Office of Mexican Affairs; Notice of Issuance of a Finding of No Significant Impact With Regard to the Issuance of a Presidential Permit for the Cox Communications Underground Fiber-Optic Link, San Diego, California

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of Mexican Affairs; Notice of Issuance of a Finding of No

Significant Impact With Regard to the Issuance of a Presidential Permit

for the Cox Communications Underground Fiber-Optic Link, San Diego,

California

[Public Notice No. 3124]

AGENCY: Department of State.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of State has issued

a Finding of No Significant Impact on the human environment within the

United States for the underground fiber-optic link project sponsored by

Cox Communications, Inc. of San Diego, California. A draft

Environmental Assessment of the proposed underground fiber-optic link

was prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. for the sponsor, Cox Communications,

Inc. of San Diego, California.

The draft Final Environmental Assessment was then reviewed by

numerous federal and state agencies. Each such ``cooperating agency''

has approved or accepted the draft Final Environmental Assessment.

Based upon the Department's independent review of the draft Final

Environmental Assessment, comments received during its preparation and

comments received by the Department from federal and state agencies

including measures which are proposed to be taken to prevent and/or

mitigate

[[Page 51176]]

potentially adverse environmental impacts which the Sponsors intend to

take, the Department has concluded that issuance of a Presidential

Permit authorizing construction of the proposed Cox Communications

underground fiber-optic link would not have a significant impact on the

quality of the human environment within the United States. Accordingly,

a finding of no significant impact is adopted and an EIS will not be

prepared.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Presidential Permit may be obtained from Mr.

David E. Randolph, Coordinator, U.S.-Mexico Border Affairs, Office of

Mexican Affairs, Room 4258, Department of State, Washington, D.C.

20520, telephone (202) 647-8529. A copy of the Department's Final

Environmental Assessment is available for inspection in Room 4258 of

the Department of State during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to grant a

Presidential Permit to Cox Communications of San Diego, California

(hereinafter referred to as ``permittee''), for the construction of an

underground fiber-optic link from San Diego, California, to Tijuana,

Baja California, Mexico. A draft Environmental Assessment of the

proposed fiber-optic tunnel which permits the cable to run beneath the

U.S.-Mexico boundary was prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. of San Diego,

California, on behalf of the permittee, under the guidance and

supervision of the Department of State. The Department of State placed

a notice in the Federal Register (November 13, 1998, 63 FR 63520)

regarding the availability for inspection of Cox's Permit application

and the draft Environmental Assessment. No public comments were

received.

Seventeen federal and state agencies independently reviewed the

draft Environmental Assessment. They were: the Immigration and

Naturalization Service, the United States Customs Service, the Food and

Drug Administration, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (of

the Department of Agriculture), the General Services Administration,

the International Boundary and Water Commission (United States

Section), the Department of Defense, the Federal Highway Administration

and the United States Coast Guard (of the Department of

Transportation), the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the

Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, the

Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice, the Council

on Environmental Quality, the Department of State and the California

Department of Transportation. Because the land where construction is

proposed to take place is owned by a federal government agency (the

United States Section of the International Boundary and Water

Commission), the draft Environmental Assessment was not subject to

review under the California Environmental Quality Act. All comments

received from these agencies were responded to directly or by expanding

the analysis contained in this assessment.

This draft Final Environmental Assessment, the comments submitted

by the agencies, the responses to these comments, and all

correspondence between the agencies and the permittee addressing the

agencies' concerns, together constitute the Final Environmental

Assessment of the proposed action by the Department of State.

The Department of State (the Department) is charged with issuance

of Presidential Permits for the construction of international bridges

between the United States and Mexico under the International Bridge Act

of 1972, 86 Stat. 731; 33 U.S.C. Sec. 535 et seq., and Executive Order

11423, 33 Fed. Reg. 11741 (1968), as amended by Executive Order 12847

of May 17, 1993, 58 Fed. Reg. 29511 (1993). On January 22, 1998, the

Undersecretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs

determined that international fiber-optic links, the construction of

which involve tunnels under the United States-Mexico border, require

Presidential Permits. Based on the Final Environmental Assessment,

including measures which are proposed to be taken to prevent or

mitigate potentially adverse environmental impacts and which the

permittee intends to take, and information developed during the review

of the permittee's application, the Department of State has concluded

that issuance of the Presidential Permit authorizing construction of

the fiber-optic link will not have a significant impact on the quality

of the human environment within the United States.

