[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 86 (Friday, May 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19151-19153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08863]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and Initiate Section 106 Consultation for the Proposed LaGuardia 
Access Improvement Project at LaGuardia Airport (LGA), New York City, 
Queens County, New York

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Request for Scoping Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this 
notice under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, to advise the public that an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared to assess the potential impacts 
of the proposed LaGuardia Airport Access Improvement Project and its 
enabling projects and connected actions (the proposed action). The Port 
Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) proposes to 
construct an elevated automated people mover (APM) that would provide 
direct access between LGA and two existing transit stations at Mets-
Willets Point. Currently, LGA is accessible only by road. Passengers 
and employees face increasing and unreliable travel times and traffic 
congestion on off-Airport roadways. The project will provide air 
passengers and employees with a time-certain option for access to LGA 
and permit the Port Authority to provide adequate employee parking for 
the geographically constrained airport. Two (2) public scoping meetings 
and one (1) governmental agency scoping meeting will be held to 
identify public and agency concerns related to the proposed action. FAA 
is the lead agency on the preparation of the EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Andrew Brooks, Environmental 
Program Manager, Eastern Regional Office, AEA-610, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 1 Aviation Plaza, Jamaica, NY 11434. Telephone: 718-
553-2511.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to inform 
federal, state, and local government agencies and the public of the 
intent to prepare an EIS and to conduct a public and agency scoping 
process. Information, data, opinions, and substantive comments obtained 
throughout the scoping process will be considered in preparing the EIS.
    The scoping process for this EIS will include scoping meetings and 
a comment period for interested agencies and members of the public to 
submit oral and/or written comments with respect to any potential 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed project, or comments 
representing the concerns, issues, and alternatives they believe should 
be addressed in the EIS. Please submit any written comments to the FAA 
no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday, June 17, 2019.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the procedures 
described in FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and 
Procedures, and FAA Order 5050.4B, National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) Implementing Instructions for Airport Actions. Additionally, 
pursuant to Executive Order 13807, Establishing Discipline and 
Accountability in the Environmental and Permitting Process for 
Infrastructure, this EIS will be used by all federal approving and 
permitting agencies. Accordingly, it will comply with any requirements 
of these cooperating and participating agencies. The FAA and 
cooperating and participating agencies intend to use the preparation of 
this EIS to comply with the concurrent statutory review process under 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as 
amended, and its implementing regulations, Protection of Historic 
Properties (36 CFR part 800); Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act; 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and 
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This Notice of Intent also serves 
to notify the public that this EIS process will satisfy the public 
notice and comment requirements of Section 106 of the NHPA, Section 
4(f) of the Department of Transportation (DOT) Act, DOT Order 
5610.2(a), Environmental Justice in Minority and Low-Income 
Populations; Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands; DOT Order 
5660.1A, Preservation of the Nation's Wetlands; Executive Order 11988, 
Floodplain Management; and DOT Order 5650.2, Floodplain Management and 
Protection.
    The Port Authority, the operator of LGA, proposes the following 
project components of the proposed action:
     Construction of an above ground fixed guideway automated 
people mover (APM) system approximately 2.3 miles in length that 
extends from the LGA Central Hall Building to the Metropolitan Transit 
Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Mets-Willets Point Station 
and the New York City Transit (NYCT) 7 Line Mets-Willets Point Station;
     construction of two on-Airport APM stations; construction 
of one off-Airport APM station at Mets-Willets Point that provides 
connections to the Mets-Willets Point LIRR and NYCT 7 Line stations;
     construction of passenger walkway systems to connect the 
APM stations to the passenger terminals, parking garages, and ground 
transportation facilities;
     construction of a multi-level APM operations, maintenance, 
and storage facility (OMSF) that includes 500 Airport employee parking 
spaces;
     construction of three traction power substations: one 
located at the on-airport East Station, another at Willets Point 
Station, and the third at the OMSF to provide power to the APM 
guideway;
     construction of a 27kV main substation located adjacent to 
the OMSF structure on MTA property; and
     construction of utilities infrastructure, both new and 
modified, as needed, to support the proposed action.
    The proposed action also includes various enabling projects to 
allow construction and connected actions, including: Utility relocation 
and demolition of certain existing facilities; reconstruction and/or 
relocation of the Passerelle Bridge; modifications to the MTA LIRR 
Mets-Willets Point Station, including service changes to the LIRR Port 
Washington Line; and the relocation of several Flushing Bay Marina 
facilities, including a boat lift, Marina office, and boat storage.
    The FAA is required to consider a range of alternatives that could 
potentially meet the purpose and need to provide a time-certain 
transportation option that connects passengers and employees to LGA. As 
part of the information submittal process, the Port

[[Page 19152]]

