41878 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 136 / Monday, July 16, 2012 / Notices 

Dated: July 10, 2012. 

Charles A. Lawson, 

Secretary, U.S. Section, International Joint 

Commission, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17260 Filed 7–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–14–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Notice of Record of Decision on the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

that Evaluated the Proposed Airfield 

Improvement Project at Palm Beach 

International Airport, Palm Beach 

County, FL 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Record 

of Decision. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice 

of availability to advise the public and 

interested parties that it has issued a 

Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) 

for the Airfield Improvement Project 

(AIP) at Palm Beach International 

Airport (PBIA). The ROD contains the 

FAA’s Findings, Conditions of 

Approval, and Final Decision and Order 

with regard to the unconditional Airport 

Layout Plan (ALP) approval of the NearTerm AIP. This unconditional ALP 

approval will allow Palm Beach 

County—the Airport Sponsor—to 

proceed with the development of the 

Near-Term AIP pending the receipt of 

all State of Florida and local 

government approvals and funding. The 

ROD also discloses that the FAA has 

determined that the Long-Term AIP (the 

Runway 10R/28L airfield capacity 

enhancement project and its connected 

actions) are not ripe for decision at this 

time. The ROD grants only conditional 

ALP approval of the Long-Term AIP. 

This conditional ALP approval of the 

Long-Term AIP does not grant the 

Airport Sponsor the Federal approvals 

needed to construct the Long-Term AIP 

at this time. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Allan Nagy, Environmental Program 

Specialist, Federal Aviation 

Administration, Orlando Airports 

District Office, 5950 Hazeltine National 

Drive, Suite 400, Orlando, Florida 

32822, Telephone (407) 812–6331. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

published a Federal Register Notice of 

Availability of the FEIS on February 4, 

2011 (77 FR 6510). The FEIS was 

prepared in compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.], 

the implementing regulations of the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) [40 CFR parts 1500–1508], and 

FAA directives [Order 1050.1E and 

Order 5050.4B]. 

During the EIS process, the FAA 

coordinated extensively with Federal, 

state, and local agencies; Native 

American Nations/Tribes; local 

municipalities; and the public. This 

coordination included, but was not 

limited to: the United States (U.S.) 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS), the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Poarch 

Band of Creek Indians, the Muscogee 

(Creek) Nation, the Seminole Nation of 

Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of 

Florida, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians 

of Florida, the Florida Department of 

Transportation (FDOT), the Florida 

Department of Environmental Protection 

(FDEP), Palm Beach County, the City of 

West Palm Beach, the Town of Palm 

Beach, and other local municipalities. 

The FAA undertook and completed 

Section 106 consultation in accordance 

with the National Historic Preservation 

Act (NHPA) and the provisions at 36 

CFR part 800, subpart B, Protection of 

Historic Properties. This consultation 

was conducted between the FAA, the 

Florida Division of Historic Resources 

(Florida State Historic Preservation 

Officer (SHPO)) and the Keeper of the 

National Register of Historic Places 

(NRHP). The FAA also coordinated 

extensively with other stakeholders, 

including representatives of local 

homeowner associations (HOAs) and 

the general public to facilitate the 

understanding and consideration of key 

issues, the Agency’s policies and 

procedures, and the proposed actions 

being undertaken by both the Airport 

Sponsor and the FAA. The FAA actively 

solicited comments on the FEIS for an 

extended period of 45-days after its 

publication. Public and agency 

comments on the FEIS, as well as the 

FAA’s responses to substantive 

comments on the FEIS, are included in 

Appendix A of the ROD. 

In the ROD, the FAA has identified 

the Near-Term AIP as the Agency’s 

Selected Alternative. The FAA’s 

decision on the Selected Alternative 

was based on a comparative analysis 

and examination of the potential 

environmental, social, and economic 

impacts for each of the alternatives 

evaluated in detail in the FEIS. The 

FAA has determined that the Near-Term 

AIP is safe and efficient; that it would 

not result in significant environmental 

impacts and that it is justified for 

implementation by the Airport Sponsor 

at this time. The Near-Term AIP consists 

of following projects: (1) General 

Aviation (GA) facility development in 

the northwest quadrant of the airfield, 

(2) widening Taxiway ‘‘L’’ from 50 feet 

to 75 feet along the full length of 

Runway 10L/28R, and (3) acquisition of 

13.2 acres of property on the east side 

of Military Trail, between the roadway 

right of-way and the airports’ existing 

western property line. With respect to 

the Long-Term AIP, which consists of 

the Runway 10R/28L expansion project 

and its connected actions, the FAA has 

determined that the Long-Term AIP is 

not ripe for final approval at this time 

and, therefore, this component of the 

AIP was granted only conditional ALP 

approval in the ROD. This conditional 

ALP approval of the Long-Term AIP 

does not grant the Airport Sponsor the 

Federal approvals needed to construct 

the Long-Term AIP at this time. 

Availability of ROD: Copies of the 

ROD and FEIS are available at the 

following locations during normal 

business hours: 

• Palm Beach County Library 

Greenacres Branch, 3750 Jog Road, 

Greenacres, FL 33467. 

• Palm Beach County Library 

Okeechobee Boulevard Branch, 5689 

West Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm 

Beach, FL 33417. 

• West Palm Beach Public Library, 

411 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, 

FL 33401. 

• Federal Aviation Administration, 

Orlando Airports District Office, 5950 

Hazeltine National Drive Citadel 

International Building, Suite 400, 

Orlando, Florida. Contact Allan Nagy at 

(407) 812–6331. 

• Palm Beach International Airport, 

Palm Beach County Department of 

Airports, 846 Palm Beach International 

Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Contact Gary Sypek at (561) 471–7412. 

An electronic copy of the ROD (and 

FEIS) will be available for download 

from the EIS Web site (www.pbiaeis.com) beginning on July 13, 2012. 

Issued in Orlando, Florida on July 2, 2012. 

Martin Polomski, 

Acting Manager, Orlando Airports District 

Office, Federal Aviation Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17280 Filed 7–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES