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Environmental Impact Statement; Interstate 15: Farmington to Salt Lake City, Utah Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Highway Administration Byline: Ivan Marrero Date: 28 March 2022 Subjects: American Government  , The Environment, Roads & Highways
Topic: |
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 59 (Monday, March 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17406-17408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06449]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement; Interstate 15: Farmington to Salt
Lake City, Utah
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of
Transportation (USDOT).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: FHWA, on behalf of the Utah Department of Transportation
(UDOT), is issuing this notice to advise the public that an EIS will be
prepared for proposed transportation improvements on the Interstate 15
corridor from Farmington to Salt Lake City, Utah. Persons or agencies
who might be affected by the proposed project are encouraged to comment
on the information in this Notice of Intent (NOI). All comments
received in response to this NOI will be considered, and any
information presented in this NOI, including the preliminary purpose
and need, preliminary alternatives, and identified impacts, might be
revised in consideration of the comments.
DATES: Comments must be received by May 13, 2022.
ADDRESSES: This NOI is available on the project website
(i15eis.udot.utah.gov). Interested parties are invited to submit
comments by any of the following methods:
Website: For access to the documents and instructions for
submitting comments, go to the project website (i15eis.udot.utah.gov).
Mailing address or for hand delivery or courier: UDOT Environmental
Services Division, 4501 South 2700 West, P.O. Box 148450, Salt Lake
City, Utah 84114-8450.
Email address: i15eis@utah.gov.
A summary of the comments received will be included in the Draft
EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandon Weston, Director of
Environmental Services, UDOT Environmental Services Division, 4501
South 2700 West, P.O. Box 148450, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-8450;
telephone: (801) 965-4603; email: brandonweston@utah.gov. Tiffany
Pocock, PE, I-15 EIS Project Manager, UDOT Region One, 166 W Southwell
Street, Ogden, Utah 84404-4194; telephone: (801) 965-4612 email:
tpocock@utah.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The environmental review, consultation, and
other actions required by applicable federal environmental laws for
this project are being or have been carried out by UDOT pursuant to 23
U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated January 17, 2017,
extended to April 29, 2022, and executed by FHWA and UDOT. UDOT, as the
assigned National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) agency, will prepare
an EIS to evaluate transportation solutions along I-15 from Farmington
to Salt Lake City. The proposed project study area extends on I-15 from
the Park Lane interchange (I-15 milepost 325) in Farmington to the 400
South interchange (I-15 milepost 308) in Salt Lake City. The EIS will
be conducted in accordance with the requirements of NEPA, as amended
(42 United States Code [U.S.C.] Section 4321, et seq.), 23 U.S.C. 139,
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA
(40 CFR parts 1500-1508), FHWA regulations implementing NEPA (23 CFR
771.101-771.139), and all applicable federal, state, and local
governmental laws and regulations. This project is considered a ``major
project'' pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 139.
(a) The Preliminary Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The preliminary purpose of this project as identified by UDOT is to
improve safety, replace aging infrastructure, provide better mobility
for all travel modes, strengthen the state and local economy, and
better connect communities along I-15 from Farmington to Salt Lake
City. Between Farmington and Salt Lake City, I-15 has aging
infrastructure and worsening operational characteristics for the
current and projected 2050 travel demand which contribute to decreased
safety, increased congestion, lost productivity, and longer travel
times. East-west streets that access or cross I-15 are important to
connect communities and support other travel modes such as biking,
walking, and transit. When I-15 and its interchanges do not support
travel demand, traffic is added to the local streets impacting both the
regional and local transportation system, and the safe, comfortable,
and efficient travel by other modes. Agencies and the public are
invited to comment on the purpose and need statement. The purpose and
need statement and supporting documentation, including data and public
input summary, will be available in the Draft EIS. The purpose and need
statement might be revised based on comments received during the
comment period on this NOI.
