70348 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 17, 2010 / Notices 

primary goals of the Committee are to 

evaluate economic, technological, and 

institutional developments relating to 

the industry; to provide a forum for the 

discussion of problems involving the 

relationship between industry activities 

and government requirements; and to 

make recommendations to DOT on 

issues and approaches for Federal 

policies and programs regarding the 

industry. The Committee will operate in 

accordance with the rules of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act and the 

Department of Transportation, FAA 

Committee Management Order 

(1110.30C). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Susan Lender (AST–100), COMSTAC 

Executive Director, Office of 

Commercial Space Transportation, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., Room 325, 

Washington, DC 20591, telephone: (202) 

267–8029; e-mail: susan.lender@faa.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, November 10, 

2010. 

George C. Nield, 

Associate Administrator for Commercial 

Space Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28885 Filed 11–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for a 

Proposed Project in Mariposa County, 

CA 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of the 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA, on behalf of the 

California Department of Transportation 

(Caltrans), announces the availability of 

the Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (DEIS) for a proposed 

Ferguson Slide Permanent Restoration 

Project in Mariposa County, California. 

DATES: Public circulation of this 

document will begin on November 15, 

2010 and will end on January 13, 2011. 

An open forum public hearing will be 

held for this project on Wednesday, 

December 8, 2010 between 4 p.m. and 

7 p.m. in Mariposa. The location is 

Mariposa County Government Center, 

5100 Bullion Street, Mariposa, CA 

95338 in the Board of Supervisors 

Chambers. An additional open forum 

public hearing will be held for this 

project on Thursday, December 9, 2010 

between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in El Portal. 

The location is the El Portal Community 

Center, El Portal, CA 95318. 

ADDRESSES: This document will be 

available at the Caltrans District 10 

office, 1976 Dr Martin Luther King Jr. 

Blvd, Stockton, CA 95205 on weekdays 

from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Copies of the 

document can also be read at the 

Mariposa County Library at 4978 10th 

Street, Mariposa, CA 95338 and at the 

El Portal Post Office at 5508 Foresta 

Road, El Portal, CA 95318. The Draft EIS 

is also available at http:// 

www.dot.ca.gov/dist10/environmental/ 

projects/fergusonslide/index.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kirsten Helton, 2015 East Shields Ave., 

Suite 100, Fresno, CA 93726. Phone 

559–243–8224 or 

Kirsten_Helton@dot.ca.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective 

July 1, 2007, the FHWA assigned, and 

Caltrans assumed, environmental 

responsibilities for this project pursuant 

to 23 U.S.C. 327. Caltrans as the 

assigned National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) agency, has prepared a DEIS 

that evaluates 6 build alternatives to 

permanently restore and reopen the 

section of State Route 140 that was 

damaged by the Ferguson rockslide. 

Motorists are currently using a 

temporary bypass route to travel to this 

section of State Route 140. Caltrans 

approved the DEIS on November 5, 

2010. Caltrans proposes to restore full 

highway access between Mariposa and 

El Portal via State Route 140 in 

Mariposa County, California by 

repairing or permanently bypassing the 

portion of State Route 140 that was 

blocked and damaged by the Ferguson 

rockslide. The total length of the project 

is 0.7 mile. The following build 

alternatives are being proposed: 

Alternative C (Open-cut Realignment) 

This alternative would realign the 

highway to the northeast of its current 

alignment, spanning the Merced River 

and bypassing the rockslide. State Route 

140 would cut through the mountain 

across the Merced River from the 

rockslide and then span back across the 

river where it would meet the existing 

alignment. Two bridges would be built 

across the river. 

Alternative T (Tunnel Realignment) 

This alternative would realign the 

highway to the northeast of its current 

alignment, spanning the Merced River 

and bypassing the rockslide. State Route 

140 would tunnel 700 feet through the 

mountain across the Merced River from 

the rockslide and then span back across 

the river where it would meet the 

existing alignment. Two bridges would 

be built across the river. 

Alternative T–3 (Tunnel under Slide 

Realignment) 

This alternative would realign the 

highway by constructing a 2,200-footlong tunnel under the area of the slide. 

Alternative S (Viaduct Realignment) 

This alternative would realign the 

highway to the northeast of its current 

alignment, spanning the Merced River 

with two bridges and bypassing the 

rockslide with a hillside viaduct and 

retaining wall. 

Alternative S–2 (Modified Viaduct 

Realignment) 

This alternative is similar to 

Alternative S and would realign the 

highway to the northeast of its current 

alignment, spanning the Merced River 

with two bridges and bypassing the 

rockslide with a hillside viaduct and 

retaining wall. This alternative differs 

from Alternative S in that it proposes 

two bridge type variations along with 

their own specific roadway alignments. 

The first (S2–V1) would construct two 

tied-arch bridges, which use an arch 

structure with cables above the bridge 

deck for support. The second (S2–V2) 

would construct two slant-leg bridges, 

which use ‘‘V’’-shaped columns to 

support the bridge deck. 

Alternative R (Rockshed/Tunnel) 

This alternative would construct a 

rockshed (cut-and-cover tunnel) through 

the talus (foundation layer) of the slide 

along the existing State Route 140 

alignment. 

The No-build Alternative would leave 

State Route 140 damaged and blocked 

by the Ferguson rockslide. As a result of 

the No-build Alternative, the temporary 

detour would continue to function as 

State Route 140. Either general wear or 

damage from flooding in a high water 

year will eventually require the removal 

of the bridges, supporting structures, 

and the detour pavement, leading to the 

permanent closure of State Route 140 at 

the section damaged by the rockslide. 

(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 

program.) 

Issued on: November 10, 2010. 

Cindy Vigue, 

Director, State Programs, Federal Highway 

Administration, Sacramento, California. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28933 Filed 11–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

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