Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 130 / Monday, July 12, 2021 / Notices 36591 

1 In Montana Rail Link, Inc., & Wisconsin Central 

Ltd., Joint Petition for Rulemaking with Respect to 

49 CFR part 1201, 8 I.C.C.2d 625 (1992), the Board’s 

predecessor, the Interstate Commerce Commission, 

raised the revenue classification level for Class I 

railroads from $50 million (1978 dollars) to $250 

million (1991 dollars), effective for the reporting 

year beginning January 1, 1992. The Class II 

threshold was also raised from $10 million (1978 

dollars) to $20 million (1991 dollars). On April 5, 

2021, the Board issued a Final Rule in Montana Rail 

Link, Inc.—Petition for Rulemaking—Classification 

of Carriers, Docket No. EP 763, in which the 

revenue classification level for Class I railroads was 

raised from $250 million (1991 dollars) to $900 

million (2019 dollars) effective for the reporting 

year beginning January 1, 2020. The Class II 

threshold was converted and rounded from $20 

million (1991 dollars) to $40.4 million (2019 

dollars). 

2The 2019 values reflect those in Indexing the 

Annual Operating Revenues of Railroads, EP 748 

(STB served June 10, 2020). The 2020 values are 

based on the new thresholds established in Docket 

No. EP 763 and the deflator factor is referenced to 

the new base year of 2019. As the Railroad Freight 

Price Index remained the same from 2019 to 2020, 

the annual deflator factor for 2020 is 1.0000. 

to adjust their gross annual operating 

revenues for classification purposes. 

This indexing methodology ensures that 

railroads are classified based on real 

business expansion and not on the 

effects of inflation. Classification is 

important because it determines the 

extent to which individual railroads 

must comply with the Board’s reporting 

requirements. 

The Board’s annual deflator factor is 

based on the annual average Railroad 

Freight Price Index developed by the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics and is used to 

deflate revenues for comparison with 

established revenue thresholds. 

RAILROAD REVENUE THRESHOLDS 1

Year Factor Class I Class II 

2016 ............................................................................................................................................. 0.5585 447,621,226 35,809,698 

2017 ............................................................................................................................................. 0.5390 463,860,933 37,108,875 

2018 ............................................................................................................................................. 0.5103 489,935,956 39,194,876 

2019 ............................................................................................................................................. 0.4952 504,803,294 40,384,263 

2020 2 ........................................................................................................................................... 1.0000 900,000,000 40,400,000 

DATES: The deflator factor is applicable 

January 1, 2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pedro Ramirez at (202) 245–0333. 

Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available at www.stb.gov. 

Decided: July 6, 2021. 

By the Board, William Brennan, Ph.D., 

Chief Economist & Director, Office of 

Economics. 

Eden Besera, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14680 Filed 7–9–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2021–0006] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for a 

Proposed Highway Project, Bronx 

County, NY 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: FHWA is issuing this Notice 

of Intent (NOI) to solicit comments and 

advise the public, agencies, and 

stakeholders that an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared 

for the proposed replacement or 

rehabilitation of the Shore Road Bridge 

over the Hutchinson River in Bronx 

County, New York (the Project). This 

NOI contains a summary of the 

information required in the Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

regulations. This NOI should be 

reviewed together with the NOI Report, 

which contains important details about 

the proposed project and supplements 

the information in this NOI. Persons and 

agencies who may be interested in or 

affected by the proposed project are 

encouraged to comment on the 

information in this NOI and the NOI 

Report. 

DATES: Comments on the NOI or the NOI 

Report are to be received by FHWA at 

the address below by August 11, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: This NOI and the NOI 

Report are also available in the docket 

referenced above at http://

www.regulations.gov. and on the project 

website located at https://shoreroad

bridgebx.com/. The NOI Report will be 

mailed upon request. 

To submit comments on the NOI or 

the NOI Report, please submit them by 

only one of the following means to 

ensure you do not duplicate your 

submissions: 

• Mail: Federal Highway 

Administration, New York Division, 

Attention: Shore Road Bridge Project 

(PIN X773.63), Leo W. O’Brien Federal 

Building, 11A Clinton Avenue, Suite 

719, Albany, New York 12207. 

• Mail: New York City Department of 

Transportation, Division of Bridges, 

Shore Road Bridge Project Team, 

Attention: Joannene Kidder, 55 Water 

Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10041. 

• Email: ShoreRoadBridgeBX@

dot.nyc.gov. 

