I-11 Corridor Tier 1 EIS Scoping Summary Report Final APPENDIX C Agency Scoping Meeting Materials Agency Scoping Meeting Agendas Agency Scoping Meeting Presentation Agency Scoping Meeting Boards Agency Scoping Meeting Handout Contract No. 2015-013 / Project No. M5180 01P / Federal Aid No. 999-M(161)S January 2017
AGENCY SCOPING MEETING #1 IN PHOENIX JUNE 7, 2016 1:30 TO 3:30 PM LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT CONFERENCE ROOM 2739 E. WASHINGTON STREET PHOENIX, AZ AND/OR CLICK HERE: HTTPS://WWW.CONNECTMEETING.ATT.COM MEETING NUMBER/CALL-IN: 1-888-369-1427; ACCESS CODE: 6874525# * * * AGENDA * * * 1. Introductions and Purpose of Meeting 2. Presentation on I-11 Corridor Environmental Review Process a. History of Corridor b. Study Goal and Objective c. Overview of Process 3. Purpose of Scoping a. Purpose and Need b. Alternatives to be Studied c. Impacts to be Evaluated d. Evaluation Methods to be Used 4. Comments and Questions 5. Next Steps Please submit all official comments in writing to: Mr. Aryan Lirange, Senior Urban Engineer Federal Highway Administration 4000 North Central Avenue, Suite 1500 Phoenix, AZ 85012 or via e-mail at Aryan.Lirange@dot.gov Contract No. 2015-013 / Project No. M5180 01P / Federal Aid No. 999-M(161)S Page C-1
AGENCY SCOPING MEETING #2 IN CASA GRANDE JUNE 8, 2016 1:30 TO 3:00 PM DOROTHY POWELL SENIOR ADULT CENTER DINING ROOM 405 E. 6 TH STREET CASA GRANDE, AZ AND/OR CLICK HERE: HTTPS://WWW.CONNECTMEETING.ATT.COM MEETING NUMBER/CALL-IN: 1-888-369-1427; ACCESS CODE: 6874525# * * * AGENDA * * * 1. Introductions and Purpose of Meeting 2. Presentation on I-11 Corridor Environmental Review Process a. History of Corridor b. Study Goal and Objective c. Overview of Process 3. Purpose of Scoping a. Purpose and Need b. Alternatives to be Studied c. Impacts to be Evaluated d. Evaluation Methods to be Used 4. Comments and Questions 5. Next Steps Please submit all official comments in writing to: Mr. Aryan Lirange, Senior Urban Engineer Federal Highway Administration 4000 North Central Avenue, Suite 1500 Phoenix, AZ 85012 or via e-mail at Aryan.Lirange@dot.gov Contract No. 2015-013 / Project No. M5180 01P / Federal Aid No. 999-M(161)S Page C-2
AGENCY SCOPING MEETING #3 IN TUCSON JUNE 22, 2016 10:00 TO 11:30 AM PIMA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS, LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM 1 E. BROADWAY BOULEVARD, SUITE 401 TUCSON, AZ AND/OR CLICK HERE: HTTPS://WWW.CONNECTMEETING.ATT.COM MEETING NUMBER/CALL-IN: 1-888-369-1427; ACCESS CODE: 6874525# * * * AGENDA * * * 1. Introductions and Purpose of Meeting 2. Presentation on I-11 Corridor Environmental Review Process a. History of Corridor b. Study Goal and Objective c. Overview of Process 3. Purpose of Scoping a. Purpose and Need b. Alternatives to be Studied c. Impacts to be Evaluated d. Evaluation Methods to be Used 4. Comments and Questions 5. Next Steps Please submit all official comments in writing to: Mr. Aryan Lirange, Senior Urban Engineer Federal Highway Administration 4000 North Central Avenue, Suite 1500 Phoenix, AZ 85012 or via e-mail at Aryan.Lirange@dot.gov Contract No. 2015-013 / Project No. M5180 01P / Federal Aid No. 999-M(161)S Page C-3
I-11 Corridor Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement June 2016 Purpose of Scoping Meeting Federal environmental review process Share information about process Seek input on scope and content Describe opportunities for involvement Page C-4
History of I-11 Corridor Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 1991 North American Free Trade Agreement 1993 CANAMEX Trade Corridor 1995 National Highway System High Priority Corridor 2012 I-11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study 2014 Fixing America s Surface Transportation Act 2015 Federal Environmental Review Process 2016 Federal Lead Agency: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Local Lead Agency: Arizona Department of Transportation Alternatives Selection Report (ASR) and Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Study Goal and Objective Complete ASR and Tier 1 EIS Reach consensus on Selected Corridor Alternative from Nogales to Wickenburg Set stage for future proposed projects Page C-5
