Environmental Impact Statement: City of Chesapeake, VA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement: City of Chesapeake, VA

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration is issuing this notice to

advise the public of its intent to adopt the environmental impact

statement prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support a

permit application for the construction of Route 168 on new location in

the City of Chesapeake and issue their own Record of Decision.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bruce Turner, Planning and Environment Program Manager, Federal Highway

Administration, The Dale Building, Suite 205, 1504 Santa Rosa Road,

Richmond, Virginia 23229, Telephone 804-281-5111.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Corps of Engineers (Corps), in

cooperation with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT),

prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and made it

available to the public in September 1995 for a proposed project to

construct four lanes on new location which would alleviate traffic

conditions on existing Route 168 in the City of Chesapeake. The Corps

assumed responsibility as the lead agency due to their authority over

wetlands and to support a permit application and because VDOT had no

intention of using any Federal-aid funds in the planning, design or

construction of the proposed project. After conducting a joint public

hearing with VDOT, the Corps considered all comments they had received

and issued a final environmental impact statement in September 1996. On

December 16, 1996, the Corps issued their Record of Decision. In June

1998, President Clinton signed authorizing legislation for the Federal

Highway Administration known as the Transportation Equity Act of the

21st Century (TEA-21). In TEA-21, the U.S. Congress set-aside Federal-

aid funds for the construction of Route 168 in the City of Chesapeake.

In response to this set-aside, VDOT has requested that the FHWA accept

the Corps' environmental impact statement to support the approval and

authorization of these Federal-aid funds for construction of Route 168.

The FHWA has reviewed the Corps' environmental impact statement to

determine if it can be readily adopted as

[[Page 40332]]

their own for purposes of complying with NEPA. FHWA will coordinate

with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation on cultural

resources and develop a Section 4(f) Evaluation as appropriate. In

addition, FHWA will solicit comments by circulating the final

environmental impact statement and send out letters describing our

intentions and changes that have occurred to the project to the

appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, private organizations,

and citizens who have previously been involved or are known to have an

interest in this proposal. Finally, notice of the document's

availability will be published in local newspapers.

To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed

action are identified and addressed, comments and suggestions are

invited from all interested parties. Comments or questions concerning

the proposed action should be directed to the FHWA at the address

provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,

Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing

Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to this proposed action)

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48.

Issued on: July 20, 1998.

Edward S. Sundra,

Environmental/Air Quality Engineer, Richmond, Virginia.

[FR Doc. 98-20049 Filed 7-27-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-22-M