[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65483-65485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17676]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket Number MARAD-2024-0101]


Updated Notice of Availability for the Arthur Kill Terminal 
Programmatic Agreement Under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is funding the Arthur Kill 
Offshore Wind Terminal Project (Project) which will develop an offshore 
wind staging and assembly port in Staten Island, New York to facilitate 
the development of offshore wind farms in the New York Bight. In 
accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its 
implementing regulations, MARAD has determined that a Programmatic 
Agreement (Agreement) must be prepared in accordance with the 
requirements of the NHPA in conjunction with the Project and invites 
public comments on the Agreement.

DATES: All comments on the Agreement are due on or before September 23, 
2024. MARAD will consider comments filed after this date to the extent 
practicable.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions, 
please submit all comments by only one of the following ways:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov, insert the docket number (MARAD-2024-0101) in the 
keyword box and click ``Search.'' Select the ``Docket'' tab, locate the 
Notice, and click on ``comment'' to begin the comment submission 
process. Follow the online instructions.
     Mail: Dockets Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: W12-l40 of the Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 between 
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
Holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
     Instructions: To properly identify your comments, please 
include the agency name and the docket number at the beginning of your 
comments. All comments received will be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendy Coble, (202) 366-5088 or via 
email at [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during 
business hours. The FIRS is available twenty-four hours a day, seven 
days a week, to leave a message or question. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours. You may send mail to the Department of 
Transportation, Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded funds to the 
New York State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a Empire State 
Development under the Fiscal Year 2022 Port Infrastructure Development 
Program for construction of the Arthur Kill Terminal. The project is 
located on Staten Island, New York.
    The project proposes to develop an offshore win staging and 
assembly port in Staten Island, New York to facilitate the development 
of offshore wind farms in the New York Bight (the ``Project''). The 
project entails the construction of an approximately 32.5-acre port 
facility and an approximately 18-acre ship basin along the Arthur Kill 
waterfront in Staten Island to include the following:
     Dredging of an approximately 18-acre navigable Dredge 
Basin to a depth of -35 dredge bottom plus 1' of allowable over dredge 
to allow cargo vessels to access the berths at the proposed facility.
     Construction of a port facility with a 1,365 linear foot 
(lf) quay, an approximately 28.5-acre laydown and storage area upland 
of the quay, as well as a two-story (48-foot-tall including mechanical 
bulkhead) tenant building located at the northeast corner of the 
Project Site containing warehouse space (for tools, spare parts, and 
consumables) and accessory office space, totaling approximately 22,472 
gross square feet (gsf), with 111 accessory parking spaces, and the 
adaptive reuse of an existing two-story (33-foot-tall) 4,212 gsf 
residential structure (the ``Cole House'') at the southeast corner of 
the site as a visitor center and owner office with 12 accessory parking 
spaces;
    MARAD has defined the Project's area of potential effects (APE) as 
the boundary of the property upon which the Arthur Kill terminal will 
be constructed, totaling approximately 32.5 acres, of which 
approximately 23.6 acres are upland area, 3.31 acres are freshwater 
wetlands, and 8.9 acres are submerged lands between the shoreline and 
Federal Bulkhead Line.

Identification of Historic Properties

    The analysis conducted for this project included revisiting 
previously collected archaeological data, additional research, and site 
investigations. This work concluded that two previously identified 
multicomponent sites are single component sites. One of those sites, 
the Area 1 West Site, contained some Precontact cultural material at 
disparate locations and all the colonial period artifacts, save two, 
were found in contexts with more recent disturbances. The Precontact 
period component of the other multicomponent site, the Dissoway/Totten/
Starr Site, was previously dismissed as fill, as were two of the 
suspected foundation segments. However, it is possible other structural 
remains of the house site remain beneath the fill.
    The final previously identified site is the Catbriar Site, dating 
to the late Middle Woodland period (circa A.D. 800-A.D.1000) and the 
late Bowmans Brook--early Clasons Point period (circa A.D. 1200-A.D. 
1400), based on recovery pottery sherds. However, many of those sherds 
also exhibited erosion and fragmentation which are potentially 
indicative of exposure and/or churning. Therefore, these pieces may 
have derived from disturbed contexts. The presence of fill at the 
Catbriar Site is suspected based on geotechnical evaluation and prior 
descriptions of the site as being in a plow zone. To determine if this 
is a true site or if it is merely a pervasive fill deposit, additional 
site investigations will be needed. If a site exists, even preserved 
beneath fill, then it is possible the Area 1 West Precontact Site may 
be part of the Catbriar Site based on proximity. The New York State 
Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has indicated that all three sites 
are eligible or likely eligible for listing on the Nation Register of 
Historic Places.
    No other potentially significant sites were identified during this 
research, and no further archaeological work beyond the three 
previously identified sites is recommended. The offshore portions of 
the project area were assessed, and archaeological potential is low in 
the tidal flats which will be filled and absent in the deeper waters 
which will be dredged.

