[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27485-27486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08132]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2024-0019]
Notice of Limitation on Claims Against Port of Longview
Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion Project
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces final environmental action taken for the
Port of Longview Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion Project. The
purpose of this notice is to advise the public of the time limit to
file any claims that may challenge these decisions and other Federal
permits, licenses, and approvals for the Project.
DATES: A claim seeking judicial review of Federal agency actions for
the listed rail transportation project will be barred unless the claim
is filed on or before April 17, 2026. If the Federal law that
authorizes judicial review of a claim provides a time period of less
than two years for filing such claim, then the shorter time period
applies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information related to
this notice, please contact Sydney Johnson, Attorney Adviser, Office of
the Chief Counsel by email: [email protected] or by telephone:
202-536-9639.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is given that FRA has taken final
agency action by issuing certain approvals for the railroad project
listed below. The actions on the project, as well as the laws under
which such actions were taken, are described in the documentation
issued in connection with the project to comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), available at https://railroads.dot.gov/rail-network-development/environment/environmental-reviews/port-longview-industrial-rail-corridor.
This notice applies to all Federal agency decisions on the listed
project as of the issuance date of this notice and all laws under which
such actions were taken, including but not limited to, NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321-4375); section 4(f) requirements (23 U.S.C. 138, 49 U.S.C. 303);
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C.
306108); the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q); the Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544); the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C.
1251), the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), the Coastal
Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451), and relevant Executive
orders (E.O.) including but not limited to, E.O. 11988 Floodplain
Management; and E.O. 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. This notice
does not, however, alter or extend a shorter limitation period that may
exist for challenges of project decisions covered by this notice. The
project that is the subject of this notice follows:
Project name and location: Port of Longview Industrial Rail
Corridor Expansion (IRCE) Project, Longview, Washington.
Project Summary: The Port of Longview (Port) is a deep-draft, full-
service port operating in Washington on the Columbia River
approximately 66 miles upstream from the Pacific Ocean. Rail service to
the Port is provided primarily via the Port's industrial Rail Corridor
(IRC), which consists of a two-track rail line connecting the Port's
marine terminals to the Class I mainline rail line that runs between
Seattle and Portland.
[[Page 27486]]
The IRCE Project involves expanding the existing IRC to provide
improved rail service to the Port's marine terminals. The IRCE Project
includes construction of a six-track rail embankment adjacent to the
current two-track rail corridor; lengthening of the existing two tracks
by 1,000 feet for a total of 8,500 feet; and constructing two new
8,500-foot rail tracks. Construction includes new stormwater conveyance
and treatment facilities, track operation systems, lighting, utility
improvements, and rail crew support facilities.
Federal funding awarded to the Port for the IRCE Project includes a
DOT grant under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with
Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program and congressionally directed
Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety
Improvements (CRISI) program funds. The Port has also been awarded a
Federal Highway Administration grant under the National Highway Freight
Program (NHFP). The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is administering
the RAISE and NHFP grants, which will be used to fund engineering
design and construction of the IRCE Project. FRA is administering the
CRISI grant, which will be used for property acquisition to support the
IRCE Project.
In 2023, the Port, in coordination with MARAD, prepared an
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the IRCE Project to evaluate
potential impacts to the human and natural environment, in accordance
with NEPA. MARAD was the lead Federal agency for the oversight of the
NEPA process. FRA was a cooperating agency in the development of the
EA. MARAD issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the
Project's EA on October 31, 2023. FRA adopted MARAD's EA and approved
its own FONSI for the Project on November 3, 2023.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 24201(a)(4) and 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1).
Issued in Washington, DC.
Marlys Ann Osterhues,
Director, Environmental Program Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-08132 Filed 4-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P