Summary of The Environmental Assessment

Cox Communications of San Diego, California, has applied to the

Department for a Presidential Permit to build an underground tunnel

carrying fiber optic cables in the San Ysidro-Tijuana area, just north

of the U.S.-Mexico International Border Fence and just south of a

secondary concrete pillar fence. The boundary crossing site is located

in an area that is not open to the public and is used by the United

States Border Patrol, owned by the United States Section of the

International Boundary and Water Commission and located within the

corporate boundaries of the City of San Diego.

The fiber optic line will extend a cable overhead to the U.S.-

Mexican border by placing the cable on the existing utility poles owned

by San Diego Gas and Electric. Cox will place an additional 45-foot

long pole at a point 12 feet north of the border wall and at a depth in

the ground of 10 feet. Cox will place an anchor rod six feet south of

the new pole; at the new pole, Cox will use a backhoe to dig a trench

32 feet east with the dimensions of one foot wide by five feet deep. At

the end of the trench, Cox will shoot an eight-inch diameter

directional bore south under the border wall at a depth of ten feet for

a distance of 130 feet to the pole on the Mexican side at Martinez

Street. Conduit will be placed in the trench. The cable will be pulled

through the conduit to the Mexican side.

The fiber optic line, the first of its kind in a tunnel across the

U.S.-Mexican border, will provide a communication link between San

Diego and Tijuana. Initially, the connection will allow an interactive/

broadcast quality/live, video connection to be activated between San

Diego State University and a university in Tijuana.

Other uses for the connection could include: Video connectivity

between the offices of the Mayors of San Diego and Tijuana;

Transporting network television programming between cable systems;

Linking together television stations to provide connections for late-

breaking news stories such as storms, traffic congestion, etc.;

Transporting high speed Internet access across the border; Providing

telephony traffic back and forth across the border; Linking ``sister''

factories on both sides of the border with data connections.

The Alternatives

The Department considered four alternatives:

1. The ``No Action'' alternative;

2. Constructing the fiber optic cable line underground along the

entire alignment;

3. Constructing the fiber optic cable line above-ground along the

entire alignment;

4. Constructing the fiber optic cable line both aboveground and

underground using primarily existing facilities.

The First Alternative, the ``No Action'' alternative, would

eliminate any potential adverse environmental impacts associated with

the proposed construction, but would not achieve the objective of

providing a high-tech fiber

[[Page 51177]]

optic link between San Diego and Tijuana.

The Second Alternative, constructing the fiber optic cable line

underground along the entire alignment, would involve constructing

underground facilities where no facilities currently exist.

The Third Alternative, constructing the fiber optic cable line

above-ground along the entire alignment, would involve constructing

aboveground facilities where no facilities currently exist.

The Fourth Alternative, constructing the fiber optic cable line

both aboveground and underground using primarily existing facilities,

is the permittee's preferred alternative. Temporarily, potentially

significant noise impacts, minor, temporary impacts to air quality and

temporary, local impacts on recreation (temporary disruption of use of

a bike lane), and traffic and socioeconomic effects (temporary partial

disruption of access to businesses) have been identified for the

Second, Third and Fourth Alternatives. Because the Fourth Alternative

would use the greatest amount of existing infrastructure to contain the

new cable line, resulting in less construction time than the other two

alternatives, environmental impacts would likely be less under the

Fourth Alternative than under the Second and Third Alternatives.

The draft Environmental Assessment submitted by the permittee in

support of its application provides information on the environmental

effects of the construction of the underground tunnel. On the basis of

the Environmental Assessment and information developed by the

Department and other federal and state agencies in the process of

reviewing the draft Environmental Assessment, the Department arrived at

the following conclusions on the likely impact of construction at the

proposed location:

Wetlands

The permittee apprised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) of

the proposed project in a letter dated February 10, 1997. This letter

contained a project description and project map. The Corps responded on

May 7, 1997, setting forth its determination that the proposed project

would not discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United

States or an adjacent wetland. The Corps further indicated that the

proposed project is not subject to Corps jurisdiction under Section 404

of the Clear Water Act, and a Section 404 permit would not be required.

The Corps response letter is included in the Environmental Assessment.

