[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