[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 95 (Thursday, May 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28873-28875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11627]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2012-1091]


Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for the Proposed Modification of the Bayonne Bridge 
Across the Kill Van Kull Between Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey and 
Staten Island, Richmond County, New York

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a Final 
Environmental Assessment (Final EA) which examines the reasonably 
foreseeable environmental impacts and socio-economic impacts of the 
proposed modification of the historic Bayonne Bridge across the Kill 
Van Kull between Bayonne, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York. This 
notice also announces the availability of the Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI). Because the Bayonne Bridge is a structure over 
navigable waters of the United States, the proposed bridge modification 
requires a Coast Guard Bridge Permit Amendment. This notice provides 
information on where to view the Final EA and FONSI, which consider an 
application by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) for 
Coast Guard approval of the modification to the Bayonne Bridge across 
the Kill Van Kull.

ADDRESSES: We have provided a copy of the Final EA and FONSI in our 
online docket at http://www.regulations.gov. Also, the Coast Guard 
First District Bridge Office at 1 South Street Bldg 1, New York, NY 
10004-1466 will maintain a printed copy of the Final EA and FONSI for 
public viewing. The document will be available for inspection at this 
location between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. The document will also be available for inspection in 
the locations shown in the section below titled ``Viewing the Final EA 
and FONSI.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call or email Christopher Bisignano, Bridge Management Specialist, 
First Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 212-668-7165, 
email [email protected]. If you have questions on 
viewing material on the docket, call Docket Operations at 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Authority: The Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact have been prepared in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.); Council on 
Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR 
1500-1508) and associated CEQ guidelines; Department of Homeland 
Security Management Directive 5100.1, Environmental Planning Program; 
and United States Coast Guard Commandant Instruction M16475.1D, 
National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures and Policy 
for Considering Environmental Impacts.
    Viewing the Final EA and FONSI: To view Final EA and FONSI go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, insert ``USCG-2012-1091'' in the Search 
box, press Enter, then click on the ``Open Docket Folder'' option. If 
you do not have access to the internet, you may view the docket online 
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. The Final EA and FONSI are also available online at http://www.uscg.mil/d1/prevention/Bridges.asp, www.dhs.gov/nepa, and http://www.panynj.gov/bayonnebridge/, and are available from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 
Monday through Friday (except federal holidays and as noted below), for 
inspection at the following locations:
    1. U.S. Coast Guard Battery Bldg, 1 South Street, Building 1, New 
York, NY 10004
    2. U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York, 212 Coast Guard Drive, Staten 
Island, NY 10305
    3. Bayonne City Hall, 630 Avenue C, Bayonne, NJ 07002
    4. Staten Island Borough Hall, 10 Richmond Terrace, Room 100, 
Staten Island, NY 10301
    5. Bayonne Public Library, 630 Avenue C, Bayonne, NJ 07002 (Also 
available from 12 p.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays)
    6. Port Richmond-NY Public Library, 75 Bennett Street, Staten 
Island, NY 10302 (Also available 12 p.m.-5 p.m. on Thursdays and 
Saturdays)
    7. Ironbound Community Corp, 317 Elm Street, Newark, NJ 07105
    8. New York Assembly District 61, 853 Forest Avenue, Staten Island, 
NY 10301

[[Page 28874]]

    9. New Jersey Legislative District 31, 447 Broadway, Bayonne, NJ 
07002
    10. New York City Council District 49, 130 Stuyvesant Place, Staten 
Island, NY 10301
    11. Staten Island Community Board 1, 1 Edgewater Plaza, Room 217, 
Staten Island, NY 10305
    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

    Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has proposed to 
modify the Bayonne Bridge across navigable waters of the United States 
by raising the roadway thereby increasing the vertical navigational 
clearance from approximately 151 feet to 215 feet at Mean High Water. A 
thorough description of the project and how it would be completed can 
be found at the project's Web site: http://www.panynj.gov/bayonnebridge/.
    The proposed bridge modification project has been identified as a 
nationally or regionally significant project under ''Implementing 
Executive Order 13604 on Improving Performance of Federal Permitting 
and Review of Infrastructure Projects: A Federal Plan for Modernizing 
the Federal Permitting and Review Process for Better Projects, Improved 
Environmental and Community Outcomes, and Quicker Decisions,'' dated 
June 2012, which requires agencies to identify and expedite the 
permitting and environmental review process for regionally or 
nationally significant infrastructure projects. The existing Bayonne 
Bridge has a vertical navigational clearance of approximately 151 feet 
above the Kill Van Kull at Mean High Water. The applicant proposes to 
increase the vertical navigational clearance to approximately 215 feet 
above the waterway at Mean High Water to provide greater clearances to 
accommodate larger, Post-Panamax vessels and thereby ensure the long-
term viability of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Post-Panamax 
vessels are wider and taller ships with deeper drafts that will be able 
to traverse through the Panama Canal once improvements on the canal are 
completed in 2014. The expanded purpose of the Bayonne Bridge project 
is to improve the substandard features and seismic stability of the 
existing bridge and ensure it conforms to modern highway and structural 
design standards. In addition, the existing bridge is eligible for 
listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Therefore, the 
Coast Guard initiated consultation under Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act. The Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation accepted the Coast Guard invitation to participate in the 
Section 106 process. As a result, a Section 106 Programmatic Agreement 
was formulated and then executed on May 7, 2013. The Section 106 
Programmatic Agreement has been included in the Final EA.
    The Coast Guard issued a NEPA Workplan, dated September 2011, which 
provided a discussion of the project's Purpose and Need, project 
alternatives and the framework of the environmental analysis. On 
October 31, 2011, the Coast Guard held a coordination meeting with 
city, state and federal agencies to discuss the project's scope and the 
NEPA Workplan. On November 14, 2011, the Coast Guard issued a 
solicitation requesting comments from the general public for the scope 
of the project and the NEPA Workplan. Comments received following the 
meeting and during the solicitation comment period included concerns 
from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the Environmental 
Protection Agency, various private organizations and individuals, and 
others regarding additional cargo volumes due to larger ships entering 
the Port of New York and New Jersey, the expansion of the port and port 
facilities, and the related impacts to air quality and traffic. In 
response to these comments, an Induced Demand Analysis was conducted by 
an independent source to study the impact of the proposed action to 
those communities surrounding the Port of New York and New Jersey. 
Further information regarding this analysis can be found in Chapter 18 
of the Final EA and in Appendix I. In addition, the Coast Guard met 
with representatives from minority and low income communities in Staten 
Island, NY and Newark, NJ to explain the Coast Guard bridge permit 
process and to ensure those communities had a voice in the public 
comment process.
    On January 4, 2013, the Coast Guard published a notice in the 
Federal Register announcing the availability of the Draft EA, inviting 
comments on it, and announcing the dates and locations of two public 
meetings on the Draft EA (78 FR 740). On January 25, 2013, the Coast 
Guard published a supplemental notice in the Federal Register 
announcing the extension of the comment period to 60 days, and a third 
public meeting. Public meetings were held on February 5, 2013, in 
Bayonne, NJ, February 7, 2013, in Staten Island, NY, and February 13, 
2013, in Newark, NJ. Based on the information received during the 60-
day public comment period, and during the three public meetings, the 
Coast Guard has determined that a Final Environmental Assessment is the 
most appropriate level of environmental documentation for this project. 
The Coast Guard has determined that there are no significant impacts 
and has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact. The Final EA and 
appendices and FONSI are available online in the www.regulations.gov 
docket as well as at http://www.uscg.mil/d1/prevention/Bridges.asp.
    Alternatives for the proposed project considered include: (1) 
Taking no action; (2) various build alternatives that satisfy the 
purpose and need; (3) a tunnel; (4) new cargo terminals constructed 
downstream of the Bayonne Bridge; and (5) a ferry service in lieu of 
the bridge. Build alternatives included raising the roadway within the 
existing superstructure (preferred), jacking the arch superstructure, 
converting to a lift bridge, or constructing a new bridge.
    As a structure over navigable waters of the United States, it 
requires a Coast Guard Bridge Permit Amendment pursuant to the Bridge 
Act of March 23, 1906, as amended, Title 33 U.S.C. 491. Additionally, 
the bridge permit amendment would be the major federal action in this 
undertaking since federal funds will not be used, and therefore the 
Department of Homeland Security, through the Coast Guard is the federal 
lead agency for review of potential effects on the human environment, 
including historic properties, pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the 
National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).
    The Coast Guard, with assistance from PANYNJ, has prepared a Final 
EA in accordance with NEPA. See ``Viewing the Final EA and FONSI'' 
above. The Final EA identifies and examines the reasonable alternatives 
(including ``No Build'') and assesses the potential for impact to the 
human environment, including historic properties, of the alternative 
proposals.
    This notice is issued under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552 (a). 
Additionally, the Final EA and FONSI have been prepared in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act

[[Page 28875]]

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508) and associated CEQ 
guidelines; Department of Homeland Security Management Directive 
5100.1, Environmental Planning Program; and United States Coast Guard 
Commandant Instruction M16475.1D, National Environmental Policy Act 
Implementing Procedures and Policy for Considering Environmental 
Impacts.

    Dated: May 10, 2013.
Brian L. Dunn,
Administrator, Office of Bridge Programs, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2013-11627 Filed 5-15-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P