[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46747-46749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19120]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2018-1085]
RIN 1625-AA09
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact for the Proposed Construction of
Railroad Bridges Across Sand Creek and Lake Pend Oreille at Sandpoint,
Bonner County, Idaho
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The United States Coast Guard (USCG) announces the
availability of a Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) and Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) in accordance with National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et
seq.) for the proposed construction of railroad bridges across Lake
Pend Oreille and Sand Creek at Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho. The
proposed bridges will be built parallel to existing railroad bridges
crossing the same waterbodies. As structures over navigable waters of
the United States, the proposed bridges require a Coast Guard Bridge
Permit. This notice provides information on where to view the FEA and
FONSI. There is no comment period associated with this notice.
ADDRESSES: We have uploaded the FEA and FONSI to our online docket at
http://www.regulations.gov. Additionally, the East Bonner County
Library at 1407 Cedar Street, Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864 will maintain
printed copies of the FEA and FONSI for public review. The documents
will be available for inspection at this location between 9 a.m. and 7
p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday and
Saturday, except Sundays and Federal holidays. The Thirteenth Coast
Guard District Bridge Office at 915 2nd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174-1067
will also maintain printed copies of the FEA and FONSI for public
review. The documents will be available for inspection at this location
between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
notice please contact Mr. Steven Fischer, District Bridge Manager,
Thirteenth
[[Page 46748]]
Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 206-220-7282.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Authority
The FEA and FONSI 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 Directive 5100.1, National Environmental Policy Act
Implementing Procedures and Policy for Considering Environmental
Impacts.
II. Viewing the FEA and FONSI
To view the FEA and FONSI, please visit http://www.regulations.gov,
enter ``USCG-2018-1085'' in the search field, press ``Enter,'' and then
select the ``Open Docket Folder'' option. The FEA and FONSI are also
available for public review at the East Bonner County Library at 1407
Cedar Street, Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday
through Thursday and 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, except
Sundays and Federal holidays. The Thirteenth Coast Guard District
Bridge Office at 915 2nd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174-1067 will also
maintain printed copies of the FEA and FONSI for public review. The
documents will be available for inspection at this location between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
III. 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).
IV. Background and Purpose
The BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has proposed to construct a second
mainline track and associated bridges across Lake Pend Oreille and Sand
Creek parallel to existing BNSF railroad track and bridges in and
around Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho (Project). The present single-
track configuration has become a constraint to efficient rail movement,
resulting in congestion on the BNSF main line, rail yards and sidings
as trains await clearance to cross the existing single-track bridges.
Moreover, trains awaiting an opportunity to cross the bridges often
block vehicular traffic at both public and private at-grade rail
crossings. The delays attributable to this congestion hinder the timely
transport and delivery of people, goods and services to local and
regional destinations. This Project is intended to relieve this
congestion and enable more efficient movement of trains through the
Lake Pend Oreille region. The capacity of the rail line through
Sandpoint and across Lake Pend Oreille is approximately 79 trains per
day while the current average rail traffic volume on that line segment
is approximately 60 trains per day. Adding a second main line track
along this segment would not increase capacity of the rail line because
there are other constraints outside of the Lake Pend Oreille area.
Alternatives considered for the Project include a ``No Action
Alternative'' that simply preserves the status quo and a Proposed
Action Alternative that satisfies the purpose and need of the Project.
Several additional alternatives including (a) a second main line track
placed east of the existing main track line, (b) alternate routes and
(c) shifting rail traffic to other railroads were considered and
dismissed based on infeasibility or impracticability.
The federal bridge statutes, including the River and Harbors Act of
1899, as amended, the Act of March 23, 1906, as amended, and the
General Bridge Act of 1946 (33 U.S.C. 525 et seq.), require that the
location and plans for bridges in or over navigable waters of the
United States be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who
has delegated that responsibility to the Coast Guard. Lake Pend Oreille
and Sand Creek are navigable waters of the U.S. as defined in 33 CFR
2.36(a). In exercising these bridge authorities, the Coast Guard
considers navigational and environmental impacts, which include
historic and tribal effects. The Coast Guard's primary responsibility
regarding BNSF's proposed railroad bridges is to ensure these
structures do not unreasonably obstruct navigation.
Because the intent of the bridge statutes is to preserve
navigation, the Coast Guard's permit authority is limited to the bridge
and its essential components including approaches and abutments.
Consequently, the Coast Guard does not have the authority to approve or
disapprove broader aspects of a project beyond the bridges themselves.
For example, if a project sponsor proposes to build a new highway or
rail line and the project includes a bridge, the Coast Guard's permit
authority is limited to the bridge and its effect upon navigation, but
does not extend to the connecting highway or rail line.
As lead federal agency for this Project, the Coast Guard is
responsible for the review of its potential effects on the human
environment, including historic properties and tribal impacts, pursuant
to NEPA and the NHPA. The Coast Guard is therefore required by law to
ensure potential environmental effects are carefully evaluated in each
bridge permitting decision.
On July 13, 2018, as part of this evaluation process, the
Coast Guard solicited comments from State and Federal agencies with
expertise in, and authority over, particular resources that may be
impacted by the project. Additionally, the Coast Guard sought input
from all tribes that may be affected or otherwise have expertise or
equities in the Project. Following tribal and expert agency outreach,
the Coast Guard revised its evaluation, and then sought comments from
the general public. Agencies that have participated in the
environmental review of this Project include the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Idaho Department of Lands (IDL)
and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ).
On February 6, 2019, the USCG issued a notice in the Federal
Register announcing the availability of a Draft Environmental
Assessment for public review and comment (FR USCG-2018-1085). The Coast
Guard then held Public Meetings in Ponderay, Idaho on March 13, 2019.
During the comment period, the USCG received comments in favor of and
opposed to the Project. The comments in favor of the Project generally
spoke to economic benefits and requests to expedite the environmental
review and issue required permits. The comments in opposition to the
Project identified a variety of concerns including, but not limited to,
(a) requests to elevate the level of federal environmental review to an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); (b) concern regarding derailments
within the Lake Pend Oreille region and preparedness for response to a
derailment causing a spill of coal or petroleum products; (c) fugitive
coal dust emissions and the effects upon air and water quality; and (d)
the potential for increased rail traffic through the Lake Pend Oreille
rail corridor.
With regard to derailments, the Federal Railroad Administration
accident statistics and additional detail regarding BNSF's plan to
prevent derailments has been added to Section 3.14 (Hazardous Materials
and Wastes)
[[Page 46749]]
to better characterize derailment risk. Additional details regarding
spill response planning for different types of spills under various
weather conditions have been added to Section 3.14. In addition, the
Lake Pend Oreille Geographic Response Plan, which is to be implemented
in the event of a rail accident, is included in Appendix N of the Final
EA.
With regard to fugitive coal dust emissions and the effects upon
air and water quality, Section 3.1 of the Final EA explains that the
current use of load profiling and dust suppressants has been shown to
achieve at least an 85 percent reduction in fugitive coal dust and
allow only trace amounts to be lost during transit, which are well
below levels that could be harmful to human or ecological health.
Section 3.1 also references several NEPA documents from the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and the Surface Transportation Board supporting this
determination.
With regard to concern for increased rail traffic through the Lake
Pend Oreille rail corridor, the maximum capacity of the rail line
through Sandpoint and across Lake Pend Oreille is approximately 79
trains per day while the current average rail traffic volume on that
line segment is approximately 60 trains per day. This Project does not
add any origin or destination facilities; therefore, it would not
induce increases or decreases in rail traffic, but rather is designed
to increase efficiency of rail current rail transportation. The market
conditions influencing rail train traffic growth in the study area
exist with or without construction of a second main line track and
associated bridges. Adding a second main line track along this segment
would not increase overall capacity of the rail line because there are
other constraints on the main lines leading into the Sandpoint and Lake
Pend Oreille area.
Based on the information examined through the study of this
Project, the USCG has determined that an Environmental Assessment is
the appropriate level of environmental documentation. The USCG has
determined that there are no significant impacts associated with the
Project and has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact.
This notice is being provided for information purposes only, and as
such, there is no public comment period associated with this notice.
This notice is issued under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: August 29, 2019.
Brian L. Dunn,
Chief, Office of Bridge Programs, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2019-19120 Filed 9-4-19; 8:45 am]
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