Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 34 / Friday, February 18, 2022 / Notices 9415 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by April 19, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Please send written 

comments: 

By Electronic Docket: 

www.regulations.gov (Enter docket 

number into search field) 

By mail: Atlantic City International 

Airport, FAA William J. Hughes 

Technical Center, Bldg. 316, Column I, 

Desk 4S409, Atlantic City, NJ 08405. 

By fax: 202–493–2251. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Victoria Gallagher by email at: 

Victoria.Gallagher@faa.gov; phone: 

609–485–5127. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for FAA’s 

performance; (b) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to 

enhance the quality, utility and clarity 

of the information collection; and (d) 

ways that the burden could be 

minimized without reducing the quality 

of the collected information. The agency 

will summarize and/or include your 

comments in the request for OMB’s 

clearance of this information collection. 

OMB Control Number: 2120–0776. 

Title: Airspace Authorizations in 

Controlled Airspace under 49 U.S.C. 

44809(a)(5). 

Form Numbers: There are no forms 

associated with this collection. 

Type of Review: Renewal of existing 

Information Collection. 

Background: There has been an 

increased number of small Unmanned 

Aircraft Systems (UAS) operating in the 

National Air Space (NAS) in recent 

years and regulations and statutes have 

been enacted to establish the use of 

small UAS in the NAS. Included in 

these is 49 U.S.C. 44809(a)(5), which 

states that a strictly recreational user of 

small UAS must have authorization 

from the FAA to fly a small UAS ‘‘in 

Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or 

within the lateral boundaries of the 

surface areas of Class E airspace 

designated for an airport.’’ In order to 

process airspace authorization requests, 

the FAA requires the operator’s name, 

the operator’s contact information, and 

information related to the date, place, 

and time of the requested authorization, 

which can be up to twelve hours in 

length. This information is necessary for 

the FAA to meet its statutory mandate 

of maintaining a safe and efficient 

national airspace. See 49 U.S.C. 40103, 

44701, and 44807. The FAA will use the 

requested information to determine if 

the proposed authorization to operate 

can be conducted safely. 

The FAA proposes to use the Low 

Altitude Authorization and Notification 

Capability (LAANC) and a web portal to 

process authorization requests from the 

public to conduct flight operations 

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 44809(a)(5). 

Respondents: Small UAS operators 

seeking to conduct flight operations 

under 49 U.S.C. 44809(a)(5) within 

controlled airspace. Between 2022– 

2025, the FAA estimates that it will 

receive a total of 757,380 requests for 

airspace authorization (735,416 through 

LAANC and 21,964 through the web 

portal). 

Frequency: The requested information 

is necessary each time a respondent 

requests an airspace authorization to 

operate a small UAS under 49 U.S.C. 

44809(a)(5) in controlled airspace. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: The FAA estimates the 

respondents using LAANC will take five 

(5) minutes per airspace authorization 

request and those using the web portal 

will take thirty (30) minutes per request. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: For 

airspace authorizations, the FAA 

estimates that the average annual 

burden will be 24,007 burden hours. 

This includes 20,346 burden hours for 

245,139 LAANC respondents and 3,661 

burden hours for 7,321 web portal 

respondents. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February, 14, 

2022. 

Victoria Gallagher, 

sUAS LAANC Program Manager, FAA Air 

Traffic Organization, AJM–337. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03506 Filed 2–17–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2021–0018] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for a 

Proposed Highway Project; Cities of 

Chesapeake and Suffolk, Virginia 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: FHWA, in coordination with 

the Virginia Department of 

Transportation (VDOT), is issuing this 

notice of intent to solicit comment and 

advise the public, agencies, and 

stakeholders that an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared 

to study potential improvements to 

seven miles of Interstate 664 (I–664) and 

the Bowers Hill Interchange area at the 

confluence of I–664, I–64, I–264, U.S. 

Route 460, U.S. Route 58, U.S. Route 13 

and Jolliff Road in the cities of 

Chesapeake and Suffolk, Virginia. 