The comments received during this 

30-day comment period will be 

published in the Draft EIS without 

change, including any personal 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard J. Marquis, Division 

Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration, New York Division, Leo 

W. O’Brien Federal Building, 11A 

Clinton Avenue, Suite 719, Albany, 

New York 12207, Telephone: (518) 431– 

4127, Email: Rick.Marquis@dot.gov or 

Naim Rasheed, Assistant Commissioner, 

New York City Department of 

Transportation, Traffic Engineering & 

Planning, 55 Water Street, 6th floor, 

New York, NY 10004, Telephone: (212) 

839–7710, Email: ShoreRoadBridgeBX@

dot.nyc.gov. 

Interested persons can also use the 

Shore Road Bridge email address 

referenced above to request to be added 

to the project mailing list to receive 

notices of future project information. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FHWA, as 

Federal lead agency, the New York State 

Department of Transportation 

(NYSDOT), as joint lead agency, and the 

New York City Department of 

Transportation (NYCDOT), as project 

sponsor and joint lead agency, are 

preparing an EIS for the Shore Road 

Bridge over Hutchinson River Project 

located in the Bronx, New York, in 

accordance with the requirements of the 


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36592 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 130 / Monday, July 12, 2021 / Notices 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 

4321, et seq.), 23 U.S.C. 139, CEQ 

regulations implementing NEPA (40 

CFR 1500–1508), FHWA regulations 

implementing NEPA (23 CFR 771.101– 

771.139) and applicable Federal, State, 

and local governmental laws and 

regulations. The Project is classified as 

a NEPA Class I action under 23 CFR part 

771 and a City Environmental Quality 

Review (CEQR) Type 1 action under 6 

NYCRR 617 and 43 RCNY § 6. To ensure 

that a full range of issues are addressed 

in the EIS and potential issues are 

identified, comments and suggestions 

are invited from all interested parties. 

FHWA requests comments and 

suggestions on potential project 

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. The 

purpose of this request is to bring 

relevant comments, information, and 

analyses to FHWA’s attention, as early 

in the process as possible, to enable the 

agency to make maximum use of this 

information in decision making. 

An NOI was previously published in 

the Federal Register in 1999 to advise 

the public that an EIS would be 

prepared for rehabilitation, 

reconstruction, or replacement of the 

Shore Road Bridge over the Hutchinson 

River in Bronx County, New York. 

FHWA rescinded the 1999 NOI by a 

Notice published in the Federal 

Register on May 6, 2021, because a 

substantial amount of time had passed 

since the original NOI was published. 

The Shore Road Bridge, also known as 

the Pelham Bridge, is an 865-foot-long 

bridge with seven spans. The main span 

over the navigation channel is a doubleleaf movable bascule span, which is 

flanked by three concrete arch spans on 

either side. The bridge and its 

associated roadway provide access to 

major interchanges with the Hutchinson 

River Parkway and Bruckner 

Expressway west of the bridge and City 

Island Road east of the bridge. 

1. Purpose and Need for the Proposed 

Action 

The purpose of the Project is to 

address the structural deficiencies, 

geometric deficiencies, and operational 

reliability for multi-modal users, 

including marine vessels, of the Shore 

Road Bridge over the Hutchinson River. 

The objectives of the Project are to 

address the identified structural, 

geometric and operational deficiencies 

of the crossing, address operational 

constraints associated with the passage 

of marine vessels under the bridge, and 

improve bicycle/pedestrian facilities on 

the Shore Road Bridge. The Project is 

needed to address structural 

deficiencies; improve vehicular and 

marine traffic operations and the 

operational reliability of the bridge; 

address geometric deficiencies; and 

improve pedestrian and bicycle 

accommodations. The complete current 

draft project purpose and need 

statement may be reviewed in the NOI 

Report available in the docket 

established for this project and on the 

project website as noted in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments on the 

Purpose and Need for the Proposed 

Action are welcomed during the NOI 

comment period. 

2. Preliminary Description of the 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

A reasonable range of alternatives for 

detailed study in the EIS is currently 

being considered and will be refined in 

consideration of agency and public 

comments received during the NOI 

comment period. In addition to the No 

Action Alternative, potential project 

alternatives include bridge replacement 

and bridge rehabilitation. A preliminary 

description of these potential 

alternatives is provided below. 

Additional information on the proposed 

alternatives is included in the NOI 

Report available for review in the docket 

established for this project and on the 

project website as noted in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments on the 

proposed alternatives to be included in 

the draft EIS are welcomed during the 

NOI comment period. 

The No Action Alternative assumes 

no improvements other than those 

planned by others or implemented as 

part of routine maintenance. The Bridge 

Rehabilitation Alternative would 

require major work to extend the useful 

life of the existing Shore Road Bridge. 

The operability of the bridge would 

need to be maintained while addressing 

structural deficiencies, geometric 

deficiencies, and operational reliability 

of the bridge. 

The Bridge Replacement Alternative 

would replace the existing Shore Road 

Bridge with a new bridge. Various 

bridge replacement concepts will be 

considered during the scoping process, 

including both on-line and off-line 

horizontal alignments and several 

different vertical profile/clearances 

(heights) over the navigation channel in 

the closed or fixed positions. 

Additional information on the 

potential alternatives, as well as maps 

and figures illustrating the project 

location, are provided in the NOI Report 

available for review in the docket 

established for this project and on the 

project website as noted in the 

ADDRESSES section. 

3. Summary of Expected Impacts 

The EIS will include an evaluation of 

the potential social, economic, and 

environmental effects resulting from the 

implementation of the Project. Based on 

preliminary review of existing 

conditions within and in proximity to 

the Project location, the implementation 

of the Project could result in effects to 

cultural and historic resources; social 

conditions; parks and recreational areas; 

threatened and endangered species; 

tidal wetlands; coastal resources; 

navigable waters; hazardous waste and 

contaminated materials; floodplains; 

traffic noise; air quality; local and 

regional economies; and visual 

resources. The analyses and evaluations 

conducted for the EIS will identify the 

potential for effects; whether the 

anticipated effects would be adverse; 

and mitigation measures for adverse 

effects. Evaluations under Section 4(f) of 

the USDOT Act of 1966, 23 CFR part 

774, and Section 6(f) of the Land and 

Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, 

54 U.S.C. 200302, will be prepared, and 

consultation under Section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act of 

1966, 54 U.S.C. 300101–307108, will be 

undertaken concurrently with the 

NEPA/CEQR environmental review 

processes. Additional information on 

the expected impacts is provided in the 

NOI Report 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 

draft EIS are welcomed during the NOI 

comment period. 

4. Anticipated Permits and Other 

Authorizations 

Potential permits and approvals for 

the Project include: U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) permits under 

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33 

U.S.C. 1344, and Section 10 of the 

Rivers and Harbors Act, 33 U.S.C. 403, 

for construction in the Hutchinson River 

and potential tidal wetland impacts; 

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Bridge Permit, 

which establishes allowable clearances 

for bridges over navigable waterways 

such as the Hutchinson River; National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 

Section 7 Endangered Species Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1536, consultation for potential 

impacts on threatened and/or 

endangered species in the Hutchinson 

River; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) Section 7 Endangered Species 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 1536, consultation for 

potential impacts to federally-listed 

threatened species; NMFS Essential Fish 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 130 / Monday, July 12, 2021 / Notices 36593 

Habitat Consultation for potential 

impacts to species due to construction 

in the Hutchinson River; as well as any 

other relevant New York State and City 

permits. Field verification meetings 

with USACE for the wetlands 

delineation were held on June 12, 2018 

and September 10, 2019. USACE issued 

a jurisdictional determination (JD) on 

June 15, 2020. 

The first Cooperating Agency meeting 

for the Project was held on March 3, 

2021. Cooperating Agencies include 

USACE, NMFS, United States 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(USEPA), Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA), New York State 

Department of Environmental 

Conservation (NYSDEC), and New York 

State Historic Preservation Office 

(SHPO) at New York State Office of 

Parks, Recreation, and Historic 

Preservation (NYSOPRHP). 

The first Participating Agency 

meeting for the Project was held on 

March 5, 2021. Participating Agencies 

include USCG, United States 

Department of Interior (USDOI)/ 

National Park Service (NPS), USFWS, 

Advisory Council on Historic 

Preservation (ACHP), Metropolitan 

Transportation Authority (MTA), 

Village of Pelham Manor, New York 

City Department of Parks and Recreation 

(NYCDPR), New York City Department 

of City Planning (NYCDCP), New York 

City Landmarks Preservation 

Commission (LPC), New York City 

Department of Environmental Protection 

(NYCDEP), New York City Mayor’s 

Office of Resiliency (NYCMOR), New 

York City Office of Emergency 

Management (NYCEM), New York City 

Mayor’s Office of Environmental 

Coordination, New York City Mayor’s 

Office of Sustainability (NYCMOS), 

New York City Department of Sanitation 

(DSNY), Fire Department of the City of 

New York (FDNY), City of New York 

Police Department (NYPD), New York 

City Public Design Commission, New 

York Office of General Services (OGS), 

Delaware Tribe, Shinnecock Indian 

Nation Tribal Office, and StockbridgeMunsee Community. 