(b) A Preliminary Description of the Proposed Action and Alternatives
the Environmental Impact Statement Will Consider
The currently contemplated range of alternatives proposed to be
considered in the EIS consists of the following: (1) Taking no action;
(2) capacity improvements to I-15 such as adding general-purpose, high-
occupancy, or auxiliary lanes and interchange improvements; (3)
additional or modified accesses to and from I-15; (4) additional or
modified road, bicycle and pedestrian crossings of I-15; (5) additional
or modified multimodal connections to FrontRunner stations and regional
trails; (6) Transportation System Management (TSM); (7) combinations of
any of the above, and (8) other reasonable alternatives identified
during the EIS process. Alternatives that do not meet the project's
purpose and need or that are otherwise not reasonable will not be
carried forward for detailed consideration in the EIS. The alternatives
to be retained will be finalized after UDOT considers the comments
received during the comment period on this NOI, and the comments will
be documented in the Draft EIS. The alternatives might be revised based
on UDOT's consideration of public comments. The concepts not retained
[[Page 17407]]
will also be documented in the Draft EIS.
(c) Brief Summary of Expected Impacts
The EIS will evaluate the expected social, economic, and
environmental effects resulting from the implementing the action
alternatives and the no action alternative. The following resources are
the most sensitive resources in the project area and will be evaluated
closely by UDOT:
Wetlands and Waters of the United States: Project
alternatives could require placing fill in waters of the United States
and impacts to wetlands considered to be jurisdictional. These impacts
would require a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United
States, including wetlands.
Section 4(f) Resources: Project alternatives might use
Section 4(f) parks, recreation resources, and eligible historic
properties.
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act Section 6(f)
Resources: Project alternatives might impact several parks that
received funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act.
Environmental Justice Communities: Project alternatives
might impact communities eligible for consideration as environmental
justice communities that are low-income and minority due to right-of-
way requirements, increases in noise, or other environmental factors.
UDOT will work closely with the community to avoid, minimize, and
mitigate these impacts.
Property Acquisitions: Project alternatives could require
acquiring private properties and relocating the tenants or owners of
the properties. UDOT will work closely with the impacted stakeholders
and designers to reduce the number of acquisitions and relocations.
The EIS will evaluate the expected impacts of and benefits to the
known resources listed above as well as the following resources: Land
use, social and community resources, traffic, economics, pedestrian and
bicyclist considerations, air quality, noise, water quality, wildlife
resources, floodplains, cultural resources, hazardous material sites,
and visual resources. The level of review of the identified resources
for the EIS will be commensurate with the anticipated effects on each
resource from the proposed project and will be governed by the
statutory or regulatory requirements protecting those resources.
The analyses and evaluations conducted for the EIS will identify
the potential for effects; avoidance measures; whether the anticipated
effects would be adverse; and mitigation measures for adverse effects.
UDOT welcomes comments on the expected impacts to be analyzed in the
Draft EIS during the NOI comment period.
Agencies, stakeholders, and the public are invited to comment on
the expected impacts. The environmental impact analysis will not begin
until the purpose and need, range of alternatives, and impact
categories are finalized based on the public comments on this NOI. UDOT
might revise the identification of impacts as a result of considering
public comments. The studies to identify the impacts, as well as the
analyses of impacts from the retained alternatives, will be presented
in the Draft EIS.
(d) Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations
The project might require a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and
approvals from other agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(USBR) for impacts to USBR facilities in the project area and the
National Park Service (NPS) for impacts to Land and Water Conservation
Fund Act Section 6(f) resources in the project area. Additional state
or local permits that may be required include stream alteration permits
(PGP-10) from the Utah Division of Water Rights, Clean Water Act
Section 401 Certification from the Utah Division of Water Quality,
Clean Water Act Section 402 Utah Pollution Discharge Elimination System
General Permit for Construction Activities from the Utah Division of
Water Quality, floodplain development permits from local jurisdictions
(cities or counties), and other construction related permits (such as
Air Quality Approval Orders and Fugitive Dust Emission Control Plan
from the Utah Division of Air Quality). This project is considered a
``major project'' pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 139, and all authorization
decisions necessary for construction are anticipated to be completed
not later than 90 days after the date when a Record of Decision is
issued.
(e) Scoping and Public Review
Agency Coordination
A coordination plan is being prepared to define the agency and
public participation procedures for the environmental review process.
The plan will establish cooperating and participating agency roles and
a review schedule and will be posted on the project website
(i15eis.udot.utah.gov). Cooperating agencies have been preliminarily
identified to include the USACE, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, the USBR, and the NPS.