Persons or agencies who may be affected 

by the proposed project are encouraged 

to comment on the information in this 

notice and the Supplementary Notice of 

Intent Document. All comments 

received in response to this Notice of 

Intent Document will be considered and 

any information presented herein, 

including the preliminary purpose and 

need, preliminary alternatives and 

identified impacts, may be revised in 

consideration of the comments. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 21, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: This Notice of Intent (NOI) 

and the Supplementary NOI Document 

are available in the docket referenced 

above at http://www.regulations.gov and 

on the project website located at 

www.bowershillinterchange.com. The 

Supplementary NOI Document also will 

be mailed upon request. Interested 

parties are invited to submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

Website: For access to the documents, 

go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

located at http://www.regulations.gov or 

the project website located at 

www.bowershillinterchange.org. Follow 

the online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Fax: 804–775–3356. 

Mailing address or for hand delivery 

or courier: Federal Highway 

Administration, 400 North 8th Street, 

Suite 750, Richmond, Virginia 23219. 

Email address: Eric.Rothermel@

dot.gov. 

All submissions should include the 

agency name and the docket number 

that appears in the heading of this 

Notice. All comments received will be 

posted without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. A 

summary of the comments received will 

be included in the Draft EIS. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

FHWA: Eric Rothermel, Environmental 

Protection Specialist, Federal Highway 

Administration—Virginia Division, 400 

North 8th Street, Suite 750, Richmond, 

VA 23219–4825; email: Eric.Rothermel@

dot.gov; 804–775–3347. VDOT: Scott 

Smizik, Assistant Environmental 

Division Director, Virginia Department 

of Transportation, 1401 East Broad 

Street, Richmond, VA, 23219; email: 

Scott.Smizik@vdot.virginia.gov; 804– 

371–4082. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: It is 

important to note that the FHWA and 

VDOT are committed to public 

involvement in this project. All public 


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comments received in response to this 

notice will be considered and potential 

revisions made to the information 

presented herein as appropriate. The 

environmental review of transportation 

improvement alternatives for the 

Bowers Hill Interchange area and 

approximately seven miles of I–664 will 

be conducted in accordance with the 

requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et 

seq.), 23 U.S.C. 139, Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

regulations implementing NEPA (40 

CFR 1500–1508), FHWA regulations 

implementing NEPA (23 CFR 771.101– 

771.139) and all applicable Federal, 

State, and local governmental laws and 

regulations. 

Background. In 2017, the Hampton 

Roads Transportation Accountability 

Commission (HRTAC) designated 

funding to study the Bowers Hill 

Interchange and included it as a priority 

project. FHWA and VDOT proceeded 

with an Environmental Assessment 

(Bowers Hill EA) in February 2018 that 

included a study area limited to the 

Bowers Hill Interchange area, located at 

the junction of Interstates 664, 264, and 

64, in addition to Route 13/58/460 and 

Jolliff Road in Chesapeake, Virginia. 

The Bowers Hill EA, which was 

subject to Virginia’s NEPA/Section 404 

Merged Process Agreement (merged 

process), evaluated two alternatives in 

addition to a no-build scenario— 

Alternative 1, which analyzed 

eastbound and westbound braided 

ramps; and Alternative 2, which 

considered full reconstruction of the 

Bowers Hill Interchange. 

Consistent with the merged process, 

Cooperating Agencies with a concurring 

role concurred upon Environmental 

Analysis Methodologies, Purpose and 

Need, and a Range of Alternatives. In 

April 2019, FHWA approved the Bowers 

Hill EA for public availability. A public 

hearing was held on May 9, 2019. It is 

important to note that the concurring 

role in the merged process has 

coordination points for the Cooperating 

Agencies. These coordination points are 

intended to signify that the information 

is sufficient for each agency’s purposes 

in the fulfillment of their respective 

statutory requirements. The concurring 

roles at these points does not signify 

that public comments will not be 

considered, and changes made as a 

result of such consideration. 

In early 2020, the Hampton Roads 

Transportation Planning Organization, 

in consultation with VDOT and HRTAC, 

formally expanded the study area to 

include seven additional miles north 

along I–664 to the College Drive 

Interchange and expanded the scope of 

the study to consider planned and 

existing express lanes in the region. The 

outcome of this expansion was an 

acknowledgement that the new scope of 

study could result in a significant 

impact on the human environment. 

