[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14978-14979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6334]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: Orange and San Diego Counties, CA
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Supplemental notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA originally published a Notice of Intent for the
transportation project described below in the Federal Register on
December 16, 1993 (58 FR 65758). Public scoping meetings on the project
were held on August 25, 1994 and September 16, 1994. A revised Notice
of Intent was published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2001
(66 FR 10934). The FHWA is issuing this supplemental Notice of Intent
to advise the public of the dates, times, and locations of the scoping
meetings that will be held to consider the project, which is located in
southern Orange County and northern San Diego County, California.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert L. Cady, Transportation
Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, California Division, 980
Ninth Street, Suite 400, Sacramento, California 95814-2724. Telephone:
(916) 498-5038.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA in cooperation with the California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS), on a proposal to locate and construct
transportation infrastructure improvements in southern Orange County
and northern San Diego County. The Transportation Corridor Agencies
(TCA) is currently preparing a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report
(SEIR) to comply with the review requirements of the California
Environmental Quality Act. In an effort to eliminate unnecessary
duplication and reduce delay, the document to be prepared will be a
joint EIS/SEIR in accordance with the President's Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations as described in Title 40 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), Sections 1500.5 and 1506.2.
The purpose of the proposed project is provide improvements to the
transportation infrastructure system that would help alleviate future
traffic congestion and accommodate the need for mobility, access, goods
movement, and future traffic demands on the interstate Route 5 (I-5)
freeway and the arterial network in the southern Orange County area.
[[Page 14979]]
Alternatives under consideration include (1, 2, and 3) three
southerly toll road extension alignments, including several variations
thereof, from the existing terminus of the Foothill Transportation
Corridor-North, State Route 241 (SR-241), at Oso Parkway, to the I-5
freeway near the Orange County/San Diego County line; (4) improvements
to the local arterial system; (5) lane additions on I-5 in each
direction between the I-5/I-405 confluence to Cristianitos Road; and
(6) no action.
Note: As required by the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), all other reasonable alternatives will be considered. These
alternatives may be refined, combined with various different
alternative elements, or be removed from further consideration, as
more analysis is conducted on the project alternative.
In November of 1985, Orange County began consultation with State
and local agencies for the southern segment of SR-241, identified as
beginning just south of the Oso Parkway interchange and extending
southerly to a connection with the I-5 freeway. The TCA has continued
these consultations and held a scoping meeting for state and federal
agencies regarding the proposed route. These consultations identified
areas of special concern along the proposed route, including new
highway and arterial roadway improvements and updates to portions of
the baseline information, which were the focus of locally initiated EIR
studies. FHWA believes that this early and continued consultation has
been extensive and consistent with 40 CFR 1501.7. However, in order to
inform potentially affected agencies and the general public of FHWA
involvement, and to gather further comments regarding the new
alternatives for study, three public scoping meetings will be held as
follows:
Monday, March 26, 2001, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
(presentation starts at 7:30 p.m.) at the Christian Heritage Church,
190 Avenida La Pata, San Clemente, California.
Tuesday, March 27, 2001, from 7:00 p.m.--10:00 p.m.
(presentation starts at 8:00 p.m.) at the Trabuco Mesa Elementary
School, 21301 Avenida Del Los Flores, Rancho Santa Margarita,
California.
Thursday, March 29, 2001, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
(presentation starts at 7:30 p.m.) at Mission San Luis Rey, 4070
Mission Avenue, Oceanside, California.
To ensure that the full range of issues related to the proposed
routes are addressed and all significant issues identified, comments
and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments or
questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS should be
directed to the FHWA at the address provided above.
(Catalog of Federal 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.)
Issued on: March 5, 2001.
Jeffrey W. Kolb,
Team Leader, Program Delivery Team-South, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 01-6334 Filed 3-13-01; 8:45 am]
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