Agency and Public Review
UDOT will initiate a scoping process in April 2022 to gather
information and solicit input after this NOI is issued. During scoping,
UDOT will coordinate with agencies, stakeholders, and the public and
will provide an opportunity for comment on the draft purpose and need
statement for the project, the range of potential alternatives, the
draft alternatives screening methodology, and potentially significant
environmental issues that will be evaluated in the EIS. A public
scoping period will be held between April 11 and May 13, 2022. As part
of the scoping process, UDOT will provide an opportunity for public and
agency comments on the draft purpose and need statement and
alternatives screening methodology memorandum. These documents will be
available on the project website (i15eis.udot.utah.gov) on April 11,
2022. Final versions of these documents, along with a scoping summary
report, will be available on the project website when they are
completed.
Public involvement is a critical component of the project
development process and will continue throughout the development of the
EIS. All individuals and organizations expressing interest in the
project will be able to participate in the process through various
public outreach opportunities, and they can sign up to receive email
announcements and notifications on the project website
(i15eis.udot.utah.gov). These opportunities include, but are not
limited to, public meetings and hearing(s), the project website, and
press releases. Public notice will be given regarding the time and
place of all public meetings and hearing(s). A public scoping period
and 30-day public comment period is planned between April 11 and May
13, 2022. Pursuant to 40 CFR 1501.9(d), during the scoping period, all
interested parties are requested to provide comments on the draft
purpose and need statement, the range of potential alternatives for the
project, the draft alternatives screening methodology memorandum, and
resources to be considered in the EIS, and to identify any relevant
information, studies, or analyses relevant to the project. Written
comments or questions should be directed to UDOT representatives at the
mail or email addresses provided above.
[[Page 17408]]
Public hearings will be held during the course of the EIS, as
described below. Generally, the locations, dates, and times for each
public hearing will be publicized on the project website
(i15eis.udot.utah.gov) and in newspapers with local and regional
circulation, including The Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News, and the
Davis Clipper. Materials will be available at the meetings in English
and Spanish, and oral and written comments will be solicited.
Public Hearing on the Draft EIS
Notice of availability of the Draft EIS for public and agency
review will be published in the Federal Register and through other
methods which will identify where interested parties can review a copy
of the Draft EIS. The public hearing will be conducted by UDOT and
announced a minimum of 15 days in advance. UDOT will provide
information for the public hearing, including the location, date, and
time for the meeting, through a variety of means including the project
website (i15eis.udot.utah.gov) and by newspaper advertisement.
(f) A Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
After this NOI is issued, UDOT will coordinate with the
participating, cooperating, and cooperating/concurring agencies to
develop study documentation and the Draft EIS.
The Draft EIS is anticipated to be issued in 2023.
The combined Final EIS and Record of Decision is
anticipated to be issued in the spring of 2024, within 24 months of the
publication of this NOI.
A Clean Water Act Section 404 permit decision from the
USACE and any other federal permits, if necessary, will be obtained
within 90 days after the Record of Decision is issued.
(g) Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information,
and Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action
To ensure that a full range of issues related to the project are
addressed and all potential issues are identified, UDOT invites
comments and suggestions from all interested parties. The project team
requests comments and suggestions regarding potential alternatives and
impacts and the identification of any relevant information, studies, or
analyses of any kind concerning impacts affecting the quality of the
human environment. Any information presented in this NOI, including the
preliminary purpose and need statement, preliminary range of
alternatives, and identification of impacts, might be revised after
UDOT considers the comments. The purpose of this request is to bring
relevant comments, information, and analyses to UDOT's attention, as
early in the process as possible, to enable UDOT to make maximum use of
this information in decision making. Comments may be submitted
according to the instructions in the ADDRESSES section of this NOI.
(h) Contact Information
For more information, please visit the project website at
i15eis.udot.utah.gov. Information requests or comments can also be
emailed to i15eis@utah.gov.
UDOT: Brandon Weston, Director of Environmental Services, UDOT
Environmental Services Division, 4501 South 2700 West, P.O. Box 148450,
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-8450; telephone: (801) 965-4603; email:
brandonweston@utah.gov.
(Catalog of Federal and Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental
consultation on federal programs and activities apply to this
program.)
Dated: March 21, 2022.
Ivan Marrero,
Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Salt Lake City,
Utah.
[FR Doc. 2022-06449 Filed 3-25-22; 8:45 am]
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