Meetings with Cooperating and 

Participating Agencies will continue to 

be held throughout the environmental 

review process. In addition, a meeting 

with USCG was held on April 21, 2021. 

5. Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

The Project schedule will be 

established as part of the requirements 

of the environmental review process 

under 23 U.S.C. 139 and will comply 

with 40 CFR 1501.10(b)(2), which 

requires that environmental reviews and 

authorization decisions for major 

infrastructure projects occur within two 

years (from the date of publication of 

the NOI to the date of issuance of the 

Record of Decision [ROD]), and all 

necessary authorizations be issued 

efficiently and in a timely manner, in 

cooperation with the FHWA. A current 

draft of the coordination plan, public 

involvement plan, and project schedule 

are included in the NOI Report, which 

is available for review in the docket 

established for this project and on the 

project website as noted in the 

ADDRESSES section. 

The anticipated project schedule is 

outlined below: 

• Public Scoping Meetings (August 

2021) 

• Scoping Report Publication 

(November 2021) 

• Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS 

(DEIS) (October 2022) 

• Public Hearing (October 2022) 

• End of DEIS Comment Period 

(November 2022) 

• Publish Single Final EIS (FEIS)/ROD 

(April 2023) 

• Issue all Project Permits and 

Authorization Decisions (July 2023) 

6. A Description of the Public Scoping 

Process 

Public and agency outreach will 

include a formal Public Scoping 

Meeting scheduled on August 3, 2021. 

A Public Hearing on the DEIS will also 

be scheduled. The first Cooperating 

Agency meeting for the Project was held 

on March 3, 2021 and the first 

Participating Agency meeting for the 

Project was held on March 5, 2021. 

During these meetings, the agencies 

were presented with a general overview 

of the Project, including the project 

needs, purpose, and objectives and 

project schedule, a discussion of the 

anticipated roles and responsibilities of 

the agencies, a summary of key 

environmental topics, and planned 

public outreach activities. Monthly 

meetings with Cooperating Agencies 

and periodic meetings with 

Participating Agencies will continue to 

be held throughout the environmental 

review process. Concurrence Point #1, 

the adoption of the Project Purpose, 

Objectives, and Need, was distributed to 

the Cooperating Agencies on March 8, 

2021. Attachment A to the Agency 

Coordination Plan is the Permitting 

Timetable and it was distributed to the 

Cooperating Agencies on March 16, 

2021 and April 9, 2021. The Permitting 

Timetable will be posted by FHWA to 

the Federal Permitting Dashboard 

within 30 days of the publication of this 

Notice of Intent. The Agency 

Coordination Plan and Public 

Involvement Plan were distributed to 

the Cooperating Agencies on April 7, 

2021 and will be posted on the project 

website. 

As described in the ADDRESSES

section, an NOI Report is located in the 

docket established for this project and 

on the project website. The NOI Report 

includes the Draft Statement of Purpose, 

Needs and Objectives; Agency 

Coordination Plan; Public Involvement 

Plan; Schedule/NEPA Process/Project 

Timeline; and Project Maps/Figures. 

Public notice will be given of the date, 

time, and location of the Public Scoping 

Meeting consistent with the Public 

Involvement Plan. To assist in 

determining the scope of issues to be 

addressed and identifying the potential 

for significant issues related to the 

proposed action, the public will have 

the opportunity to submit written 

comments at the Public Scoping 

Meeting and during the 30-day scoping 

comment period beginning on the date 

of this NOI publication. A DEIS will be 

available for public and agency review 

and comment prior to the DEIS Public 

Hearing. 

7. Request for Identification of Potential 

Alternatives, Information, and 

Analyses Relevant to the Proposed 

Action 

With this Notice, FHWA, NYSDOT, 

and NYCDOT request and encourage 

State, Tribal, and local government 

agencies, and the public, to review the 

NOI and NOI Report, and submit 

comments on any aspect of the Project. 

Specifically, agencies and the public are 

asked to identify and submit potential 

alternatives for consideration and 

information such as anticipated 

significant issues or environmental 

impacts and analyses relevant to the 

proposed action for consideration by the 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies in 

developing the DEIS. Comments must 

be received by August 11, 2021. 

Comments or questions concerning this 

proposed action, including comments 

relative to potential alternatives, 

information and analyses, should be 

directed to the FHWA and NYCDOT at 

the addresses provided in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this notice. 

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

139; 23 CFR part 771. 

Issued on: June 30, 2021. 

Richard J. Marquis, 

Division Administrator, Albany, NY. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14549 Filed 7–9–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 


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