53280 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 18, 2007 / Notices 

projects. These agreements, referred to 

as ‘‘project agreements’’ are written 

contracts between the State and the 

Federal government that define the 

extent of work to be undertaken and 

commitments made concerning a 

highway project. Section 1305 of the 

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st 

Century (TEA–21, Pub. L. 105–178) 

amended 23 U.S.C. 106(a) and 

combined authorization of work and 

execution of the project agreement for a 

Federal-aid project into a single action. 

States continue to have the flexibility to 

use whatever format is suitable to 

provide the statutory information 

required, and burden estimates for this 

information collection are not changed. 

Respondents: There are 56 

respondents, including 50 State 

Transportation Departments, the District 

of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands, the 

Territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands 

and American Samoa. 

Frequency: On an on-going basis as 

project agreements are written. 

Estimated Average Annual Burden 

per Response: There is an average of 476 

annual agreements per respondent. Each 

agreement requires 1 hour to complete. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 26,656 hours. 

Electronic Access: Internet users may 

access all comments received by the 

U.S. DOT Dockets by using the 

universal resource locator (URL): 

http://dms.dot.gov, 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. Please follow the 

instructions online for more information 

and help. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on: September 12, 2007. 

James R. Kabel, 

Chief, Management Programs and Analysis 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E7–18299 Filed 9–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement: St. 

Clair County, Michigan 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of and 

notice of public hearing. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, the Federal Highway 

Administration has made available for 

public review and comments a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

for the Blue Water Bridge Plaza Study. 

The DEIS describes and presents the 

environmental effects of the three 

alternatives, the No-Build Alternative 

and three Build Alternatives. A public 

hearing will be held to receive 

comments from individuals and 

organizations on the DEIS. 

DATES: Comment and public hearing 

dates are: 1. October 9, 2007, public 

hearing scheduled. 2. November 5, 

2007, public comments and due. 

The DEIS will be available for a 60- 

day public review period. Oral and 

written comments will be available for 

public review. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses will be 

made available for public disclosures in 

their entirety. 

ADDRESSES: 1. Document Availability: 

The document was made available to 

the public on September 10, 2007. 

Copies of the Draft DEIS are available 

for public inspection and review on the 

project Web site http:// 

www.michigan.gov/ 

bluewaterbridgeproject and at the 

following locations: 

• Fort Gratiot Township, 3720 

Keewahdin Rd., Fort Gratiot. 

• Port Huron City of, Office of the 

City Clerk, 10 McMorran Blvd., Port 

Huron, MI 48060. 

• Port Huron Township, 3800 Lapeer 

Rd., Port Huron, MI 48060. 

• MDOT Region Office, 18101 W. 

Nine Mile Rd., Southfield, MI 48075. 

• MDOT Bureau of Transportation 

Planning, 425 Ottawa St., Lansing. 

• MDOT Port Huron Transportation 

Service Center, 2127 11th Ave., Port 

Huron, MI 48060. 

• St. Clair County Library, 210 

McMorran Blvd., Port Huron, MI 48060. 

• St. Clair County Planning Office, St. 

Clair County Bldg., 20 Grand River Ave., 

Port Huron, MI 48060. 

Copies of the Draft EIS may be 

requested from Bob Parsons (Public 

Involvement and Hearings Officer) at 

the Michigan Department of 

Transportation, 425 W. Ottawa Street, 

P.O. Box 30050, Lansing, MI 48909 or 

by calling (517) 373–9534. 

2. Comments: Send comments on the 

Draft EIS to Michigan Department of 

Transportation, c/o Bob Parsons (Public 

Involvement and Hearings Officer), 425 

W. Ottawa Street, P.O. Box 30050, 

Lansing, MI 48909. 

