[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2871-2872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-01690]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
[NOTICE PBS-2019-02; DOCKET NO. 2019-002; SEQUENCE NO. 2]
Notice of Availability and Announcement of Public Meeting for the
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the San Ysidro
Land Port of Entry Improvements Project, San Ysidro, California
AGENCY: Public Buildings Service (PBS), General Services Administration
(GSA).
ACTION: Notice of availability; announcement of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), which examines the
potential impacts of a proposal by the GSA, to reconfigure and expand
the existing San Ysidro Land Port of Entry (LPOE) located at the United
States (U.S.)-Mexico border in the City of San Diego community of San
Ysidro, in San Diego County, California. The Final SEIS describes the
reason the project is being proposed; the alternatives considered; the
potential impacts of each of the alternatives on the existing
environment; and the proposed avoidance, minimization, and/or
mitigation measures related to those alternatives. As the lead agency
for this undertaking, GSA is acting on behalf of its major tenant at
this facility, the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border
Protection.
DATES: A public meeting for the Final SEIS will be held on Wednesday,
February 20th, 2019, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Pacific Standard
Time. Interested parties are encouraged to attend. The availability
period for the Final SEIS ends on Monday, March 11th, 2019.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at The Front, 147 West San
Ysidro Boulevard, San Diego, CA, 92173. Further information, including
an electronic copy of the Final SEIS, may be found online on the
following website: https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/regions/welcome-to-the-pacific-rim-region-9/land-ports-of-entry/san-ysidro-land-port-of-entry.
Questions or comments concerning the Final SEIS should be directed to:
Osmahn Kadri, Regional Environmental Quality Advisor/NEPA Project
Manager, 50 United Nations Plaza, 3345, Mailbox #9, San Francisco, CA,
94102, or via email to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Osmahn Kadri, Regional Environmental
Quality Advisor/NEPA Project Manager, GSA, at (415) 522-3617. Please
also call this number if special assistance is needed to attend and
participate in the public meeting.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The SEIS for the San Ysidro LPOE Improvements Project is intended
to supplement the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that was
adopted for the San Ysidro LPOE Improvements Project in August 2009
(2009 Final EIS). In September 2009, GSA prepared a Record of the
Decision (ROD) that approved the Preferred Alternative (2009 Approved
Project) that was identified in the 2009 Final EIS. In May 2014, GSA
adopted a Final SEIS that evaluated changed circumstances and proposed
modifications to the 2009 Approved Project that identified a Preferred
Alternative that was approved by GSA through a ROD in August 2014 (2014
Approved Supplemental Project).
In August 2015, GSA prepared a Revision to the 2014 Final SEIS to
document minor design changes and provide specific information that was
not available or known at the time when the 2009 Final EIS or 2014
Final SEIS was prepared (2015 Revision). The 2009 Approved Project,
2014 Approved Supplemental Project, and 2015 Revision are collectively
referred to as the ``Approved Project.''
This SEIS documents and evaluates changed circumstances and
proposed modifications to the Approved Project since adoption of the
2009 Final EIS and 2014 Final SEIS and preparation of the 2015
Revision. The Approved Project with proposed modifications is referred
to as the ``Revised Project.''
The Approved Project and Revised Project entail the reconfiguration
and expansion of the San Ysidro LPOE in three independent phases to
improve overall capacity and operational efficiency at the LPOE. The
San Ysidro LPOE is located along Interstate 5 (I-5) at the U.S.-Mexico
border in the San Ysidro community of the City of San Diego,
California.
GSA is proposing the following changes to the Approved Project: A
redesign of the proposed pedestrian plaza on the east side of the LPOE.
The pedestrian plaza would be expanded to the north to include an
additional parcel adjacent to the LPOE. GSA proposes acquisition of the
adjacent 0.24-acre parcel to the north that contains two commercial
buildings and incorporation of this parcel (Additional Land Area) into
the pedestrian plaza. In addition to these proposed changes to the
Approved Project, the Revised Project also includes the other
components of the
[[Page 2872]]
Approved Project that have not changed.
The changed circumstances associated with the Approved Project
include new information regarding the condition of existing structures
adjacent to the LPOE that affect the ability of GSA to implement the
Approved Project. The Approved Project anticipated that construction of
the pedestrian plaza would require demolition of the existing Milo
Building within the LPOE. During final design, it was discovered that
two existing buildings adjacent to the Milo Building on the Additional
Land Area would likely collapse when the Milo Building is removed. The
condition of these adjacent buildings was not known at the time the
2009 Final EIS or 2014 Final SEIS were prepared and this changed
circumstance has bearing on the ability to implement the Approved
Project.
Due to the changed circumstances and changes to the Approved
Project, GSA made the decision to prepare an SEIS for the Revised
Project.
The purpose of the Revised Project is the same as the Approved
Project that was identified in the 2009 Final EIS and 2014 Final SEIS.
The purpose of the Revised Project is to improve operational
efficiency, security, and safety for cross-border travelers and federal
agencies at the San Ysidro LPOE.
The Draft SEIS analyzed two alternatives of the Revised Project, as
well as the No Action Alternative. Both of the Action Alternatives
include the proposed modifications described above, as well as the
other improvements originally proposed as part of the Approved Project.
Alternative 1 would include demolition of the two existing buildings
within the Additional Land Area that would be added to the LPOE and
incorporated into the pedestrian plaza. Alternative 2 would involve
renovation/adaptive reuse of the existing buildings on the Additional
Land Area that would be added to the LPOE and incorporated into the
design of the pedestrian plaza and LPOE. Under the No Action
Alternative, GSA would continue to implement the Approved Project
except that the Milo Building would not be demolished.
The Draft SEIS was made publicly available on September 24, 2018
for a 45-day period. The Notice of Availability for the Draft SEIS was
published in the Federal Register on September 24, 2018. A public
meeting took place on October 17, 2018 in the San Ysidro community. In
preparing this Final SEIS, GSA considered public comments received
regarding the Draft SEIS during the public review period.
After careful consideration of the environmental analysis and
associated environmental effects of the action alternatives and No
Action Alternative, the needs of the federal agencies operating at the
San Ysidro LPOE, and comments received on the Draft SEIS, GSA
identified Alternative 1 as the Preferred Alternative.
This Alternative would best satisfy the Purpose and Need of the
Revised Project and would result in greater benefits to cross-border
circulation and mobility within the project area compared to
Alternative 2.
Dated: February 4, 2019.
Matthew Jear,
Director, Portfolio Management Division, Pacific Rim Region, Public
Buildings Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-01690 Filed 2-7-19; 8:45 am]
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