Affected Historic Properties

    Archaeological work was conducted at the Arthur Kill Terminal 
property

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when it was under development by a previous project sponsor for a 
different purpose. That work included three episodes of archaeological 
field investigations and multiple reports which were reviewed by the 
New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the New York 
City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The earlier work 
encompassed only the upland portions of the AKT property. 
Archaeological fieldwork included approximately 750 shovel test pits, 5 
backhoe trenches, and 5 excavation units. The excavation produced over 
5000 artifacts, with about 15% of those dating to the Precontact 
period.
    Most of the artifacts previously recovered came from three loci 
which were identified as potentially significant archaeological sites. 
These were called the Catbriar Site, the Area 1 West Site, and the 
Dissoway/Totten/Starr Site. The Catbriar Site is a Precontact period 
site. The Area 1 West Site has both Precontact and historic period 
components, and the Dissoway/Totten/Starr Site is a historic site 
originally thought to also contain a Precontact site.
    The Catbriar and Area 1 West Sites are in the northern tier of tier 
of the AKT property, approximately 250 feet from Outerbridge Crossing 
southward. The Dissoway/Totten/Starr Site is located approximately 2250 
feet south of the other two sites. All three sites are within Block 
7620. The SHPO has indicated that all three sites are either eligible 
or likely eligible for listing on the Nation Register of Historic 
Places.

Project Impacts on Historic Properties

    The Catbriar Site may be affected by ground improvement along its 
southern side and by cutting in most of the remainder of the site up to 
15 feet (5 m). The Area 1 West Site will primarily be covered with 0-15 
feet (0-5 m) of fill but will also have two storm drainage lines 
crossing the area. The Dissoway/Totten/Starr Site will also be filled 
with 2-10 feet (1-3 m) of material and will contain one storm drainage 
line.

Adverse Effects, Avoidance, Minimization and Mitigation

    MARAD, in coordination with SHPO, determined that this project 
would require the development of a Programmatic Agreement to address 
the potential for adverse effects. As of this public notice, MARAD, 
SHPO, Empire State Development, Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe of 
Indians, Shinnecock Indian Nation and Stockbridge-Munsee Community have 
all agreed to be signatories to the Agreement; New York City Landmarks 
Preservation Commission (NYCLPC) and Arthur Kill Terminal LLC will be 
concurring parties. The draft Agreement is available for review by 
going to www.regulations.gov, and search using docket number ``MARAD-
2024-0101.'' An Archaeological Work Plan (AWP) to address the potential 
for the Project to adversely effect the Catbriar Site, Area 1 West 
Precontact Site, and the Dissoway/Totten/Starr Site has also been 
prepared in consultation with SHPO and NYCLPC.

Catbriar Site

    The AWP requires two separate archaeological hand excavation units 
to be placed in the areas of highest density of cultural material 
previously recovered from testing at the site, which measures 
approximately 10 x 20 feet (3 x 6 meters (m)) in area, to look for 
intact strata with additional cultural remains and to determine if any 
features are present in those locations which may relate to the site. 
The two archaeological hand excavation units will be 3-foot 
(approximately 1 m) square excavations units each and will be excavated 
stratigraphically. If the identified strata are greater than 4 inches 
(10 cm), the excavation will be conducted arbitrarily in 4-inch (10 cm) 
levels. All soil will be screened for the recovery of cultural 
material. The work will be recorded on forms, mapped on the site 
drawing, and measured field drawings will be done of significant 
resources and selected unit profiled, at least one from each unit. 
Soils will be described using the Munsell Soil Color Charts and soil 
textures will be recorded. Photographs will be taken as appropriate. 
Artifacts will be recovered by provenience. Excavation will continue to 
either the depth of intact strata or 4 feet (122 centimeters (cm)), 
whichever is encountered first.
    Should no intact strata be encountered in the units, the AWP 
requires either additional borings or backhoe trenching to identify the 
depth of fill in the recorded site area. The additional work to be done 
will be determined by an on-site archaeologist.
    If intact strata are identified, then additional excavation will be 
recommended to determine the extent of the intact deposits and if any 
archaeological features are present. If that is the case and artifacts 
are retained, that additional recommendation will also include a 
curation plan.
    If it is determined during this survey that the Catbriar Site 
cannot be avoided and there are intact deposits associated with the 
Catbriar Site encountered, a plan will be developed for Phase 3 Data 
Recovery.

Area 1 West Site

    Should the work at the Catbriar Site conclude intact strata 
containing Precontact period cultural material exists, then the 
footprint of the Area 1 West Site will be included as part of the 
recommendations for additional investigations to define the extent of 
the Catbriar Site. Should utility excavation of the Area 1 West Site 
penetrate the fill, excavation would be monitored.

Dissoway/Totten/Starr Site

    As currently proposed, the Project will cover this site in fill. 
However, there may be plans to penetrate the fill during excavation for 
utilities. Should construction include plans to penetrate fill at this 
site, then archaeological monitoring of utility excavation is 
recommended to identify any potential structural remains or features 
associated with the historic occupation of the property. Should utility 
excavation at Dissoway/Totten/Starr Site penetrate fill, excavation 
would be monitored.

Public Participation

    MARAD may provide additional information and documents concerning 
the project. This information, along with any comments received, can be 
found at the above docket number. Please check the notice specific 
docket for this information. It is requested that all public comments 
be submitted for consideration within 45 calendar days from the posting 
of this notice.
    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice, indicate the specific section of this document to which each 
comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online as 
described in the ADDRESSES section above. MARAD recommends that you 
include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a phone 
number in the body of your document so that MARAD can contact you if 
there are questions regarding your submission.
    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(6), DOT solicits comments 
from the public on the exemption requests. DOT posts these comments, 
without edit, including any personal information the commenter 
provides, to www.regulations.gov. As described in the system of records 
notice DOT/ALL 14 (Federal Docket Management System), which can be 
reviewed at https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/privacy-act-system-records-notices, the comments are

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searchable by the name of the submitter. Anyone can search the 
electronic form of all 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.). 
For information on DOT's compliance with the Privacy Act, please visit 
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.81 and 1.93; 36 CFR part 800; 5 U.S.C. 552b.)

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-17676 Filed 8-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P