Based on these actions, VDOT did not 

pursue a NEPA decision on the Bowers 

Hill EA, but instead began to plan preNotice of Intent (NOI) activities to 

support what was assumed would be an 

EIS for the expanded scope. 

The following information provided 

in the NOI is supplemented with more 

detail in the Supplemental NOI 

Document. 

(a) The Preliminary Purpose and Need 

for the Proposed Action 

The purpose of the Bowers Hill Study 

is to reduce current congestion, improve 

travel reliability, and provide additional 

travel choice on I–664 from and 

including the Bowers Hill Interchange 

to College Drive. 

The following needs have been 

identified for the study: 

• Reduce Congestion—current and 

future travel demand exceed capacity 

that causes congestion and gridlock on 

I–664 in the study area; 

• Improve Travel Reliability—current 

and future congestion will increase 

travel time while reducing the reliability 

of trips on I–664 in the study area; and 

• Provide Additional Travel Choice— 

current and future lack of roadway 

travel choices exacerbates congestion 

and reduces travel reliability. 

The preliminary Purpose and Need 

was developed with agency 

coordination and public input, as 

described in section e; see the 

Supplemental NOI Document for details 

on the development of the Purpose and 

Need. The U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (USEPA) and the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 

concurred with the preliminary Purpose 

and Need in December 2020. Agencies 

and the public are invited to comment 

on the Purpose and Need. The Purpose 

and Need statement and supporting 

documentation, including data and 

public input summary, will be available 

in the Draft EIS. The Purpose and Need 

may be revised based on comments 

received during the comment period on 

this notice. 

(b) A Preliminary Description of the 

Proposed Action and Alternatives the 

Environmental Impact Statement Will 

Consider 

The proposed action is anticipated to 

include improvements to the Bowers 

Hill Interchange and approximately 

seven miles of I–664 in the cities of 

Chesapeake and Suffolk, Virginia. 

Agencies and the public are invited to 

comment on the Range of Alternatives 

for the proposed action. Additional 

information on the Range of 

Alternatives is in the Supplementary 

NOI Document. The Range of 

Alternatives proposed to be considered 

in the EIS are the following: 

No-Build 

In accordance with the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s regulations 

implementing NEPA (40 CFR 

1502.14(c)), the No-Build Alternative 

will be retained for detailed study and 

will serve as a benchmark for 

comparison with the build alternatives. 

The No-Build Alternative would retain 

the existing configuration of I–664 in 

the study area, including interchanges, 

access roads and ramps. The No-Build 

Alternative assumes the I–64 High Rise 

Bridge project including express lanes 

up to the south portion of the Bowers 

Hill Interchange, which is under 

construction, will be completed. 

One Managed Lane and Drivable 

Shoulder 

This alternative includes adding one 

full-time managed lane to each direction 

of I–664 throughout the study area, 

providing a total of six lanes. This 

alternative also includes interchange 

(including the Bowers Hill Interchange) 

and bridge improvements to 

accommodate the additional lane and a 

part-time drivable shoulder as part of a 

managed lane system. This alternative 

would meet purpose and need by 

accommodating travel demand, 

reducing congestion, improving travel 

reliability, and providing travel choice. 

Two Managed Lanes 

This alternative includes adding two 

full-time managed lanes to each 

direction of I–664 throughout the study 

area, providing a total of eight lanes. 

Interchange (including the Bowers Hill 

Interchange) and bridge improvements 

to accommodate the additional lanes are 

included in this alternative. This 

alternative would meet the purpose and 

need by accommodating travel demand, 

reducing congestion, improving travel 

reliability, and providing travel choice. 

Concepts Considered but Proposed To 

Not Be Retained for Consideration in the 

EIS 

Addition of One General Purpose Lane 

This concept would include the 

addition of one General Purpose (GP) 

lane to each direction of I–664 

throughout the study area, providing a 

total of six GP lanes. Two options for 

this concept include (1) Route 58 


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braided ramps and (2) full 

reconstruction of the Bowers Hill 

Interchange. This concept is proposed to 

not be retained because it does not 

provide additional travel choice, does 

not separate regional/through traffic 

from weaving, merging, and diverging at 

congested interchanges, and would not 

be consistent with regional 

transportation plans. 

