[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29359-29361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12476]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Tamiami Trail 
Modifications: Next Steps Project, Everglades National Park

    Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps Project, Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement, Everglades National Park, Florida. The 
Notice of Intent (NOI) for this project referred to it as a 
``Feasibility Study and Report'' based on language in the authorizing 
legislation.

[[Page 29360]]

This new appellation was a result of public scoping and internal 
National Park Service discussions.
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps Project, 
Everglades National Park.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 and National Park Service (NPS) policy in Director's 
Order Number 2 (Park Planning) and Director's Order Number 12 
(Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis, and Decision-
making), the NPS announces the availability of a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41) 
Modifications: Next Steps Project for Everglades National Park, 
Florida.
    The 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, H.R. 1105: Omnibus 
Appropriations Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-008, dated March 11, 2009) 
directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to construct 
modifications to U.S. Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail) that were approved in 
the 2008 Limited Reevaluation Report and Environmental Assessment. The 
2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act also directed the Department of the 
Interior's National Park Service to ``immediately evaluate the 
feasibility of additional bridge length, beyond that to be constructed 
pursuant to the Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park 
Project (16 U.S.C. 410r-8), including a continuous bridge, or 
additional bridges or some combination thereof, for the Tamiami Trail 
to restore more natural water flow to Everglades National Park (ENP) 
and Florida Bay and for the purpose of restoring habitat within the 
Park and the ecological connectivity between the Park and the Water 
Conservation Areas'' (2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 111-
008).

DATES: There will be a 60-day comment period beginning with the 
Environmental Protection Agency's publication of its Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register. Public meeting(s) will be held 
during the review period. The date, time, and location of the public 
meeting(s) will be announced through the NPS Planning, Environment, and 
Public Comment (PEPC) Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever, a news 
release, and/or a mailed announcement to be released in May 2010.

ADDRESSES: The document will be available for public review and comment 
online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. CDs and hard copies are 
available at Park headquarters. You may also request a hard copy or CD 
by contacting Everglades National Park, 40001 State Road 9336, 
Homestead, FL 33034-6733; telephone 305-242-7700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public scoping was initiated in the summer 
of 2009. A newsletter was distributed on May 31, 2009, and a public 
meeting was held on June 2, 2009, to keep the public informed and 
involved throughout the planning process. As the lead agency, the NPS 
conducted several inter-agency/Tribal meetings and one workshop to 
develop project objectives, identify alternatives, evaluate the 
benefits of alternatives, and identify a preferred alternative. The 
DEIS provides historical information, existing conditions, alternatives 
for infrastructure modifications, and related impacts of the 
alternatives. The DEIS describes six alternatives for consideration, 
including a no-action alternative that provides for the continuation of 
the current Tamiami Trail infrastructure configuration. The five action 
alternatives present a range of infrastructure modification 
opportunities. The environmental impacts of each alternative, including 
the no-action alternative, are systematically analyzed in the document.
    The six alternatives (with corresponding identifiers) as they 
appear in the document are as follows:
    <bullet> No Action Alternative: The No-Action Alternative consists 
of a 1-mile eastern bridge and elevation of the remaining roadway to 
allow for 8.5 feet stages in the L-29 Canal. This alternative continues 
the status quo.
    <bullet> Alternative 1: 2.2 miles of bridges and remaining roadway 
elevated: Alternative 1 would involve creating conveyance openings 
through Tamiami Trail by removing 2.2 miles of the existing highway and 
embankment. Four bridges (or ConSpan) would be constructed in the 
openings to replace the removed section of road and maintain vehicle 
traffic across the openings. This alternative would create 2.2 miles of 
ecological connectivity and better distribute flows in the western area 
of the 11 mile project corridor.
    <bullet> Alternative 2a: 3.3 miles of bridges and remaining roadway 
elevated: Alternative 2a would involve creating conveyance openings 
through Tamiami Trail by removing 3.3 miles of the existing highway and 
embankment. Six bridges would be constructed in the openings to replace 
the removed section of road and maintain vehicle traffic across the 
openings. This alternative would create 3.3 miles of ecological 
connectivity and moderately reduce the adverse effects of high velocity 
discharges associated with the existing culverts.
    <bullet> Alternative 4: 1.0 miles of bridging and remaining roadway 
elevated: Alternative 4 would involve creating conveyance openings 
through Tamiami Trail by removing 1.0 mile of the existing highway and 
embankment where the bridging is proposed. This alternative would 
increase ecological connectivity by 1.0 mile.
    <bullet> Alternative 5: 1.5 miles of bridging and remaining roadway 
elevated: Alternative 5 would involve creating conveyance openings 
through Tamiami Trail by removing 1.5 miles of the existing highway and 
embankment. Three bridges would be constructed in the opening to 
replace the removed section of road and maintain vehicle traffic. This 
alternative would increase ecological connectivity by 1.5 miles.
    <bullet> Alternative 6E: 5.5 miles of bridging and remaining 
roadway elevated. Alternative 6E is the maximum bridging option and 
involves creating conveyance openings through Tamiami Trail by removing 
5.5 miles of the existing highway and embankment. Four bridges would be 
constructed in the opening to replace the removed section of road and 
maintain vehicle traffic. This alternative would increase ecological 
connectivity by 5.5 miles, reduce flow velocities below the 0.10 fps 
threshold that causes harm to marshes, and substantially restore the 
flow patterns associated with a healthy ridge and slough landscape in 
Northeast Shark River Slough.
    <bullet> Common to all action alternatives: The remaining highway 
embankments along stretches of the road that are not bridged would be 
reconstructed to raise the crown elevation to 12.3 feet, the minimum 
required based on the design high water of 9.7 feet and the roadway 
cross section geometry.
    Preferred Alternative: Alternative 6E was determined to be the 
preferred alternative by the NPS and the U.S. Department of the 
Interior.
    If you wish to comment on the DEIS for the Tamiami Trail 
Modifications: Next Steps Project, you may submit your comments by any 
one of several methods. The preferred method for submitting comments is 
via the Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. If you do not 
receive a confirmation from the system that we have received your 
internet message, please contact us directly at the address above. You 
may

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also mail comments to the Park at the address shown above. Finally, you 
may present your comments in person at the public meeting(s) to be held 
during the public review period or at the address listed above.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. We will always make submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives of or officials or organizations or businesses, 
available for public inspection in their entirety.

    Authority:  The authority for publishing this notice is 40 CFR 
1506.6.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Everglades National Park at 
the address and telephone number shown above.
    The responsible official for this Draft EIS is the Regional 
Director, Southeast Region, NPS, 100 Alabama Street, SW., 1924 
Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

    Dated: March 31, 2010.
David Vela,
Regional Director, Southeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-12476 Filed 5-24-10; 8:45 am]
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