Threatened and Endangered Species

The Department considered possible impacts of the project on

federally protected species. Cox accessed the California Natural

Diversity Data Base (CNDDB) for the Imperial Beach USGS 7.5 minute quad

mapping area. The CNDDB contains historic records of occurrence of

sensitive biological resources. These computer records, dated December

12, 1997, revealed a number of sensitive species that could be present

in the Tijuana River Valley area. A biological field survey was

conducted at the project site on June 9, 1998 to characterize the

habitat present and evaluate the potential occurrence of sensitive

species and sensitive habitat types. An additional survey was conducted

on July 4, 1998. Based on the lack of habitat, the sensitive species

identified during the CNDDB search are not expected to be present at

the project site.

Examples of sensitive species known to occur in the region, but not

expected to occur at the site due to a lack of appropriate habitat,

include the Least Bell's Vireo and Arroyo Toad (on the federal

endangered species list); the Coastal California Gnatcatcher (on the

federal threatened species list); and the Western Spadefoot, San Diego

Horned Lizard, Orange-Throated Whiptail, Coastal Cactus Wren, San Diego

Desert Woodrat and Many-Stemmed Dudleya (on the federal species of

concern list).

Land Use

The proposed site is located in an area that is not open to the

public, and which is used by the United States Border Patrol. Border

Patrol agents typically patrol the area between the two fences using

sport utility vehicles, and often park their vehicles along the access

road located just north of the border crossing site in order to

discourage illegal border crossing attempts. The land at the border

crossing site is owned by the United States Section of the

International Boundary and Water Commission. The proposed fiber optic

cable line alignment would be constructed along existing overhead

transmission lines or existing underground transmission facilities that

traverse existing residential and commercial land uses. There are an

estimated 18 businesses and 586 residences located along the proposed

fiber optic alignment, on both sides of the streets. Most residences

are multi-family attached units and mobile homes. An elementary school

that serves about 700 students is located in the area.

The border crossing site is an area of disturbed land that is

maintained in a cleared and graded condition, and sustains heavy off-

road vehicle use. It is devoid of structures and vegetation. The

project would add only one new utility pole. All other facilities would

be placed in an underground trench or would be accommodated on an

existing SDG&E utility pole. Construction duration is expected to be

relatively short-term--less than one week. As such, no significant

impacts to aesthetic resources at the border crossing site are

anticipated.

River Channel and Floodplains

The Tijuana River is located approximately 100 meters to the north

of the project area. Variable rainfall produces variable flow

characteristics, and the river does shift widely across the valley

floor. However, a high levee located south of the river overlooks the

border crossing site and provides protection from flooding.

Air Quality

The San Diego Air Basin is designated as a non-attainment area with

respect to ozone standards (a level of non-attainment is classified as

being ``serious''), carbon monoxide standards (west San Diego County

only) and the California state suspended particulate matter standard.

Land uses considered to be sensitive receptors relative to air

pollutant emissions typically include health-related facilities, child-

care facilities and facilities where occupants may have limited

mobility and/or long-term exposure to emissions. Such uses typically

include long-term health-care facilities, rehabilitation centers,

convalescent centers, retirement homes, residences, schools and

playgrounds. No sensitive receptors are located at the border crossing

site.

The nearest sensitive receptors relative to air pollutant emissions

include Willow School located at 226 Willow Road, the South Bay Head

Start facility located at 253 Willow Road, numerous residences along

streets traversed by the existing overhead transmission lines and

underground transmission facilities, and the Cesar Chavez Community

Center-San Ysidro at Larsen Field, located approximately 0.1 miles west

of the alignment at 455 Sycamore Road. Temporary, unavoidable, local,

construction-related, less-than-significant impacts are expected for

air quality.

[[Page 51178]]

Historical and Archeological Resources

A record search was conducted by the South Coast Information Center

on February 24, 1997, at the request of the permittee. This search

revealed that a portion of the project area had been previously

inventoried, and that no cultural resources had been identified.

On June 9, 1998, a cultural resources and paleontological survey

with limited subsurface testing was conducted at the border crossing

site. The primary purpose of the survey and subsurface testing was to

determine whether cultural and paleontological resources exist in the

ground disturbance portion of the project area that could be adversely

affected by the placement of the pole and associated buried fiber optic

cable. The entire area subject to surface disturbance, as well as a

buffer area, was examined for the presence of both prehistoric and

historic archaeological resources, and paleontological resources. A

total of eight 12-centimeter-diameter auger test holes were excavated.

