Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 212 / Friday, November 1, 2024 / Notices 87373 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

[Notice—PBS–2024–14; Docket No. 2024– 

0002; Sequence No. 48] 

Notice of Availability for a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Grand Portage Land Port of Entry 

Modernization and Expansion Project 

in Grand Portage, Minnesota 

AGENCY: Public Buildings Service (PBS), 

General Services Administration (GSA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA); 

announcement of public hearing. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

availability of the Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS), which examines 

potential environmental impacts from 

the modernization and expansion of the 

Grand Portage Land Port of Entry 

(LPOE), which is located within the 

Grand Portage Reservation of the Grand 

Portage Band of Lake Superior 

Chippewa (herein referred to as the 

Grand Portage Band). The existing 

Grand Portage LPOE is owned and 

managed by GSA and is operated by the 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

The Draft EIS describes the purpose and 

need for the project; alternatives 

considered; the existing environment 

that could be affected; the potential 

impacts resulting from each of the 

alternatives; and proposed best 

management practices and/or mitigation 

measures. 

DATES: 

Public Comment Period—Interested 

parties are invited to provide comments 

on the Draft EIS. The Public Comment 

Period begins with publication of this 

NOA in the Federal Register and will 

last for 45 days until December 16, 

2024. Written comments must be 

received by the last day of the Public 

Comment Period (see ADDRESSES section 

of this NOA on how to submit 

comments). After the comment period, 

GSA will prepare the Final EIS. 

Hearing Date—GSA will host a hybrid 

virtual and in-person public hearing on 

Tuesday, November 19, 2024, from 5:00 

p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Central Daylight Time 

(CDT), where interested parties are 

invited to join and provide verbal or 

written comments on the Draft EIS (see 

ADDRESSES section for location address). 

Refer to the PUBLIC HEARING 

INFORMATION section of this NOA for 

additional information and how to 

access the online public hearing. 

ADDRESSES: Hearing Location—The 

public may attend the hearing in person 

at the Grand Portage State Park 

Welcome Center at 9393 E Highway 61, 

Grand Portage, MN 55605. 

A copy of the Draft EIS can be found 

on the GSA website at: https://

www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/ 

region-5-great-lakes/buildings-andfacilities/minnesota/grand-portageland-port-of-entry. Hard copies are also 

available at the following locations: 

Grand Portage Tribal Council Office, 83 

Stevens Rd., Grand Portage, MN 55605; 

Grand Portage Community Center,73 

Upper Rd, Grand Portage, MN 55605; 

Grand Portage Trust Lands, 27 Store 

Rd., Grand Portage, MN 55605. 

Public Comments 

In addition to oral comments and 

written comments provided at the 

public hearing, members of the public 

may also submit comments by one of 

the following methods. All oral and 

written comments will be considered 

equally and will be made part of the 

public record. 

• Email: michael.gonczar@gsa.gov. 

Please include ‘Grand Portage LPOE 

EIS’ in the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: ATTN: Michael Gonczar, 

Grand Portage LPOE EIS; U.S. General 

Services Administration, Region 5; 230 

S Dearborn Street, Suite 3600, Chicago, 

IL 60604 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Gonczar, NEPA Program 

Manager, GSA, 312–810–2326, 

michael.gonczar@gsa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Hearing Information 

The in-person meeting will begin with 

an open house format from 5 p.m. to 

5:30 p.m. CDT; this portion of the 

meeting will not be broadcast. The 

hybrid in-person and virtual meeting 

will start promptly at 5:30 p.m. CDT and 

will begin with presentations on the 

NEPA and National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA) processes, 

which are being conducted concurrently 

for this project, as well as an overview 

of the proposed project, and then will 

continue with the findings of the Draft 

EIS. A copy of the presentation 

slideshow will be made available prior 

to the hearing at: https://www.gsa.gov/ 

real-estate/gsa-properties/land-ports-ofentry-and-the-bil/bipartisaninfrastructure-law-construction-project/ 

minnesota. Following the presentation, 

there will be a moderated session during 

which members of the public can 

provide oral comments. Members 

participating virtually or attending inperson will be able to comment. 

Comments will be recorded. Attendees 

can also provide written comments at 

the public hearing should they not wish 

to speak. 

