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[Federal Register: June 17, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 116)]
[Notices]               
[Page 34516-34518]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jn10-135]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 7052]

 
Issuance of an Amended Presidential Permit Authorizing the 
Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of a Two-Span International 
Bridge Near Brownsville, Texas, at the International Boundary Between 
the United States and Mexico

SUMMARY: At the request of the permittee, the Department of State has 
amended the Presidential permit, originally issued in 1993, that 
authorizes Cameron County, Texas to construct, operate, and maintain an 
international bridge known as ``Veterans Bridge at Los Tomates'' near 
Brownsville, Texas, at the international boundary between the United 
States and Mexico. The amendment allows the permittee to build a second 
adjacent bridge, essentially identical to the existing four-lane 
bridge, to accommodate increasing traffic volume, to improve pedestrian 
safety, and to allow more efficient separation of different types of 
traffic as it approaches the border inspection station owned by the 
General Services Administration and operated by the Department of 
Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection. In making its 
determination

[[Page 34517]]

to amend the permit, the Department provided public notice of the 
proposed amendment and provided the opportunity for comment (73 FR 
55586, Sept. 25, 2008) and also consulted with other Federal agencies, 
as required by Executive Order 11423, as amended.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stewart Tuttle, U.S.-Mexico Border 
Affairs Coordinator, via e-mail at WHA-BorderAffairs@state.gov; by 
phone at 202-647-6356; or by mail at Office of Mexican Affairs--Room 
3909, Department of State, 2201 C St., NW., Washington, DC 20520. 
Information about Presidential permits is available on the Internet at 
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/permit/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is the text of the amended 
permit:
    Amended Presidential Permit Authorizing Cameron County, Texas, to 
Construct, Operate, and Maintain a Two-span International Bridge, its 
Approaches, and Facilities at the International Boundary between the 
United States and Mexico.
    By virtue of the authority vested in me as Under Secretary of State 
for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs under Executive Order 
11423 of August 16, 1968, 33 FR 11741; as amended by Executive Order 
12847 of May 17, 1993, 58 FR 29511; Executive Order 13284 of January 
23, 2003, 68 FR 4075; Executive Order 13337 of April 30, 2004, 69 FR 
25299; the International Bridge Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 731; 33 U.S.C. 
535 et seq.); and Department of State Delegation of Authority number 
118-2 of January 26, 2006; having considered the environmental effects 
of the proposed action in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (83 Stat. 852; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), having 
considered the proposed action in accordance with the National Historic 
Preservation Act (80 Stat. 917, 16 U.S.C. 470f et seq., and having 
requested and received the views of various of the Federal departments 
and other interested persons; I hereby grant permission, subject to the 
conditions herein set forth, to Cameron County, Texas (herinafter 
referred to as ``permittee'') in partnership with the City of 
Brownsville, Texas, pursuant to interlocal agreement, to construct, 
operate, and maintain a two-span international vehicular and pedestrian 
bridge in the ``Los Tomates'' vicinity of Brownsville, Texas and 
Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
    The term ``facilities'' as used in this permit means the bridge, 
its approaches, and any land, structure, or installations appurtenant 
thereto.
    The term ``United States facilities'' as used in this permit means 
that part of the facilities in the United States.
    This permit is subject to the following conditions:
    Article 1. The United States facilities herein described, and all 
aspects of their operation, shall be subject to the conditions, 
provisions, and requirements of this permit or any amendment thereof; 
further that this permit may be terminated at the will of the Secretary 
of State or the Secretary's delegate or may be amended by the Secretary 
of State or the Secretary's delegate at will or upon proper application 
therefor; further that the permittee shall make no substantial change 
in the location of the United States facilities or in the operation 
authorized by this permit until such changes have been approved by the 
Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate.
    Article 2. (1) Standards for, and manner of, the construction, 
operation and maintenance of the United States facilities shall be 
subject to inspection and approval by the representatives of 
appropriate Federal or State agencies. The permittee shall allow duly 
authorized officers and employees of such agencies free and 
unrestricted access to said facilities in the performance of their 
official duties.
    (2) Prior to initiation of construction, the permittee shall obtain 
the approval of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to such 
construction, in conformity with Section 5 of the International Bridge 
Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 535c) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
Delegation of Authority Number 0170.1.
    Article 3. The permittee shall comply with all Federal and State 
laws and regulations regarding the construction, operation, and 
maintenance of the United States facilities, and with all applicable 
industrial codes.
    Article 4. Upon the termination, revocation, or surrender of this 
permit, and unless otherwise agreed by the Secretary of State or the 
Secretary's delegate, the United States facilities in the immediate 
vicinity of the international boundary shall be removed by and at the 
expense of the permittee within such time as the Secretary of State or 
the Secretary's delegate may specify, and upon failure of the permittee 
to remove this portion of the United States facilities as ordered, the 
Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate may direct that 
possession of such facilities be taken and that they be removed at the 
expense of the permittee; and the permittee shall have no claim for 
damages by reason of such possession or removal.
    Article 5. If, in the future, it should appear to the United States 
Coast Guard and the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary's 
delegate that any facilities or operations permitted hereunder cause 
unreasonable obstructions to the free navigation of any of the 
navigable waters of the United States, the permittee may be required, 
upon notice from the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary's 
delegate, to remove or alter such of the facilities as are owned by it 
so as to render navigation through such waters free and unobstructed.
    Article 6. This permit and the operation of the United States 
facilities hereunder shall be subject to the regulations issued by any 
competent agency of the United States Government, including but not 
limited to the United States Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland 
Security, and the United States Section of the International Boundary 
and Water Commission (USIBWC). This permit shall continue in force and 
effect only so long as the permittee shall continue the operations 
hereby authorized in exact accordance with such limitations, terms and 
conditions.
    Article 7. When, in the opinion of the President of the United 
States, the national security of the United States demands it, due 
notice being given by the Secretary of State or the Secretary's 
delegate, the United States shall have the right to enter upon and take 
possession of any of the United States facilities or parts thereof; to 
retain possession, management or control thereof for such length of 
time as may appear to the President to be necessary; and thereafter to 
restore possession and control to the permittee. In the event that the 
United States shall exercise such right, it shall pay to the permittee 
just and fair compensation for the use of such United States facilities 
upon the basis of a reasonable profit in normal conditions, and the 
cost of restoring said facilities to as good condition as existed at 
the time of entering and taking over the same, less the reasonable 
value of any improvements that may have been made by the United States.
    Article 8. Any transfer of ownership or control of the United 
States facilities or any part thereof shall be immediately notified in 
writing to the United States Department of State, including the 
submission of information identifying the transferee. This permit shall 
remain in force subject to all the conditions, permissions and 
requirements of this permit and any amendments thereto unless 
subsequently terminated or

[[Page 34518]]

amended by the Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate.
    Article 9. (1) The permittee shall acquire such right-of-way 
grants, easements, permits and other authorizations as may become 
necessary and appropriate.
    (2) The permittee shall save harmless the United States from any 
claimed or adjudged liability arising out of the construction, 
completion or maintenance of the facilities.
    (3) The permittee shall maintain the United States facilities and 
every part thereof in a condition of good repair for their safe 
operation.
    Article 10. The permittee shall provide to the General Services 
Administration (GSA), at no cost to the Federal government, a site that 
is adequate and acceptable to GSA on which to construct border station 
facilities at the United States terminal of the bridge. The permittee 
shall fully comply with all National Environmental Policy Act and 
National Historic Preservation Act mitigation provisions and 
stipulations for transfer of the site to the General Services 
Administration.
    Article 11. The permittee shall take all appropriate measures to 
prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts or disruption of 
significant archeological resources in connection with the 
construction, operation and maintenance of the United States 
facilities. The permittee shall submit to the USIBWC the plans approved 
by the Texas Water Commission for sewage collection and treatment 
facilities, and their discharge limitations, along with any plans 
approved by the Texas Water Commission regarding water rights for water 
diversion facilities in the Rio Grande.
    Article 12. The permittee shall submit to the U.S. Commissioner, 
IBWC, for review by the USIBWC the conceptual and final levee 
relocation plan that forms a part of the international bridge proposal. 
Permittee shall comply with any appropriate changes required by the 
USIBWC and also arrange for transfers of lands, rights-of-way and other 
works proposed as part of the new bridge construction and levee 
relocation plan.
    Article 13. The permittee shall comply with all agreed actions and 
obligations undertaken to be performed by it in the Supplemental 
Environmental Assessment dated June 4, 1993, including but not limited 
to the mitigation Plan attached thereto as Appendix A, as supplemented 
by the Environmental Assessment dated October 2009 and the Finding of 
No Significant Impact dated January 10, 2010. Construction of the 
United States facilities shall be performed in substantial conformity 
with Alternatives A or C described in the Supplemental Environmental 
Assessment dated June 4, 1993, as supplemented by the Environmental 
Assessment dated October 2009 and the Finding of No Significant Impact 
dated January 10, 2010.
    Article 14. The permittee shall file with the appropriate agencies 
of the Government of the United States such statements or reports under 
oath with respect to the United States facilities, and/or permittee's 
actions in connection therewith, as are now or may hereafter be 
required under any laws or regulations of the Government of the United 
States or its agencies.
    Article 15. The permittee shall send notice to the Department of 
State at such time as the construction authorized by this permit is 
begun, and again at such time as construction is completed, 
interrupted, or discontinued.
    In witness thereof, I, Robert D. Hormats, Under Secretary of State 
for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, have hereunto set my 
hand this 1st day of June, 2010, in the City of Washington, District of 
Columbia.
    This permit supersedes the permit signed on October 7, 1993 by 
Under Secretary of State Joan E. Spero.
    End Permit text.

    Dated: June 10, 2010.
Alex Lee,
Director, Office of Mexican Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2010-14696 Filed 6-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-29-P
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