Addition of Two General Purpose Lanes 

This concept would include addition 

of two additional GP travel lanes to each 

direction of I–664 throughout the study 

area, providing a total of eight GP lanes. 

Two options for this concept include (1) 

Route 58 braided ramps and (2) full 

reconstruction of the Bowers Hill 

Interchange. This concept is proposed to 

not be retained because it does not 

provide additional travel choice, does 

not separate regional/through traffic 

from weaving, merging, and diverging at 

congested interchanges, and would not 

be consistent with regional 

transportation plans. 

Collector-Distributor (C–D) System 

Under this concept, new lanes 

separated from the mainline would be 

provided between interchanges. A C–D 

system’s purpose is to move vehicle 

lane-changing, weaving and speed 

reduction away from the high-speed 

traffic on the freeway mainline. This 

concept is proposed to not be retained 

because it does not provide additional 

travel choice, does not address mainline 

congestion, has a larger footprint and 

higher structure costs than other 

mainline improvement concepts, and is 

not consistent with regional 

transportation plans. 

Transportation System Management 

(TSM)/Transportation Demand 

Management (TDM) Improvements 

TSM/TDM improvements are 

operational improvements that do not 

necessarily involve physical changes to 

infrastructure but rather maximize the 

efficiency of the current transportation 

system or reduce the demand for travel 

on the system through the 

implementation of low-cost 

improvements. Examples of TSM 

activities include the addition of turn 

lanes, optimized signalization at 

intersections, and electronic Intelligent 

Transportation Systems. Examples of 

TDM activities include ride sharing, van 

and carpooling, installation of park and 

ride facilities, and encouragement of 

teleworking. 

Stand-alone TSM/TDM improvements 

are proposed to not be retained because 

they would not provide additional 

travel choice or reduce mainline 

congestion. TSM/TDM improvements 

could be included as part of a Preferred 

Alternative and are not precluded from 

being implemented in conjunction with 

other improvements. 

Transit-Only Improvements 

Transit-only improvements 

considered include dedicated rail or bus 

transit facilities along I–664. This 

concept is proposed to not be retained 

because stand-alone transit 

improvements would not substantially 

reduce congestion or improve travel 

reliability, and it is not consistent with 

regional transportation plans. 

The above preliminary Range of 

Alternatives proposed to be retained for 

consideration in the EIS were concurred 

upon by USACE and USEPA on May 12, 

2021. The alternatives would meet the 

preliminary Purpose and Need, detailed 

in section a. The alternatives to be 

retained will be finalized after the 

consideration of comments received 

during the comment period on this 

Notice, and they will be documented in 

the Draft EIS. The alternatives may be 

revised based on the consideration of 

public comments. The concepts not 

retained will also be documented in the 

Draft EIS. See the Supplemental NOI 

Document for a more detailed 

description of the development of the 

preliminary Range of Alternatives. 

(c) Brief Summary of Expected Impacts 

The EIS will evaluate the potential 

social, economic, and environmental 

effects resulting from the 

implementation of the build alternatives 

and the no build alternative. The 

following resources are the most 

sensitive resources in the project area 

and will be evaluated closely by FHWA 

and VDOT: 

• Wetlands and Waters of the U.S.: 

Both build alternatives would require 

fill and removal from Waters of the U.S. 

and impacts to wetlands considered to 

be jurisdictional which will require a 

permit from the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) for the discharge of 

dredged or fill material into Waters of 

the U.S., including wetlands. 

• Relocations: The build alternatives 

may require approximately 95 

relocations. VDOT and FHWA will work 

closely with the impacted stakeholders 

and designers to reduce the number of 

relocations. 

• Environmental Justice: There is the 

potential for impacts to communities 

eligible for consideration as 

environmental justice communities that 

are low-income and minority due to 

right-of-way requirements, increases in 

noise, or other environmental factors. 

FHWA and VDOT will work closely 

with the community to avoid, minimize 

and mitigate these impacts. 

