Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 107 / Monday, June 7, 2021 / Notices 30323 

Dated: June 2, 2021. 

Melanie J. Pantoja, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11843 Filed 6–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Center for Scientific Review; Amended 

Notice of Meeting 

Notice is hereby given of a change in 

the meeting of the Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel, June 

22, 2021, 10:00 a.m. to June 22, 2021, 

08:00 p.m., National Institutes of Health, 

Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive, 

Bethesda, MD 20892 which was 

published in the Federal Register on 

May 18, 2021, 86 FR 26931. 

Lawrence Kagemann, Ph.D., 

Larry.Kagemann@Nih.Gov, (301) 480– 

6849, will be the new Contact person, 

replacing Inna Gorshkova as Scientific 

Review Officer. The meeting date and 

location remain the same. The meeting 

is closed to the public. 

David W. Freeman, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11879 Filed 6–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

[Docket Number USCG–2019–0882] 

BNSF Railway Bridge Across the 

Missouri River Between Bismarck and 

Mandan, North Dakota; Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

request for comments, and 

announcement of virtual public 

meeting. 

SUMMARY: The United States Coast 

Guard, as the lead federal agency, 

announces the availability of a draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) NEPA implementing 

regulations, and the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA), evaluating the 

potential environmental consequences 

of permitting the replacement of the 

existing BNSF Railway Bridge across the 

Missouri River between the cities of 

Bismarck and Mandan, ND, or 

constructing a bridge adjacent to the 

existing bridge. The applicant proposes 

to remove the existing structure, which 

is eligible for listing on the National 

Register of Historic Places. The Coast 

Guard is analyzing proposed 

alternatives, through the NEPA and 

NHPA processes, to construct the new 

bridge while retaining the existing 

bridge. The Coast Guard is making the 

draft EIS available for public review and 

requests public comments. 

Additionally, the Coast Guard intends to 

host a virtual public meeting to provide 

additional information to the public and 

to solicit comments on potential issues 

and concerns. 

DATES: Substantive and relevant 

comments must be submitted to the 

online docket via https://

www.regulations.gov/ on or before July 

22, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit substantive 

and relevant comments identified by 

docket number USCG–2019–0882 using 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

https://www.regulations.gov/. See the 

‘‘Public Participation and Request for 

Comments’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

further instructions on submitting 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob 

McCaskey, Coast Guard District Eight 

Project Officer, 314–269–2381. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Purpose 

BNSF Railway Company owns and 

operates the existing bridge that crosses 

the Missouri River between the cities of 

Mandan, and Bismarck, North Dakota. 

With bridge components over 130 years 

old, the in-place structure is 

approaching the end of its useful service 

life. The structure has a history of 

exposure to ice jams and its 

substructure configuration renders it 

potentially susceptible to scour events 

which remove sediment from around 

the bridge abutments and piers. 

Although currently stable, the structure 

has experienced structural issues at both 

approaches in the past, resulting in 

unanticipated substructure movements. 

Since the bridge’s original construction 

in 1882, the east hill slope has begun to 

move which resulted in the slope 

moving the pier west towards the river. 

Multiple remediation efforts to correct 

the pier damage and slope movement 

took place from the early 1900s to the 

mid-1950s. The purpose of the project is 

to construct a new, independent bridge 

across the Missouri River upstream of 

the in-place structure. The new 

structure will provide a significant 

improvement in operational reliability 

and safety, and will provide enhanced 

structural redundancy thereby making it 

less susceptible to damage. As the 

current structure is over 130 years old, 

it requires substantial inspection and 

maintenance, which are disruptive to 

rail service. The new structure will be 

a single-track bridge but have the 

capability to carry a second track in the 

future when and if volumes necessitate 

that addition. 

The BNSF Bismarck Bridge was 

constructed with similar methods in the 

same era as the Brooklyn Bridge. It is an 

iconic landmark that predates official 

North Dakota statehood by 6 years. The 

bridge is eligible for listing in the 

National Register of Historic Places for 

its association with broad patterns of 

railroad, commercial and military 

history of the United States. Because of 

these attributes, certain interest groups 

have expressed a desire to preserve the 

existing bridge. 

The federal bridge statutes, including 

the General Bridge Act of 1946 (33 

U.S.C. 525 et seq.), require that the 

location and plans of bridges in or over 

navigable waters of the United States be 

approved by the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, who has delegated that 

responsibility to the Coast Guard. The 

Missouri River is a navigable water of 

the United States as defined in 33 CFR 

2.36(a). The Coast Guard’s primary 

responsibility regarding BNSF’s 

proposed railroad bridge is to ensure the 

structure does not unreasonably 

obstruct navigation. In exercising these 

bridge authorities, the Coast Guard 

considers navigational and 

environmental impacts, which include 

historic and tribal effects. 

The Coast Guard is the lead federal 

agency for this project and, as such, is 

responsible for the review of its 

potential effects on the human 

environment, including historic 

properties and tribal impacts, pursuant 

to NEPA and NHPA. The Coast Guard 

is, therefore, required by law to ensure 

potential environmental effects are 

carefully evaluated in each bridge 

permitting decision. 

The four alternatives considered for 

the proposed project include different 

span lengths and different distances 

from the current bridge. Specifically, the 

alternatives include: 

• Building a new bridge with 200-foot 

spans and piers 92.5 feet upstream of 

the existing bridge (alternative 

considered keeping the existing bridge 

and removing the existing bridge). 

• Building a new bridge with 400-foot 

spans and piers 92.5 feet upstream of 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
30324 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 107 / Monday, June 7, 2021 / Notices 

the existing bridge (alternative 

considered keeping the existing bridge 

and removing the existing bridge). 

