[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12639-12640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05583]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for Proposed Capacity Enhancements and Other Improvements at 
Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, 
NC

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS, open a public scoping 
comment period, and hold agency and public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: This Notice provides information to Federal, state, and local 
agencies; Native American tribes; and other interested persons 
regarding the FAA's intent to prepare an EIS to evaluate the potential 
impacts of the City of Charlotte Aviation Department's (Department's) 
proposal to construct capacity enhancements and other improvements at 
Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC. The 
Department has initially identified the following four main elements of 
the Proposed Action: (1) Fourth Parallel Runway 1-19 and End-Around 
Taxiways; (2) Concourse B and Ramp Expansion; (3) Concourse C and Ramp 
Expansion; and (4) Daily North Parking Deck. The EIS will evaluate the 
potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts that 
may result from the Proposed Action, including related activities and 
actions connected to the Proposed Action. To ensure that all 
significant issues related to the Proposed Action are identified, two 
(2) public scoping meetings and two (2) governmental agency scoping 
meetings will be held.
    The FAA is the lead agency for the preparation of the EIS. 
Cooperating Agencies will be identified during the agency scoping 
process. The FAA intends to use the preparation of this EIS to comply 
with other applicable environmental laws and regulations as identified 
through the environmental analysis. The FAA will provide more specific 
public notice of the environmental laws, regulations and executive 
orders being satisfied through the EIS as the environmental 
consequences of the proposed project and its alternatives are better 
understood.

DATES: The FAA invites interested agencies, organizations, Native 
American tribes, and members of the public to submit comments or 
suggestions to assist in identifying significant environmental issues 
and in determining the appropriate scope of the EIS. The public scoping 
comment period starts with the publication of this Notice in the 
Federal Register. Comments must be received by May 7, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments, statements, or questions concerning the EIS scope 
or process should be mailed to: Ms. Kristi Ashley, FAA Environmental 
Specialist, Memphis Airports District Office, 2600 Thousand Oaks Blvd., 
Suite 2250, Memphis, TN 38118. Comments can also be sent by email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to inform 
Federal, state and local government agencies and the public of the 
intent to prepare an EIS and to conduct public and agency scoping 
process. Information, data, opinions and comments obtained throughout 
the scoping process will be considered in preparing the draft EIS.
    The FAA will prepare the EIS in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 United States Code 4321 et seq.), 
the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the 
Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 
1500-1508), FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and 
Procedures, and FAA Order 5050.4B, National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) Implementing Instructions for Airport Actions.
    The EIS will evaluate the potential impacts of the Department's 
proposal to construct capacity enhancements and other improvements at 
Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. 
The Department has initially identified the following four main 
elements of the Proposed Action: (1) Fourth Parallel Runway 1-19 and 
End-Around Taxiways; (2) Concourse B and Ramp Expansion; (3) Concourse 
C and Ramp Expansion; and (4) Daily North Parking Deck. The Fourth 
Parallel Runway I-19 and End-around Taxiways would entail construction 
of an approximately 12,000-foot runway located between existing Runway 
18C-36C and Runway 18R-36L, along with associated taxiways (partial 
north End-Around Taxiway, full south End-Around Taxiway, parallel, 
high-speed exit and connector taxiways). Construction of the new runway 
along with terminal and ramp expansion projects would require the 
decommissioning of Runway 5-23 and relocation of West Boulevard. The 
Concourse B and Ramp Expansion would entail extending Concourse B to 
the west, creating 10-12 additional gates. The Concourse C and Ramp 
Expansion would entail extending Concourse C to the east, creating 10-
12 additional gates. The Daily North Parking Deck would entail 
construction of a parking deck north of passenger terminal parking 
facilities.
    Within the EIS, the FAA proposes to consider a range of reasonable 
alternatives that could potentially meet the purpose and need for the 
project being proposed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The 
EIS will include the evaluation of a No Action Alternative and other 
reasonable alternatives that may be identified, such as use of other 
airports or other modes of transportation, during the NEPA process, 
including scoping.
    The potential environmental impacts of all proposed construction 
and operational activities will be analyzed in the EIS. The EIS will 
evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with air 
quality; biological resources (including fish, wildlife, and plants); 
climate; properties protected under 49 U.S.C. 303(c), known as 
``Section 4(f)'' of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 
(including publicly owned parks, recreational areas, wildlife and 
waterfowl refuges, and public and private historic sites); farmlands; 
ground transportation; hazardous materials, solid waste, and pollution 
prevention; historical, architectural, archeological, and cultural 
resources; land use; natural resources and energy supply; noise and 
noise-compatible land use; socioeconomics, environmental justice, and 
children's health and safety risks; visual effects; water resources 
(including wetlands, floodplains, surface waters, groundwater, and Wild 
and Scenic rivers). This analysis will include an evaluation of 
potential direct and indirect impacts, and will account for cumulative 
impacts from other relevant activities in the vicinity of the Charlotte 
Douglas International Airport.
    Public and agency scoping meetings will be conducted to identify 
any significant issues associated with the Proposed Action. Two 
governmental agency scoping meetings for Federal, state, and local 
regulatory agencies which have jurisdiction by law or special expertise 
with respect to any potential environmental impacts associated with the 
Proposed Action will be held in Raleigh and Charlotte, NC.
    Two public scoping meetings for the general public will be held to 
solicit input on potential issues that may need to be considered in the 
EIS. The first

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public scoping meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24, 
2018 at the Embassy Suites located at 4800 S. Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 
28217. The second public scoping meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on 
Thursday, April 26, 2018 at the West Mecklenburg High School Cafeteria, 
located at 7400 Tuckaseegee Rd, Charlotte, NC 28214. For both meetings, 
the format will include an open-house workshop followed by a public 
comment period. During the public comment period, members of the public 
may provide up to a 3-minute statement. Oral comments will be 
transcribed by a stenographer. All comments received during the 45-day 
scoping comment period be considered in the preparation of the EIS, 
regardless of whether the comment is provided orally or in writing.
    More information on the Proposed Action and the NEPA process is 
available on the project website at: www.clteis.com.

    Issued in Memphis, TN, on March 12, 2018.
Phillip J. Braden,
Manager, Memphis Airports District Office, Southern Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-05583 Filed 3-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P