No archaeological, historic or paleontological resources have been

identified at the border crossing site.

During the June 1998 survey, a spot check was made at a utility

pole at the southeast corner of Willow Road and Camino de la Plaza

where a small excavation immediately adjacent to the pole is proposed.

No evidence of cultural or paleontological resources was observed at

this location. No historical resources are located along the proposed

fiber optic cable line alignment.

Noise

The border crossing site is located within open space land that is

used by the Border Patrol for control of illegal immigration. It is

disturbed land with no structures. Like air quality pollutants, land

uses considered to be sensitive receptors relative to noise typically

include health-related facilities, child-care facilities and facilities

where occupants may have limited mobility and/or long-term exposure to

emissions. Such uses typically include long-term health-care

facilities, rehabilitation centers, convalescent centers, retirement

homes, residences, schools and playgrounds. There are no sensitive

noise receptors present in the vicinity of the border crossing site on

the U.S. side of the international border.

The nearest sensitive receptors relative to noise include Willow

School located at 226 Willow Road, the South Bay Head Start facility

located at 253 Willow Road, numerous residences along streets traversed

by the existing overhead transmission lines and underground

transmission facilities, and the Cesar Chavez Community Center-San

Ysidro at Larsen Field, located approximately 0.1 miles west of the

alignment at 455 Sycamore Road. Temporary, unavoidable, local,

construction-related, less-than-significant impacts are expected for

noise.

Environmental Justice

The border crossing site is located on vacant land. No businesses

or residences exist on or near the site on the U.S. side of the border.

The population of Census Tract 100.09, which contains all of the border

crossing site and the majority of the proposed fiber optic cable line

alignment, was 4,584 as of January 1, 1998. According to a population

estimate of the census tract by ethnicity, the population of the census

tract is 87.8% of Hispanic origin, 5.6% White, 5.4% Black and 1.2%

Asian/Other.

The median household income for the census tract was $14,495 as of

January 1, 1998. The largest percentage of households (30.0%) consisted

of those in the $10,000-$14,999 income range, while 1.5% of households

earned $50,000-$74,999 and none earned over $75,000.

The population of the City of San Diego as a whole was 1,224,848 as

of January 1, 1998. According to a population estimate by ethnicity,

the population of San Diego is 24.3% of Hispanic origin, 54.7% White,

8.7% Black and 13.2% Asian/Other.

The median household income for the City was $40,974 as of January

1, 1998. The largest percentage of households (19.8%) consisted of

those in the $50,000-$74,999 income range, while 6.1% of households

earned $10,000-$14,999 and 8.2% earned under $10,000.

The general make-up of the population of the census tract

containing the border crossing site is low-income and of Hispanic

origin. No disproportionately high and adverse human health or

environmental impacts on minority populations, low-income populations,

or Native American Indian tribes are likely to result from construction

or operation of the proposed fiber optic project.

Cumulative Impacts

Construction and operation of the proposed fiber optic cable

project will not result in significant cumulative impacts. The proposed

project would have no adverse impact on land use, recreation,

biological resources, cultural resources, geotechnical hazards or

environmental justice. Temporary, unavoidable, local, construction-

related, less-than-significant impacts are expected for air quality,

traffic and socioeconomics (temporary partial disruption of access to

local businesses). Temporary, unavoidable, local, construction-related,

potentially significant impacts have been identified for noise, but

these can be reduced to a level that is less-than-significant through

successful application of the recommended mitigation measures.

Mitigation is also recommended for air quality to further reduce the

level of impact.

Conclusion

On the basis of the Environmental Assessment, the Department's

independent review of that Assessment, information developed during the

review of the application and Environmental Assessment, and comments

received, it appears that none of the alignment alternatives (i.e.

alternatives 1-4, described above) would have a significant impact on

the human environment within the United States. Accordingly, a Finding

of No Significant Impact (``FONSI'') is adopted and an environmental

impact statement will not be prepared.

Dated: September 14, 1999.

David E. Randolph,

Coordinator, U.S.-Mexico Border Affairs, Office of Mexican Affairs.

[FR Doc. 99-24579 Filed 9-20-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710-29-P