The EIS will evaluate the expected 

impacts and benefits to the known 

resources above, as well as the following 

resources: Land use and right-of-way, 

farmland, social and community 

resources, economics, air quality, 

transportation, traffic noise, ecosystem 

resources (wildlife and threatened and 

endangered species), historic Section 

4(f) properties, hazardous waste sites, 

and visual resources. The level of 

review of the identified resources for the 

EIS will be commensurate with the 

anticipated effects to each resource from 

the proposed project and will be 

governed by the statutory or regulatory 

requirements protecting those resources. 

The analyses and evaluations 

conducted for the EIS will identify the 

potential for effects; avoidance 

measures; whether the anticipated 

effects would be adverse; and mitigation 

measures for adverse effects. Additional 

information on the expected impacts is 

provided in the Supplementary NOI 

document available for review in the 

docket established for this project and 

on the project website as noted in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments on the 

expected impacts to be analyzed in the 

DEIS are welcomed during the NOI 

comment period. 

Agencies, stakeholders, and the 

public are invited to comment on the 

expected impacts. The environmental 

impact analysis will not begin until the 

Purpose and Need, Range of 

Alternatives and impact categories are 

finalized based on public comment on 

this notice. The identification of 

impacts may be revised due to the 

consideration of public comments. See 

the Supplementary NOI Document for a 

more detailed description of the 

Summary of Expected Impacts. The 

studies to identify the impacts, as well 

as the analyses of impacts from the 

retained alternatives, will be presented 

in the Draft EIS. 

(d) Anticipated Permits and Other 

Authorizations 

A Clean Water Act Section 404 permit 

decision from the USACE is anticipated 

on December 31, 2035. Other likely 

Federal and State authorizations include 

the Virginia Marine Resources 

Commission (VMRC) Subaqueous 

Bottoms And Tidal Wetlands Permit on 

December 31, 2035, a Virginia 

Department of Environmental Quality 

(VDEQ) Individual Permit on December 

31, 2035, Section 305 Essential Fish 

Habitat Permit on December 31, 2035, 

and a Coastal Zone Consistency 

Determination on December 31, 2035. 

Per 23 U.S.C. 139(d)(10), the 


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aforementioned permits and 

authorizations should be completed by 

no later than 90 days after the issuance 

of the Record of Decision. However, for 

this project VDOT has requested in 

accordance with 23 U.S.C. 

139(d)(10)(C)(ii) that those permits and 

authorizations follow a different 

timeline because the construction date 

is not expected until 2035 or later. 

Section 7 consultation under the 

Endangered Species Act is expected to 

be concluded on May 16, 2023, and 

Section 106 consultation under the 

National Historic Preservation Act is 

anticipated to be concluded on August 

9, 2022. See the Supplemental NOI 

Document for more detail on the 

anticipated permits and other 

authorizations. 

(e) Scoping and Public Review 

Agency Scoping 

In July 2020 as part of initial NEPA 

scoping to determine the class of action, 

VDOT and FHWA identified and invited 

agencies who would likely serve as 

Participating, Cooperating, and 

Cooperating/Concurring Agencies for 

the new study. These agencies are 

largely the same entities involved in the 

preparation of the Bowers Hill EA. 

Beginning in August 2020, VDOT and 

FHWA began to brief the likely 

Participating, Cooperating, and 

Cooperating/Concurring Agencies on 

initial NEPA scoping activities to 

support the study. Consistent with the 

merged process, USACE and USEPA 

agreed to provide concurrence on key 

study milestones (Environmental 

Analysis Methodologies, Purpose and 

Need, and Range of Alternatives) as part 

of initial NEPA scoping. Agencies and 

the public are invited to comment on 

the Environmental Analysis 

Methodologies, Purpose and Need, and 

Range of Alternatives for the proposed 

action. 

Agency coordination up to this point 

has been conducted primarily through 

VDOT’s monthly NEPA Agency 

Coordination Meeting, to which all 

likely Participating, Cooperating and 

Cooperating/Concurring Agencies are 

invited. More information on these 

meetings is available in the 

Supplemental NOI Document, including 

presentations and meeting summaries. 

A brief summary of agency coordination 

is included below. 