• Building a new bridge with 200-foot 

spans and piers 42.5 feet upstream of 

the existing bridge (alternative 

considered keeping the existing bridge 

and removing the existing bridge). 

• Building a new bridge with 200-foot 

spans and piers 20 feet upstream of the 

existing bridge and removing the 

existing bridge (BNSF Preferred Design). 

The alternatives were developed to 

meet the purpose and need of the 

project, which is to provide BNSF 

Railway with a new bridge that can 

accommodate two tracks at a future date 

should a second track become needed. 

There are specific constraints in the area 

that must be taken into consideration as 

designs are evaluated. For example, the 

bridge is close to the Missouri River 

Natural Area, which is a federally 

funded park managed by the North 

Dakota Parks and Recreation 

Department in cooperation with the 

North Dakota Department of 

Transportation, Morton County Parks, 

and the City of Mandan. The Missouri 

River Natural Area is the home to many 

species, including bald eagles, fox, deer 

and owls. Likewise, the bridge is in 

close proximity to the Bismarck 

Reservoir, which is a major source of 

drinking water for residents of the area 

and is located in an area with a history 

of significant slope stability issues. 

As part of this evaluation process, the 

Coast Guard solicits substantive and 

relevant comments from the public, and 

any Federal, State, and local agencies 

with expertise in, and authority over, 

particular resources that may be 

impacted by a project. Additionally, the 

Coast Guard seeks input from any tribes 

that may be affected or otherwise have 

expertise or equities in the project. 

Agencies that have already participated 

in the environmental review of this 

Project include the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA), the North Dakota State Historic 

Preservation Office (SHPO) and the 

Advisory Council on Historic 

Preservation (ACHP). 

II. Discussion 

The Coast Guard developed a draft 

EIS that addresses impacts associated 

with the alternatives mentioned in 

Section I above. These impacts include 

those environmental control laws listed 

in the Coast Guard’s Bridge Permit 

Application Guide (available at https:// 

www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO

%20Documents/5pw/Office%20of

%20Bridge%20Programs/BPAG

%20COMDTPUB%20P16591%203D_

Sequential%20Clearance

%20Final(July2016).pdf), as well as 

those impacts associated with 

floodplain rise, impacts to the Bismarck 

Water Reservoir and the Missouri River 

Natural Area. 

On January 15, 2021, a Programmatic 

Agreement in accordance with Section 

106 of the NHPA was signed to address 

the adverse effect on the historic bridge. 

To date, the Coast Guard has held 16 

consultation meetings with stakeholders 

to develop the Final Programmatic 

Agreement. The Coast Guard is 

currently working with consulting 

parties to develop a Memorandum of 

Agreement, which will act as an 

implementation plan for the 

Programmatic Agreement. The 

Programmatic Agreement is available in 

the appendix of the draft EIS. 

We request your substantive and 

relevant comments on environmental 

concerns that you may have related to 

the draft EIS. Your comments will be 

considered in preparing a final 

environmental document. 

III. Public Participation and Comments 

We encourage you to submit 

substantive and relevant comments (or 

related material) on the draft 

Environmental Impact Statement. We 

will consider all substantive and 

relevant submissions and may adjust 

our final action based on your 

comments. If you submit a comment, 

please include the docket number for 

this notice, indicate the specific section 

of this document to which each 

comment applies, and provide a reason 

for each suggestion or recommendation. 

We encourage you to submit 

comments through the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov/. If your material 

cannot be submitted using http://

www.regulations.gov/, contact the 

person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this document for 

alternate instructions. The draft EIS and 

public comments will be available in 

our online docket at http://

www.regulations.gov/ and can be 

viewed by following that website’s 

instructions. 

We accept anonymous comments. All 

substantive and relevant comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov/ and will 

include any personal information you 

have provided. For more information 

about privacy and submissions to the 

docket in response to this document, see 

DHS’s eRulemaking System of Records 

notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020). 

IV. Virtual Public Meeting 

Due to the ongoing COVID–19 

pandemic, the Coast Guard intends to 

hold a virtual public meeting to receive 

oral and written comments on this draft 

EIS. The meeting will be held on June 

30, 2021 from 6:00–9:00 p.m. (Central), 

and can be accessed online at https://

ch2m-pge.my.webex.com/ch2m-pge.my/

j.php?MTID=m45e9e9fb750989

eb89f8bf260630b06c. Attendees may 

also join by phone. The call-in number 

is 1–510–338–9438 (USA toll) and the 

access code is 182 625 0321. The 

meeting is expected to last 

approximately 3 hours. 

The virtual meeting is open to the 

public. Those who plan to attend the 

meeting and wish to present substantive 

and relevant comments may request to 

do so through the online docket at 

http://www.regulations.gov, and will be 

called in order of requests received. 

Attendees who have not previously 

made a request to present comments 

will follow those who have already 

submitted a request, as time permits. If 

a large number of persons wish to speak, 

the presiding officer may be required to 

limit the time allotted to each speaker. 

It is requested that one member from a 

group speak on behalf of that group in 

order to allow more views to be 

presented. The public meeting may end 

early if all present wishing to speak 

have done so. 

A transcript of the meeting will be 

made available for public review 

approximately 30 days after the 

meeting. All substantive and relevant 

comments will be incorporated into the 

official case record. 

Information on Service for Individuals 

With Disabilities: For information on 

services for individuals with disabilities 

or to request special assistance during 

the public meeting contact Mr. Rob 

McCaskey at the telephone number 

under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this notice. 

This notice is issued under the 

authority of 5 U.S.C. 552 (a) and 40 CFR 

1506.6. 

Dated: June 1, 2021. 

Brian L. Dunn, 

Chief, U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Bridge 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11801 Filed 6–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES