[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 87 (Monday, May 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26380-26381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10685]



[[Page 26380]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2013-0286]


Proposal To Replace the Existing Movable I-5 Bridge Across the 
Columbia River With a Fixed Multi-use Bridge Which Will Accommodate 
Vehicular, Light Rail, Pedestrian and Bicycle Traffic and Will Be 
Called the Columbia River Crossing; Application Availability

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments; notice of 
public meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard, under its General Bridge Act of 1946 permit 
authority, announces the availability of a bridge permit application 
submitted by Columbia River Crossing (CRC). CRC's proposed project 
includes a new fixed bridge that will cross the Columbia River adjacent 
to the existing Interstate 5 bridge connecting Portland, Oregon and 
Vancouver, Washington. This new fixed bridge will provide 116 feet of 
vertical clearance above Columbia River Datum to accommodate waterway 
users. In addition to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic, the 
proposed bridge will carry a light rail line that will extend 
Portland's light rail service into Vancouver, Washington.
    Through this notice, the Coast Guard is soliciting your input on 
the potential impacts to navigation as a result of the proposed project 
in order to determine whether the proposal meets the reasonable needs 
of navigation.

DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to our 
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before June 20, 2013 
or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.
    Public meetings on the proposed CRC bridge will be held on Tuesday, 
June 4, 2013, and Wednesday, June 5, 2013. If you wish to request an 
oral or sign language interpreter, we must receive your request for one 
on or before May 26, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2013-0286 using any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9826.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on 
submitting comments.
    The public meetings will be held on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, from 5 
p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel on the River, 909 N Hayden Island 
Drive, Portland, Oregon and on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, from 5 p.m. to 
8 p.m. at the Hilton Vancouver, 301 West 6th St, Vancouver, Washington.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice 
or the public meetings, call or email Mr. Gary Greene, CRC Project 
Officer, Thirteenth Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 
206-220-7079, [email protected]. If you have questions on viewing 
or submitting material to the docket, call Barbara Hairston, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the 
proposed CRC Bridge. All comments received, including comments received 
at the public meetings, will be posted, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the 
docket number for this notice (USCG-2013-0286) and provide a reason for 
each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and 
material online, or by fax, mail or hand delivery, but please use only 
one of these means. We recommend that you include your name and a 
mailing address, an email address, or a telephone number in the body of 
your document so that we can contact you if we have questions regarding 
your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
insert (USCG-2013-0286) in the Search box, look for this notice in the 
docket and click the Comment button next to it. If you submit your 
comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic 
filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they 
reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard 
or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during 
the comment period.
    Viewing the comments: To view the comments go to http://www.regulations.gov, insert (USCG-2013-0286) in the Search box, then 
click on the ``Open Docket Folder'' option. If you do not have access 
to the internet, you may view the docket by visiting the Docket 
Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the 
Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. We have an agreement with the Department of 
Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.
    Copies of all written communications from the public meetings will 
be available for review by interested persons after the meeting on the 
online docket, USCG-2013-0286 via http://www.regulations.gov.
    Transcripts of the meetings will be available for public review 
approximately 30 days after the meetings. All comments will be made 
part of the public docket.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review a 
Privacy Act, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in 
the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Background and Purpose

    CRC is an entity formed by the Oregon Department of Transportation 
and the Washington Department of Transportation, for the purpose of 
improving the Interstate 5 (I-5) corridor between Portland, Oregon and 
Vancouver, Washington. CRC has proposed to replace the I-5 Bridge 
across navigable waters of the United States by replacing the existing 
lift bridge with a fixed bridge providing a vertical clearance of 116 
feet above Columbia River Datum. A description of the project 
(including related bridge permit application documents) and how it 
would be completed can be found at the project's Web site: http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org/.

[[Page 26381]]

    The proposed bridge project has been identified as a nationally or 
regionally significant project under Executive Order 13604, which 
requires agencies to coordinate and expedite the permitting and 
environmental review process for specific projects. The existing bridge 
is a lift bridge, which provides a vertical navigational clearance of 
178 feet above the Columbia River Datum. The applicant, CRC, proposes 
to decrease the vertical navigational clearance to 116 feet above the 
Columbia River Datum by building a fixed bridge.
    As a structure over navigable waters of the United States, the 
proposed bridge requires a Coast Guard Bridge Permit pursuant to the 
General Bridge Act of 1946 (33 U.S.C. 525-533). As such, we are 
requesting your comments on potential impacts to navigation related to 
the project. A Navigation Impact Report (NIR) was submitted by CRC to 
the Coast Guard as part of the bridge application. The NIR concluded 
that a number of waterway users will be impacted by the proposed 
project. As mitigation negotiations between the impacted users and CRC 
remain ongoing, the Coast Guard must consider them burdened users in 
its determination of the reasonable needs of navigation. In addition to 
the reduced vertical clearance proposed by CRC, the upper turning 
basin, located immediately downstream of the existing bridge, will be 
permanently reduced approximately eighteen percent due to the location 
of the proposed structures.
    During construction, CRC proposes to temporarily reduce the 
vertical and horizontal clearances by varying amounts for approximately 
five years. Specifically, for 21 months, both barge channels will be 
completely blocked, requiring a bridge lift for any vertical clearance 
greater than 39 feet above Columbia River Datum. Following that time 
period, for an additional 27 months, the vertical clearance will be 
restricted to approximately 100 feet above Columbia River Datum. The 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is reviewing a proposal by CRC to 
realign the federal channel to accommodate the proposed project. A ship 
simulation will be conducted by the USACE in early fall 2013 to 
determine the impact on the navigation channel during and after 
construction of the proposed project.
    Our publication of this notice begins a 45-day comment period and 
provides information on how to participate in the process. The process 
includes an opportunity to submit comment via the docket as outlined 
below, or through oral comments at two public meetings. The Bridge 
Permit Application, Navigation Impact Report, and other materials 
referenced here, as well as additional documents available to assist 
the public during this comment period, are available on the Columbia 
River Crossing Web site at http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org/Library/Type.aspx?CategoryID=13.
    The Coast Guard will hold two public meetings on the CRC 
application (one in Portland, Oregon and one in Vancouver, Washington) 
to provide an opportunity for oral comments. The specific times and 
locations are as follows:
    (1) The first public meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 
from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel on the River, 909 N Hayden 
Island Drive, Portland, Oregon
    (2) The second public meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 5, 
2013, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hilton Vancouver, 301 West 6th St, 
Vancouver, Washington.
    The purpose of these meetings is to consider an application 
submitted by CRC for Coast Guard approval of the proposed bridge across 
the Columbia River, mile 106.5, between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, 
Washington. All interested parties may present data, views and 
comments, orally or in writing, concerning the impact of the proposed 
bridge project on navigation.
    The public meetings will be informal. A representative of the Coast 
Guard will preside, make a brief opening statement and announce the 
procedure to be followed at the meetings. Attendees who request an 
opportunity to present oral comments at a public meeting must sign up 
to speak at the meeting site at the designated time of the meeting. 
Speakers will be called in the order of receipt of the request. 
Attendees at the meetings who wish to present oral comment, and have 
not previously made a request to do so, will follow those having 
submitted a request, as time permits. All oral presentations will be 
limited to three minutes. The public meetings may end early if all 
present wishing to speak have done so. Any oral comments provided at 
the meetings will be transcribed and placed into the docket by the 
Coast Guard. Written comments and related material may also be 
submitted to Coast Guard personnel specified at that meeting for 
placement into the docket by the Coast Guard.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting, 
contact Mr. Gary Greene, CRC Project Officer, U.S. Coast Guard, at the 
telephone number or email address indicated under the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. Any requests for an oral or 
sign language interpreter must be received on or before May 26, 2013.

Authority

    This notice is issued under authority of 33 U.S.C. 525 and 401(1), 
33 CFR 115.60, and DHS Delegation 0170.1(67).

    Dated: May 1, 2013.
Brian L. Dunn,
Administrator, Office of Bridge Programs, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2013-10685 Filed 5-1-13; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P