[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 208 (Friday, October 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65216-65217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23466]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2019-0882]


BNSF Railway Bridge Across the Missouri River Between Bismarck 
and Mandan, North Dakota; Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability for a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed replacement of 
the BNSF Railway Bridge across the Missouri River between Bismarck and 
Mandan, North Dakota. This was prepared in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and Council on Environmental 
Quality implementing regulations, and the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA). This final EIS evaluates the potential 
environmental consequences of permitting the replacement of the 
existing BNSF Railway Bridge across the Missouri River between the 
cities of Bismarck and Mandan, ND, or the construction of a bridge 
adjacent to the existing bridge. The applicant proposes to remove the 
existing structure, which is eligible for listing on the National 
Register of Historic Places. The Coast Guard analyzed proposed 
alternatives, through the NEPA and NHPA processes, which included 
alternatives to construct the new bridge while retaining the existing 
bridge. The Coast Guard is making the final EIS available to the public 
on this docket. Section 4.0 of the final EIS identifies the preferred 
alternative, which is to construct a new bridge with 200-foot spans, 
and piers 20 feet upstream of the existing bridge, and to remove the 
existing structure.

DATES: The Coast Guard intends to issue a Record of Decision on 
November 28, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document 
call or

[[Page 65217]]

email Rob McCaskey, Coast Guard District 8 Project Officer; telephone: 
314-269-2381, or email: [email protected].

Discussion

    On January 8, 2020, the Coast Guard published a notice of intent to 
prepare an EIS (85 FR 930). On June 7, 2021, we published a notice of 
availability for a draft EIS seeking public comments, and announcement 
of a virtual meeting (86 FR 30323) for the BNSF Railway Bridge across 
the Missouri River between the cities of Bismarck and Mandan, ND. 
Lastly, on June 14, 2021, we published a notice of extension to the 
public comment period (86 FR 31509), which extended the comment period 
to July 26, 2021.
    The notice of availability solicited substantive and relevant 
comments related to the draft EIS. On June 30, 2021, the Coast Guard 
held a virtual public meeting to receive written and oral comments on 
the draft EIS. Public comments yielded very few substantive changes. We 
are now providing notice of the availability of the final EIS.
    We developed a final EIS that addresses impacts associated with the 
alternatives mentioned in section 2.0 of the draft EIS. These impacts 
include those environmental control laws listed in appendix B of the 
Coast Guard's Bridge Permit Application Guide (available at https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5pw/Office%20of%20Bridge%20Programs/BPAG%20COMDTPUB%20P16591%203D_Sequential%20Clearance%20Final(July2016).p
df), as well as those impacts associated with floodplain rise, impacts 
to the Bismarck Water Reservoir and the Missouri River Natural Area. 
The final EIS also includes responses to all substantive and relevant 
comments received during the public comment period and virtual public 
meeting.
    The Coast Guard, as lead agency, held 21 consultation meetings with 
stakeholders to satisfy the requirements of section 106 of the NHPA (54 
U.S.C. 306108). On January 15, 2021, the Coast Guard and consulting 
parties signed a Programmatic Agreement to address the adverse effect 
on the existing historic bridge, and to provide third parties the 
opportunity to develop additional alternatives that would allow for 
retention of the bridge. The additional alternative presented during 
this process was not technically or economically feasible, so the Coast 
Guard and consulting parties developed a Memorandum of Agreement, which 
dictates mitigation measures for removal of the existing bridge. A 
consulting party, the Friends of the Rail Bridge, initiated termination 
of the Programmatic Agreement on February 22, 2022, and after 
additional consultation meetings, it was terminated on June 19, 2022. 
The Memorandum of Agreement was signed on September 27, 2022, and is 
available in appendix B of the final EIS.
    This notice is issued under authority of NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq., Council on Environmental Quality implementing regulations in 40 
CFR parts 1500 through 1508, and 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

Brian L. Dunn,
Chief, U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Bridge Programs.
[FR Doc. 2022-23466 Filed 10-27-22; 8:45 am]
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