[Federal Register: August 7, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 152)]
[Notices]
[Page 41211-41212]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07au01-49]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
as Part of a Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Permit Application
Evaluation for the Proposed South Lawrence Trafficway/K-10 Highway
Extension Project, in and near the City of Lawrence, in Douglas County,
Kansas
AGENCY: U.S. Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)
intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address
social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed South
Lawrence Trafficway/K-10 Highway Extension Project located in Douglas
County Kansas. The Corps is evaluating a permit application or the
proposed work under the authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
(33 USC 1344). The EIS will be used as a basis for the permit decision
and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). The permit applicant is the Kansas Department of
Transportation.
ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District,
Operations Division, Regulatory Branch, OD-R, 700 Federal Building, 601
E. 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64106-2896.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert J. Smith, Regulatory
Project Manager, (816) 983-3635 or mail to:
robert.j.smith@usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District will
serve as the lead Federal agency and prepare a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS) on the proposed South Lawrence Trafficway/K-10
Highway Extension Project located in Douglas County, Kansas. The
proposed highway project would extend from a western terminus at an
interchange with U.S. 59 (Iowa Street), to an eastern terminus a new
interchange with existing K-10, for an approximate distance of six
miles. The Corps will be evaluating a permit application for the work
under the authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC
1344). The EIS will be used as a basis for the permit decision and to
ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The permit applicant is the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT).
A similar project proposed by Douglas County, Kansas, commonly known as
the South Lawrence Trafficway, where the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) was the lead Federal agency, had an EIS and supplemental EIS
prepared and evaluated over approximately a ten-year period. The Final
Supplemental EIS resulted in the No Build alternative being selected in
the Record of Decision (ROD), dated July 5, 2000. The FHWA is not
involved in the new proposed project. The new proposed project will
involve KDOT as the sole applicant. Additional alternatives and a
revised project purpose and need, will be part of the project.
2. The Corps study will evaluate the ``No Action'' alternative as
well as a system traffic management alternative and various alignments
under the highway construction alternative. Alternative alignments
currently identified under the highway construction alternative
included: (1) 31st Street, (2) 32nd Street, (3) 35th Street, (4) 38th
Street and, (5) 42nd Street. All of the alignments under the highway
construction alternative would involve the placement of fill material
in the waters of the United States and would therefore require prior
authorization, by the Corps, under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
In addition, all but one of these alignments could potentially affect
the Haskell Indian Nations University and/or the Baker Wetlands.
3. Scoping Process.
a. A formal public scoping meeting will be held for the project in
Lawrence, Kansas on August 30, 2001. The exact time and location of the
scoping meeting will be announced when the details are finalized.
Additional information meetings and workshops have and will continue be
held in the study area to engage the local and regional community in
the decision-making process, to obtain public input and to keep the
public informed. Coordination meetings will be held as needed with
affect/concerned local, State, Tribal, and Federal government entities.
These meetings and workshops, as well as any meetings which were
previously held regarding this project, will serve as the collective
scoping process for preparation of the DEIS. Draft documents
forthcoming from the study will be distributed by the Corps to Federal,
Tribal, State and local governments/agencies as well as interested
members of the general public for review and comment. Public notices,
meeting announcements and NEPA/Section 04 decision documents will also
be available on the Kansas City District's Regulatory homepage at
http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/regulatory/regulatory.htm.
b. The DEIS will analyze the potential social, economic, and
environmental impacts to the project are resulting from the proposed
highway transportation project. Specifically, the following significant
issues will be analyzed in depth in the DEIS: impacts to the aquatic
ecosystem; impacts to cultural resources; Native American and Tribal
interests; impact to fish and wildlife resources; impacts to flood
control and floodplain values; impacts to transportation systems,
impacts to recreation; environmental justice; secondary and cumulative
impacts; and socioeconomoics.
c. Environmental consultation and review will be conducted in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as per regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality
(Code of Federal Regulations parts 40 CFR 1500-1508), and other
applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines.
[[Page 41212]]
4. It is anticipated that the DEIS will be made available for
public review in January of 2002.
Luz D. Ortiz,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-19759 Filed 8-6-01; 8:45 am]
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