Environmental Review Process We are here What is Scoping? Early step in environmental review process Allows for early coordination and outreach Notify public, agencies, and tribal communities Tier 1 EIS is being prepared Solicit input on overall process and corridor Guide scope and content of Tier 1 EIS Purpose and need Alternatives to be studied Impacts to be evaluated Evaluation methods to be used Page C-6
What are the Goals for I-11? Provide access-controlled, northsouth transportation corridor Connect key metropolitan areas and markets in Arizona with Mexico and Canada Support improved regional mobility for movement of people, goods, and homeland security Provide enhanced transportation opportunities for economic vitality What is being Studied? 280-mile study area from Nogales to Wickenburg 2,000-foot corridor alternatives Proposed transportation facility Phased Implementation Plans North Central South Page C-7
Corridor Alternatives Identifying Corridor Alternatives Conduct free-to-roam analysis looking for routes Identify route trends for corridor alternatives Evaluate corridor alternatives Note: These are sample graphics showing steps to identify corridor alternatives. Page C-8
Recommended Corridor Alternatives Phased Implementation Plans Page C-9
What Topics will be Studied? Air quality Biological resources Economic impacts Geology, soils, and farmlands Hazardous materials Historic and archaeological Land use and neighborhoods Noise and vibration Parks and recreation Title VI and environmental justice Transportation Visual and aesthetics Water resources South Critical habitat Cultural resources Historic trail Parks and recreation Rivers and floodplains Tribal lands Urbanized areas Wildlife and mitigation corridors Page C-10
Central Areas of critical environmental concern Cultural resources Historic trail National monument Parks and recreation Rivers and floodplains Wilderness North Areas of critical environmental concern Cultural resources Parks and recreation Rivers and floodplains Other avoidance areas Page C-11
What are Next Steps? What Questions will the Tier 1 EIS Answer? Reach consensus on Selected Corridor Alternative for I-11 Corridor Potential social, economic, and natural environmental impacts Type of vehicular transportation facility Potential multimodal facility (rail and utility) opportunities Proposed projects for Phased Implementation Plan The Tier 1 EIS will provide a roadmap for advancing proposed projects in the future. Page C-12
How Can You Participate? Scoping meetings Review information on display boards and handouts Provide written comments on comment cards Provide comments verbally to court reporter Additional opportunities I-11ADOTStudy@hdrinc.com 1-844-544-8049 (bilingual) i11study.com/arizona (on-line survey) Interstate 11 Tier 1 EIS Study Team c/o ADOT Communications 1655 W. Jackson Street, Mail Drop 126F Phoenix, AZ 85007 Future public meetings and hearings Please submit scoping comments by July 8, 2016 I-11 Corridor Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement Page C-13
Potential Topics and Environmental Issues The Tier 1 EIS will document technical analysis conducted on a number of potential topics and environmental issues. Help us identify areas or resources that you feel must be avoided or are important to serve. Transportation Land Use and Neighborhoods Geology, Soils, and Farmlands Parks and Recreation Historic and Archaeological Noise and Vibration Air Quality Visual and Aesthetics Biological Resources Hazardous Materials Economic Impacts Water Resources What Else? Title VI and Environmental Justice ALL INFORMATION PRESENTED IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO REVISION June 2016 Page C-14
North Section Environmental and Other Sensitive Areas Avoidance Areas Critical Habitat Lakes and Ponds Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern on BLM Land Wilderness * National Monument (N.M.) * Park and Recreation Area Tribal Lands * Toyota Proving Grounds Military Airports Urban Areas 100-Year Floodplains DeAnza Historic Trail * Trail * * Not found in North Section BLACK BUTTE ACEC Vulture Mountain Recreation Area VULTURE MOUNTAINS ACEC Wickenburg Coffinger Park YAVAPAI COUNTY MARICOPA COUNTY BNSF Railway I-11 Corridor North Section (Buckeye to Wickenburg) Corridor Study Area City/Town County Limits Freeway State/US Highway Major Street Railroad Bureau of Land Management Reclamation Park And Recreation Area National Park (N.P.) National Monument (N.M.) Tribal Lands Private (no color) State Land Military 0 2.5 5 10 Hassayampa River NORTH SECTION CENTRAL SECTION Luke Air Force Base White Tank Mountain Park Buckeye Miles ALL INFORMATION PRESENTED IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO REVISION June 2016 Page C-15