August 2020 

• Bowers Hill Interchange 

Improvements Study introduction; 

• Discussion on proposed 

Environmental Analysis Methodologies. 

The Environmental Analysis 

Methodologies are available in the 

Supplemental NOI Document. 

September 2020 

• USACE and USEPA concurrence on 

Environmental Analysis Methodologies; 

• Introduction to Purpose and Need 

process and potential Purpose and Need 

elements as described in section a 

above. 

October 2020 

• Agency update on the Purpose and 

Need survey; 

• Review of data to inform potential 

Purpose and Need elements. 

November 2020 

• Presentation on final results of the 

Purpose and Need survey; 

• Continued discussion on data and 

information to support potential 

Purpose and Need elements. 

December 2020 

• USACE and USEPA concurrence on 

Preliminary Purpose and Need; 

• Introduction of range of concepts; 

• Introduction of study schedule. 

January 2021 

• Study schedule discussion; 

continued consideration of the range of 

concepts; 

• Discussion of known resources in 

the study area. 

February 2021 

• Citizen comment opportunity 

briefing; continued discussion of the 

range of concepts. 

March 2021 

• Agency update on citizen comment 

opportunity; 

• Continued discussion of the range 

of concepts; introduction to permitting 

approach. 

April 2021 

• Final update on citizen comment 

opportunity; 

• VDOT recommendation on the 

Preliminary Range of Alternatives; 

• Agency input on permitting 

assumptions. 

May 2021 

• USACE and USEPA concurrence on 

the Preliminary Range of Alternatives; 

• Next steps. 

As of the date of this notice, the 

USACE and the USEPA have accepted 

the role of Cooperating/Concurring 

Agencies under the merged process. An 

Agency Coordination Plan was 

completed that established a framework 

for coordination among the Federal, 

State, and local agencies participating in 

the study. The draft Agency 

Coordination Plan is in the 

Supplemental NOI Document. 

Public Review 

As indicated above, VDOT has 

conducted a purpose and need survey as 

well as held a citizen comment 

opportunity. The project website will be 

updated with an informational video 

summarizing the study progress to date 

and next steps. A 30-day comment 

period is being held in association with 

this NOI. Comments may be submitted 

according to the instructions in the 

ADDRESSES section of this Notice. 

Interested persons can sign up to receive 

email announcements, notifications, 

and newsletters on the above project 

website. The scoping process for this 

EIS will conclude at the end of the 30- 

day comment period. 

Public hearings will be held during 

the course of the study, as described 

below. Generally, the locations, dates, 

and times for each public hearing will 

be publicized through the VDOT 

website 

(www.bowershillinterchange.com) and 

in newspapers with local and regional 

circulation, including the Suffolk News 

Herald, The Virginian-Pilot, and Legacy 

Hampton Roads. Materials will be 

available at the meetings in English and 

Spanish and oral and written comments 

will be solicited. 

Public Hearing on a Recommended 

Preferred Alternative 

A public hearing on VDOT’s 

Recommended Preferred Alternative 

(RPA) is required by the Code of 

Virginia to inform the Virginia 

Commonwealth Transportation Board 

(CTB), which is authorized by the Code 

of Virginia to make location decisions 

for highway projects, including as part 

of NEPA studies. 

Several media will be used to 

advertise the public hearing on the RPA, 

including but not limited to newspaper 

advertisements, postcards sent to each 

property within the study area, a social 

media campaign, email, and continued 

updates to the study website. 

Public Hearing on the Draft EIS 

Notice of availability of the Draft EIS 

for public and agency review will be 

published in the Federal Register and 

through other methods which will 

identify where interested parties can go 

to review a copy of the Draft EIS. The 

public hearing will be conducted by 

VDOT and announced a minimum of 15 

days in advance. VDOT will provide 

information for the public hearing, 

including the location, date, and time 

for the meeting through a variety of 

means including the VDOT website 


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(www.bowershillinterchange.com) and 

by newspaper advertisement. 

(f) A Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

Following the issuance of this notice, 

FHWA and VDOT will coordinate with 

the Participating, Cooperating, and 

Cooperating/Concurring Agencies to 

develop study documentation and the 

Draft EIS. 