Members of the public may join the 

Draft EIS public hearing virtually by 

entering the Meeting ID: 832 5067 5793, 

using any of the below methods, or by 

using the following link https://

us06web.zoom.us/j/83250675793. Note 

that the hearing is best viewed through 

the Zoom app. Attendees are 

encouraged to download the Zoom app 

at the Zoom website (https://zoom.us) 

on their personal computer or on their 

mobile device and test their connection 

prior to the hearing to ensure best 

results. 

• By personal computer (via the 

Zoom app)—Install the Zoom app at the 

Zoom website (https://zoom.us) and 

launch the Zoom app. Click ‘Join a 

Meeting’ and enter the above Meeting 

ID. Follow the prompts to enter your 

name and email address to access the 

hearing; or 

• By personal computer (via the 

Zoom website)—Using your computer’s 

browser, go to the Zoom website at 

http://zoom.us/join and enter the above 

Meeting ID. Click ‘Join from your 

browser’ and follow the prompts to enter 

your name; or 

• By mobile device (via the Zoom 

mobile app)—Install and launch the 

Zoom app. Enter the above Meeting ID. 

Whether joining through the Zoom 

app or web browser, attendees should 

follow the prompts to connect their 

computer audio. Attendees are 

encouraged to connect through the 

‘Computer Audio’ tab and click ‘Join 

Audio by Computer’ under the ‘Join 

Audio’ button on the bottom of their 

screen. Users who do not have a 

computer microphone and wish to 

provide a comment during the hearing 

may connect by following the prompts 

under the ‘Phone Call’ tab under the 

‘Join Audio’ button. 

For members of the public who do not 

have access to a personal computer, 

they may join the hearing audio by 

dialing the following number: 507–473– 

4847. When prompted, enter the 

following information: Meeting ID—832 

5067 5793, followed by the pound (#) 

key; then press pound (#) again when 

prompted for a participant ID. Note, 

dialing in to the hearing is only 

necessary if you are not accessing the 

hearing through a personal computer or 

mobile app, or if you would like to 

provide oral comments during the 

hearing but do not have a computer 

microphone. 

GSA staff members will be available 

(in-person and virtually) to assist the 

public as they offer comments whether 

they are participating virtually or in 

person. In addition, a court reporter will 

be available after the presentation, 

should in-person attendees wish to 

provide a verbal comment in private. 

Following the presentation and public 


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87374 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 212 / Friday, November 1, 2024 / Notices 

comment session, the meeting will 

continue with an open house format 

until 7 p.m. CDT, which will not be 

broadcast. Interested parties are 

encouraged to attend and participate in 

this meeting. 

The public hearing will be recorded, 

and all comments provided will become 

part of the formal record. 

In the event of inclement weather, the 

meeting may only be held virtually or 

will be broadcast from the Grand 

Portage State Park Welcome Center. If 

the meeting is broadcast from the Grand 

Portage State Park Welcome Center, a 

staff member will be available (inperson and virtually) to assist the public 

in providing public comments via the 

virtual platform. Please check the GSA 

project website (https://www.gsa.gov/ 

about-us/gsa-regions/region-5-greatlakes/buildings-and-facilities/ 

minnesota/grand-portage-land-port-ofentry) for updates in the days leading up 

to the meeting to determine if the 

meeting will be held in-person, 

virtually, or will be broadcast from the 

Grand Portage State Park Welcome 

Center. 

Public Comment Period 

The views and comments of the 

public are necessary in helping GSA in 

its decision-making process with respect 

to environmental, cultural, and 

economic impacts. The public comment 

process will be accomplished through a 

hybrid virtual and in-person public 

hearing, direct mail correspondence to 

appropriate Tribal, federal, state, and 

local agencies, and to private 

organizations and citizens who have 

previously expressed, or are known to 

have, an interest in the project. The 

Draft EIS has considered previous input 

provided during the scoping period. 

Background 

The existing 5.7-acre LPOE serves as 

the port of entry for vehicles and 

pedestrians crossing the U.S.-Canada 

border between Grand Portage 

Reservation in the U.S. and Neebing, 

Ontario in Canada. The Feasibility 

Study performed in 2019 determined 

that the existing structures do not 

contain the necessary square footage as 

specified by CBP’s space and facility 

requirements (also referred to as 

Program of Requirements [POR]). In 

addition, the facility lacks outbound 

inspection capabilities. Following 

preparation of the Feasibility Study, a 

Program Development Study (PDS) was 

initiated as the next step in the design 

process to further refine potential 

alternatives under consideration. From 

the PDS process, viable alternatives 

were further refined into the Proposed 

Action analyzed within this Draft EIS, 

in collaboration with the Grand Portage 

Band, who is serving as a Cooperating 

Agency for this EIS. 

GSA has prepared this Draft EIS for 

the purpose of analyzing the potential 

environmental, cultural, and economic 

impacts resulting from the Proposed 

Action to modernize and expand the 

existing Grand Portage LPOE. 

Alternatives Under Consideration 

The Proposed Action would comprise 

of modernization and expansion of 

existing Grand Portage LPOE facilities 

as described in the PDS. The Proposed 

Action includes removal of all existing 

Grand Portage LPOE buildings and 

replacement with new facilities in a 

new site configuration. GSA would 

replace the Grand Portage LPOE with a 

modernized facility on an expanded 

footprint, expanding the existing 5.7- 

acre operational area to a total 

operational area of approximately 10.4 

acres. The Proposed Action would also 

include upgrades to the electrical 

distribution system leading to the LPOE 

by installing a 7.3-mile buried threephase power line within Arrowhead 

Cooperative’s existing utility right-ofway along the western side of Highway 

61. GSA also considered the No Action 

Alternative, which assumes that GSA 

would not expand or modernize the 

Grand Portage LPOE or install the threephase power line. 

The purpose of the Proposed Action 

is for GSA to support CBP’s mission by 

modernizing and expanding the Grand 

Portage LPOE. The existing LPOE 

facilities and their configuration do not 

meet CBP’s current needs and do not 

allow for expeditious and safe 

inspection of the traveling public. The 

deficiencies fall into two broad 

categories: deficiencies in the overall 

site layout and substandard building 

conditions. Therefore, in order to bring 

the Grand Portage LPOE operations in 

line with design standards and 

operational requirements, 

implementation of the Proposed Action 

is needed to (1) address space 

constraints and inefficient traffic flows; 

(2) shorten and expedite vehicle 

processing time, to include improving 

daily commutes across the U.S.-Canada 

border; (3) decrease congestion and long 

wait times during the peak travel 

season; (4) allow CBP to process a 

higher volume of vehicles traveling to 

and from Canada, to include further 

accommodation of potential future 

spikes in travelers crossing the U.S.- 

Canada border; and (5) provide a wider 

single lane for large semi-trucks hauling 

wind turbine components from Canada. 

The Draft EIS addresses the potential 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

alternatives on environmental resources 

including geologic resources, water 

resources, biological resources, air 

quality and climate change, noise, traffic 

and transportation, land use and visual 

resources, infrastructure and utilities, 

socioeconomics, cultural resources, 

human health and safety, and 

environmental justice and protection of 

children. Based on the analysis 

presented in the Draft EIS, impacts to all 

resource areas would be less-thansignificant (i.e., negligible, minor, or 

moderate) adverse or beneficial. Impact 

reduction measures are presented in the 

Draft EIS to reduce potential adverse 

effects. 

GSA is currently undergoing formal 

consultation with the Tribal Historic 

Preservation Officer (THPO) to follow 

coordination procedures as required 

under Section 106 of the NHPA to 

determine impacts to historic 

properties. Mitigation measures may be 

determined in consultation between 

GSA, the THPO, and applicable 

consulting parties. 

Under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA), GSA is coordinating with 

USFWS per Section 7 requirements to 

determine effects to federally protected 

species. GSA has determined there 

would be no adverse effects to federally 

threatened or endangered species with 

implementation of impact avoidance 

measures. GSA’s findings and 

correspondence with USFWS to date are 

incorporated in the Draft EIS. 

William Renner, 

Director, Facilities Management and Services 

Programs Division, Great Lakes Region 5, U.S. 

General Services Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24782 Filed 10–31–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–CF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifiers: CMS–10520] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Health and Human 

Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing 

an opportunity for the public to 

comment on CMS’ intention to collect 


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