Central Section North Section Central Section 85 Luke Air Force Base White Tank Mountain Park Buckeye 60 Surprise 303 10 303 Luke Air Force Base Goodyear 101 Environmental and Other Sensitive Areas Avoidance Areas 101 Critical Habitat * Not found in Central Sky Section Harbor Int'l Airport 101 Lakes and Ponds Scottsdale Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern on BLM Land 101 51 Wilderness Phoenix National Monument (N.M.) National Park * 202 Park and Recreation Fort McDowell Area Yavapai Nation Tribal Lands * Military Airports Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community 202 Urban Areas 100-Year Floodplains DeAnza Mesa Historic Trail Trail Gila River 85 MARICOPA COUNTY PINAL COUNTY 347 Gila River Indian Community 587 87 Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Gila Bend 238 Sonoran Desert N.M. Maricopa Ak-Chin Indian Community 10 Casa Grande 387 10 lroad 85 I-11 Corridor Central Section (Casa Grande to Buckeye) Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range Corridor Study Area City/Town County Limits Freeway Bureau of Land Management Reclamation National Forest (N.F.) Park And Recreation Area 8 MARICOPA COUNTY 84 PINAL COUNTY PIMA COUNTY 8 Central Section South Section 287 State/US Highway Major Street Railroad National Park (N.P.) National Monument (N.M.) Tribal Lands Ironwood Forest N.M. 0 5 10 Private (no color) State Land Tohono O'odham Nation Miles Military ALL INFORMATION PRESENTED IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO REVISION June 2016 Page C-16
South Section Casa Grande 8 10 Central Section South Section 287 Eloy 87 10 Ironwood Forest N.M. Santa Cruz River 79 Picacho Peak State Park Marana Oro Valley PINAL COUNTY PIMA COUNTY Environmental and Other Sensitive Areas Avoidance Areas Critical Habitat Lakes and Ponds Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern on BLM Land * Wilderness 76 National Monument (N.M.) National Park Park and Recreation Area Tribal Lands Military Tucson Mitigation Corridor Airports Urban Areas 100-Year Floodplains Saguaro National Park Tucson Mountain County Park South Tucson 77 DeAnza Historic Trail Coronado N.F. Trail * Not found in South Section Saguaro N.P. Pascua Yaqui Tribe Tucson 86 I-11 Corridor South Section (Nogales to Casa Grande) San Xavier District Tohono O'odham Davis Monthan Air Force Base Tucson Int'l Airport 10 Corridor Study Area City/Town County Limits Freeway State/US Highway 286 Major Street Railroad Bureau of Land Management Buenos Aires N.W.R. Reclamation National Forest (N.F.) Park And Recreation Area National Park (N.P.) National Monument (N.M.) Tribal Lands Private (no color) State Land Military 0 5 10 20 Miles Coronado N.F. 19 UPRR 189 Sahuarita SANTA CRUZ COUNTY Coronado N.F. PIMA COUNTY Tubac Presidio State Park Tumacacori Nat'l Historical Park 82 Nogales 83 Coronado N.F. U N I T ED E D STATES OF AMERICA MEXICO 90 ALL INFORMATION PRESENTED IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO REVISION June 2016 Page C-17
I-11 Corridor Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement What is a Tier 1 EIS? The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) are initiating the environmental review process for the Interstate 11 (I-11) Corridor from Nogales to Wickenburg, Arizona. An Alternatives Selection Report (ASR) and Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are being prepared as part of this process in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other regulatory requirements. This hand-out compares the level of analysis and compliance activities typically conducted for a programmatic Tier 1 EIS versus project level Tier 2 environmental reviews that would be conducted at a later date. In a tiered process, Tier 2 would be similar to a traditional project level NEPA review. Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement: Analyzes a program, large project, or undefined corridor on a broad scale. Tier 2 Environmental Reviews: Involves a specific project and applicable NEPA class of action that could include an EIS, Environmental Assessment (EA), or Categorical Exclusion (CE), but focused on the corridor identified in the Tier 1 EIS document. Activities Tier 1 Programmatic EIS Tier 2 Project Environmental Reviews NEPA Class of Action Tier 1 EIS EIS, EA, or CE Purpose and Refine purpose and need from prior feasibility study Refine purpose and need from Tier 1 Need Consider federal, state, regional, and local needs Address needs specific to proposed project Alternatives Develop, evaluate, and screen corridor alternatives Define project alignment and configuration Identify types of proposed transportation facility Identify potential design options Very conceptual design More refined engineering Engineering Typical sections for proposed transportation facility Detailed drawings, vertical profiles, and typical Phased Implementation Plan for smaller proposed sections projects Access details and interchange design Analysis Broad, high-level Site-specific resource information, impacts, and Relies heavily on readily available information mitigation Primarily geographic information system (GIS) based Agency and Identify key issues early Established relationships Public Input Build consensus No surprises Select Preferred Corridor Alternative (2000 feet wide) Select well-defined project alignment and Proposed Action Proposed transportation facility configuration Phased Implementation Plan Right-of-way (ROW) requirements Mitigation strategies Specific mitigation commitments Other Information Obtained from Existing Sources / Detailed Studies and Impact Assessments / Regulatory Agencies Involved Agency Actions Compliance Minimize impacts to critical habitat for protected Presence/absence surveys, species protocol surveys, Endangered Species Act National Historic Preservation Act Sections 4(f)/6(f) Clean Water Act Clean Air Act Permit Requirements General Permits species Strategies for mitigation commitments United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) additional field studies, and Biological Assessments Specific mitigation commitments USFWS action to provide concurrence Implement PA from Tier 1 Avoid potential high sensitivity cultural resources (i.e., Historic and archaeological surveys historic and archaeological) Determinations of National Register of Historic Places Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), (NRHP) eligibility Tribes and other Consulting Parties to develop Identify and resolve potential effects among SHPO, Section 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA) Tribes, and other Consulting Parties Identify Section 4(f) resources (i.e., publicly owned Detailed Section 4(f) evaluation to determine parks, recreation areas, refuges, and historic sites) avoidance, de minimis, or use determinations by Identify Section 6(f) properties (i.e., established with FHWA in coordination with officials with jurisdiction Land and Water Conservation Funds) Potential acquisition and conversion of 6(f) land to National Park Service (NPS), SHPO, and other transportation use in agreement with NPS, Bureau of officials with jurisdiction Land Management (BLM), and other agencies Minimize impacts to Waters of the US, surface Delineate Waters of the US, identify ordinary high waters, and 100-year floodplains water mark, and determine mitigation Mitigation strategies Stormwater runoff and drainage requirements United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Potential USACE and ADEQ actions Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Identify non-attainment areas and ambient air quality Project level hot-spot and air quality conformity data analyses United States Environmental Protection Agency Potential USEPA and ADEQ actions (USEPA) and ADEQ During Tier 1 EIS Future Tier 2 Identify likely permits and requirements in coordination and consultation with agencies Provide information to support permit applications with agencies Project No. M5180 01P / Federal Aid No. 999-M(161)S Page C-18
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