3. Public Hearing: The public hearing 

will be held at McMorran Place, 701 

McMorran Blvd., Port Huron, Michigan 

48060. Two sessions will be held, 

Session 1 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 

Session 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Persons needing special assistance to 

attend and participate in the public 

hearing should contact Bob Parsons 

(Public Involvement and Hearings 

Officer) at (517) 373–9534 as soon as 

possible. In order to allow sufficient 

time to process requests, please call no 

later than one week before the public 

hearing. Information regarding this 

proposed action is available in 

alternative formats upon request. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Major Project Manager: Ryan Rizzo, 

517–702–1833. Environmental Program 

Manager: David T. Williams, 517–702–

1820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

proposed federal action is to expand the 

Blue Water Bridge Plaza and improve 

the I–94/I–69 corridor. Improvements 

are needed on the Blue Water Bridge 

Plaza to provide safe, efficient and 

secure movement of people and goods 

across the Canadian-U.S. border in the 

Port Huron area to support the 

economies of Michigan, Ontario, 

Canada, and the United States and to 

support the mobility and security needs 

associated with national and civil 

defense. 

Purpose and Need for the Project: The 

selected alternative must provide 

additional space for inspection booths, 

offices, docks to inspect and unload 

cargo, new security measures, and 

parking for cars and trucks needing 

inspection. The need for additional 

space and facilities is supported by 

several key issues including: 

• Security issues. 

• Introduction of new inspection 

technologies, procedures, and policies. 

• Limited existing space to 

accommodate increased number of 

border inspection agents. 

• Traffic conflicts and crash history. 

• Access between the plaza and 

adjacent circulatory local roads. 

• Traffic growth and traffic backups. 

• Existing infrastructure conditions of 

the I–94/I–69 corridor. 

• Upgrading the International 

Welcome Center. 

Alternatives Evaluated: The DEIS 

evaluates three action alternatives in 

addition to a No-Build Alternative: City 

East Alternative, City West Alternative 

and the Township Alternative. 

1. The No-Build Alternative would 

not make any changes to the existing 

plaza configuration or ramps. MDOT 

and CBP would continue to maintain 

the existing plaza facilities and new 

technology and procedures would be 

introduced on the existing plaza 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 18, 2007 / Notices 53281 

footprint as space allows. The existing 

welcome center would remain in its 

current location. 

2. The City East Alternative would 

require 133 acres for an expanded plaza 

and improvements along the I–94/I–69 

corridor including the Welcome Center 

which includes 67 acres for the plaza. 

This alternative would require the 

relocation of Pine Grove Avenue to the 

east along 10th Avenue and would bring 

most of the plaza down to street level. 

Pine Grove Avenue would be re-routed 

to the east of the existing plaza, between 

Hancock Street and Scott Avenue. Pine 

Grove Avenue and 10th Avenue would 

merge for a joint five-lane road between 

Scott Avenue and Elmwood Street. The 

City East Alternative uses the block 

between Hancock Street and the existing 

plaza, west of Pine Grove Avenue for an 

expanded truck inspection area. The 

Black River Bridge Water Street 

Interchange would be rebuilt and the 

Lapeer Connector Interchange would be 

expanded to include access in all 

directions. A new MDOT Welcome 

Center would be constructed north of I–

94/I–69 in Port Huron Township, 

replacing the existing Welcome Center 

at Water Street. 

3. The City West Alternative includes 

31 acres for an expanded plaza and 

improvements along the I–94/I–69 

corridor including the Welcome Center 

which includes 65 acres for the plaza. 

The City West Alternative would 

require the relocation of Pine Grove 

Avenue to the west of the plaza. The 

relocated Pine Grove Avenue would 

wrap around the south and west sides 

of the new plaza. Near Hancock Street, 

the relocated Pine Grove Avenue would 

split into separate northbound and 

southbound lanes. The northbound 

lanes would turn back east and connect 

to existing Pine Grove Avenue at 

Riverview Street. The southbound lanes 

would follow the existing M–25 

Connector. The City West Alternative 

would use the block bounded by 10th 

Avenue, Hancock Street, the M–25 

Connector, and the existing plaza for 

expanded inspection and plaza 

facilities. The City West Alternative 

would also rebuild the Black River 

Bridge from a four-lane bridge to nine 

lanes and reconstruct the Water Street 

Interchange. The Lapeer Connector 

Interchange would be expanded to 

include access in all directions. A new 

MDOT Welcome Center would be 

constructed north of I–94/I–69 in Port 

Huron Township, replacing the existing 

Welcome Center at Water Street. 

4. The Township Alternative involves 

the relocation of major plaza functions 

to Port Huron Township, 1.5 miles west 

of the current facility, on currently 

undeveloped land. This site also would 

include a new MDOT Welcome Center. 

Existing I–94/I–69 lanes west of the 

plaza and the Blue Water Bridge. The 

M–25 Connector would be extended to 

provide a local access road parallel to 

the existing I–94/I–69 with full access to 

Water Street and the Lapeer Connector. 

The Black River Bridge in the Township 

Alternative would be replaced and 

expanded from four lanes to ten lanes. 

While the current plaza footprint would 

remain the same, local traffic would no 

longer be able to exist at the existing 

plaza or use Pine Grove Avenue to 

access the plaza. Allow inspections 

would occur at the new plaza in the 

Township. The Township Alternative 

would also include traffic related 

improvements such as additional lanes 

and turn lanes for key local roads 

surrounding the existing plaza. 

Issued on: September 12, 2007. 

James J. Steele, 

Division Administrator, Lansing Michigan. 

[FR Doc. 07–4611 Filed 9–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement on West 11th 

Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Corridor in 

the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan 

Area, OR 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) and Lane Transit 

District (LTD) intend to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for potential high-capacity transit 

improvements, including possible bus 

rapid transit (BRT) improvements, along 

the West 11th Avenue Corridor in the 

West Eugene area of the EugeneSpringfield metropolitan region. The 

project’s purposes are to increase 

mobility and improve safety in the 

corridor, which runs between Eugene 

Station and Green Hill Road. The EIS 

will be prepared in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and in compliance with section 

6002 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 

Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a 

Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU). This 

Notice alerts interested parties regarding 

the plan to prepare the EIS, provides 

information on the nature of the 

proposed transit project, invites 

participation in the EIS process 

(including comments on the scope of 

the EIS proposed in this notice), and 

announces upcoming scoping meetings. 

DATES: Comment due date: Written 

comments on the scope of the EIS, 

including the purpose and need for 

transit improvements in the corridor, 

the alternatives to be considered, the 

environmental and community impacts 

to be evaluated, or any other projectrelated issues should be sent by 

November 2, 2007 to Lane Transit 

District at the address below. 

Scoping meeting dates: The first 

public scoping meeting will be held on 

October 8 at 3:00 p.m. at the location 

described in ADDRESSES below. Oral and 

written comments may be given at the 

scoping meetings. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to Tom Schwetz, LTD Director 

of Planning and Development, at PO 

Box 7070, Eugene, OR 97401 (or by email: Tom.Schwetz@ltd.org; or fax: (541) 

682–6111). Comments may also be 

offered at the public scoping meetings. 

The public scoping meetings will be: 

The first public scoping meeting will 

be: October 8, 2007, 3 to 7 p.m., Elks 

Lodge #357, 2740 W. 11th Ave., Eugene, 

OR. 

There will be at least one additional 

public meeting, in January 2008, at a 

time and place to be announced. 

These meeting places are accessible to 

persons with disabilities. Any 

individual with a disability who 

requires special assistance, such as a 

sign language interpreter, should 

contact LTD at (541) 682–6100 or by email to Tom.Schwetz@ltd.org at least 48 

hours in advance of the meeting. A 

scoping information packet will be 

available before the meeting on the Lane 

Transit Web site (http://www.ltd.org) or 

by calling Tom Schwetz, LTD, at (541) 

682–6100, and copies will be available 

at the public scoping meetings. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Radmilovich, Community Planner, 

Federal Transit Administration, Region 

10, (206) 220–4463 or 

tom.radmilovich@dot.gov. The LTD Web 

site, http://www.ltd.org, also has project 

information. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The proposed project: Known as the 

West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE), 

this project consists of transit and safety 

improvements from downtown Eugene 

to about Green Hill Road. The West 11th 

Avenue Corridor, the primary east/west 

transit travelshed linking West Eugene 

to the Eugene Station, contains several 

major employment centers, large 

commercial developments, a growing 


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