facilities and 
improvements proposed by the Airport Sponsor include grading and 
drainage improvements, taxiways, new airfield lighting, communication 
equipment, and navigational aids associated with the new runway; 
shortening the existing Runway 4/22 by 420 feet; construction of a new 
airport access road; and, extension of an on-airport access road.
    The FAA published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in 
October, 2006. The DEIS was prepared pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The DEIS comparatively 
assessed and disclosed the potential future impacts of the No-Action

[[Page 38376]]

Alternative and three proposed action alternatives designated as 
Alternative 2-C, Alternative 2-D, and Alternative 3.
    Since the publication of the DEIS, the FAA has addressed comments 
received on the DEIS; addressed comments on the Preliminary FEIS 
provided by Cooperating Agencies; conducted additional technical 
analyses; conducted the Section 106 consultation process; and prepared 
the FEIS. The Section 106 consultation process resulted in the 
execution of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in February 2012.
    Because the DEIS is more than three years old, the FAA evaluated 
the DEIS to determine whether the consideration of alternatives, 
affected environment, environmental impacts, and mitigation measures in 
the DEIS remains applicable, accurate, and valid in accordance with FAA 
Order 1050.1E, paragraph 514a and 5050.4B, Section 1401.b.3. The FAA 
found that substantial changes in these factors have not occurred and 
that a complete revision or supplement to the DEIS was not warranted. 
However, FAA's review of current information did note that some social 
and environmental changes have occurred since the DEIS was published in 
2006. The FAA evaluated the new information and determined that the 
changes did not affect the range of alternatives considered or the 
detailed analysis of alternatives conducted in this FEIS. However, to 
document and disclose the social and environmental changes that have 
occurred, the FAA prepared a technical memorandum that presents the new 
information and discusses any potential impacts related to the changed 
social and environmental conditions. The technical memorandum is 
contained in the FEIS.
    The FAA is making available the FEIS it prepared addressing a 
proposed new runway and associated facilities and improvements at the 
Taos Regional Airport. The FEIS discloses:
     The purpose and need for the proposed project;
     Reasonable alternatives analyzed and the FAA's preferred 
alternative;
     Potential environmental impacts and consequences 
associated with those alternatives;
     FAA's responses to comments it received on the DEIS; and
     How FAA has complied with various resource laws, 
regulations and executive orders, including the National Environmental 
Policy Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 
Executive Order (EO) 12898, ``Federal Actions to Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations'', and EO 
11988, ``Floodplain Management.''
    Public Review and Comment: The FEIS is available for review during 
normal business hours at the following locations:
     FAA Southwest Regional Office, 2601 Meacham Boulevard, 
Fort Worth, Texas 76137,
     Taos Regional Airport, Highway 64 West, 1 Airport Road, 
Taos, New Mexico 87571,
     Taos Town Hall, 400 Camino de la Placita, Taos, New Mexico 
87571, and
     Taos Public Library, 402 Camino de la Placita, Taos, New 
Mexico 87571.
    Comments should be as specific as possible and address the analysis 
of potential environmental impacts, the adequacy of the proposed 
action, or the merits of alternatives and the mitigation being 
considered. Reviewers should organize their participation so that it is 
meaningful and makes the agency aware of the viewer's interests and 
concerns using quotations and other specific references to the text of 
the FEIS and related documents. This is intended to ensure that 
substantive comments and concerns are made available to the FAA in a 
timely manner so that the FAA has an opportunity to address them in its 
Record of Decision (ROD).
    Comments can only be accepted with the full name and address of the 
individual commenting. Before including your address, phone number, 
email address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, be advised that your entire comment--including your personal 
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask the FAA in your comment to withhold from public 
review your personal identifying information, the FAA cannot guarantee 
that it will be able to do so.
    After review and consideration of the comments received on the 
FEIS, and sometime after the 30-day comment period on the FEIS has 
ended, the FAA will issue its ROD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT OR TO SUBMIT COMMENTS: Dean McMath, 
ASW-613, Regional Environmental Programs Manager, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Southwest Regional Office, Fort Worth, Texas 76193, 
telephone (817) 222-5617.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 19, 2012.
Kelvin L. Solco,
Manager, Airports Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-15735 Filed 6-26-12; 8:45 am]
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