• The Draft EIS is anticipated to be 

issued in August 2022. 

• The combined Final EIS and Record 

of Decision is anticipated in November 

2023. 

• A Section 404 permit decision from 

the USACE is expected in December 

2035. 

See the Supplemental NOI Document 

for additional schedule details. 

(g) Request for Identification of 

Potential Alternatives, Information, and 

Analyses Relevant to the Proposed 

Action 

To ensure that a full range of issues 

related to the study are addressed and 

all potential issues are identified, 

FHWA invites comments and 

suggestions from all interested parties. 

The project team requests comments 

and suggestions on potential 

alternatives and impacts, and the 

identification of any relevant 

information, studies, or analyses of any 

kind concerning impacts affecting the 

quality of the human environment. Any 

information presented herein, including 

the preliminary purpose and need, 

preliminary range of alternatives and 

identification of impacts may be revised 

after consideration of the comments. 

The purpose of this request is to bring 

relevant comments, information, and 

analyses to the agency’s attention, as 

early in the process as possible, to 

enable the agency to make maximum 

use of this information in decision 

making. Comments may be submitted 

according to the instructions in the 

ADDRESSES section of this Notice. 

(h) Contact Information 

FHWA: Eric Rothermel, 

Environmental Protection Specialist, 

Federal Highway Administration, 400 

North 8th Street, Suite 750, Richmond, 

VA 23219–4825; email: Eric.Rothermel@

dot.gov; (804) 775–3342. 

VDOT: Scott Smizik, Assistant 

Environmental Division Director, 

Virginia Department of Transportation, 

1401 E Broad Street, Richmond, VA 

23219; email: Scott.Smizik@

vdot.virginia.gov; (804) 371–4082. 

(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.) 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 23 

CFR part 771. 

Issued on: February 11, 2022. 

Thomas L. Nelson, Jr., 

Division Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration, Richmond, Virginia. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03397 Filed 2–17–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2021–0187] 

Parts and Accessories Necessary for 

Safe Operation; Application for an 

Exemption From Pi Variables, Inc. 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA requests public 

comment on an application for 

exemption from Pi Variables, Inc. (Pi 

Variables) to allow sequential flashing 

light emitting diode (LED) flare warning 

devices to be deployed when CMVs are 

stopped upon the traveled portion of a 

highway or the shoulder of a highway 

for any cause other than necessary 

traffic stops. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 21, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Docket Number FMCSA2021–0187 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=FMCSA-2021-0187. 

Follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. 

• Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets 

Operations, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590–0001, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 366–9317 or 

(202) 366–9826 before visiting Dockets 

Operations. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jose ́ R. Cestero, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, Office of Carrier, 

Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC–PSV, 

(202) 366–5541, Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. If you have questions on viewing 

or submitting material to the docket, call 

Dockets Operations at (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

FMCSA encourages you to participate 

by submitting comments and related 

materials. 

Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

notice (FMCSA 2021–0187), indicate the 

specific section of this document to 

which the comment applies, and 

provide a reason for each suggestion or 

recommendation. You may submit your 

comments and material online or by fax, 

mail, or hand delivery, but please use 

only one of these means. FMCSA 

recommends that you include your 

name and a mailing address, an email 

address, or a phone number in the body 

of your document so FMCSA can 

contact you if there are questions 

regarding your submission. 

To submit your comment online, go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=FMCSA–2021–0187, 

click on the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ button 

and type your comment into the text 

box on the following screen. Choose 

whether you are submitting your 

comment as an individual or on behalf 

of a third party and then submit. 

If you submit your comments by mail 

or hand delivery, submit them in an 

unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 

11 inches, suitable for copying and 

electronic filing. If you submit 

comments by mail and would like to 

know that they reached the facility, 

please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 

postcard or envelope. 

FMCSA will consider all comments 

and material received during the 

comment period. 

Viewing Comments and Documents 

To view comments, as well as any 

documents mentioned in this preamble 

as being available in the docket, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=FMCSA-2021-0187 

and choose the document to review. If 

you do not have access to the internet, 

you may view the docket online by 

visiting Dockets Operations in Room 

W12–140 on the ground floor of the 

DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey 


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