Authority supplied an initial list of alternatives that they had 
considered. These alternatives are included below. After considering 
the public input from the scoping process, the FAA will identify a list 
of reasonable alternatives that will be evaluated through the EIS 
process.
    Alternative One--Sponsor's Proposed Action: As previously 
described.
    Alternative Two--Use of Other Existing Airports: Transfer or 
shifting of aviation activity to another existing public airport (or 
airports) in the New York metropolitan area.
    Alternative Three--Use of Other Modes of Transportation: Use of 
other modes of transportation, including automobiles, buses, ferry 
service, existing passenger trains, proposed high-speed rail facilities 
or other emerging transportation technologies.
    Alternative Four--Transportation Demand Management: Use of measures 
to reduce vehicular travel to and from the Airport.
    Alternative Five--Off-Airport Roadway Expansion: Increase the 
capacity of roadways surrounding and providing access to the Airport, 
potentially including I-495, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), the 
Grand Central Parkway, Queens Boulevard, and/or Astoria Boulevard.
    Alternative Six--Subway Extension from Astoria Boulevard Subway 
Station: Elevated Above Grand Central Parkway: Construction of an 
elevated subway structure that would extend service of the NYCT N and W 
Lines eastward from the existing Astoria Boulevard Subway Station to a 
new station at the Airport; the alignment would be along Grand Central 
Parkway.
    Alternative Seven--Subway Extension from Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard 
Subway Station: Elevated Above 19th Avenue: Construction of an elevated 
subway structure that would extend service of the NYCT N and W Lines 
eastward from the existing Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard Subway Station to 
a new station at the Airport; the alignment would generally be along 
31st Street north, 19th Avenue east, and Grand Central Parkway east.
    Alternative Eight--Subway Extension from Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard 
Subway Station: Tunnel Beneath 19th Avenue: Construction of an 
underground subway structure that would extend service of the NYCT N 
and W Lines eastward from the existing Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard Subway 
Station to a new station at the Airport; the alignment generally would 
be in a tunnel beneath 31st Street north, 19th Avenue east, and Grand 
Central Parkway east.
    Alternative Nine--Fixed Guideway from Astoria Boulevard Subway 
Station: Construction of a fixed guideway APM system that would provide 
service from the existing Astoria Boulevard Subway Station to a new 
station at the Airport; the alignment generally would be along Grand 
Central Parkway east.
    Alternative Ten--Fixed Guideway from Woodside LIRR and 61st Street-
Woodside Subway Station: Construction of a fixed guideway APM system 
that would provide service from the existing LIRR Woodside Station and 
the NYCT 7 Line at the 61st Street/Woodside Subway Station to a new 
station at the Airport; the alignment generally would be along the 
existing railroad right-of-way north and then parallel the BQE north to 
the Grand Central Parkway east.
    Alternative Eleven--Fixed Guideway from Roosevelt Avenue-Jackson 
Heights Subway Station: Construction of a fixed guideway APM system 
that would provide service from the existing NYCT 7, E, F, M, and R 
Lines at Roosevelt Avenue/Jackson Heights Subway Station to a new 
station at the Airport; the alignment generally would be along Broadway 
northwest to the BQE and then parallel the BQE north to the Grand 
Central Parkway east.
    Alternative Twelve--Fixed Guideway from Jamaica Station 
Transportation Hub: Construction of a fixed guideway APM system that 
would provide service from the existing NYCT E, J, and Z Lines at 
Jamaica Station transportation hub to a new station at the Airport; the 
alignment generally would be along city streets to the Van Wyck 
Expressway and would continue northwesterly along the Van Wyck 
Expressway and Grand Central Parkway.
    Alternative Thirteen--No Action Alternative: Under this 
alternative, the Port Authority would take no action to develop an APM 
system or other alternative form of transportation to and from the 
Airport.
    Public Scoping and Governmental Agency Meetings: To ensure that the 
full range of issues related to the proposed action is addressed and 
that all significant issues are identified, comments and suggestions 
are invited from all interested parties. Public and governmental agency 
scoping meetings will be conducted to identify any significant issues 
associated with the proposed action.
    A governmental agency scoping meeting for all federal, state, and 
local regulatory agencies that have jurisdiction by law or have special 
expertise with respect to any potential environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action will be held on Wednesday, June 5, 
2019. This meeting will take place at 10:00am Eastern Time, at the Port 
Authority of New York and New Jersey Office at 4 World Trade Center, 
23rd Floor, New York, New York. A notification letter will be sent in 
advance of the meeting.
    Two public scoping meetings for the general public will be held. 
The public scoping meetings will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 
Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 and from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 
Eastern Time on Thursday, June 6, 2019. The public scoping meetings 
will be conducted at the New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel at 
102-05 Ditmars Boulevard, East Elmhurst, New York. A legal notice will 
also be placed in newspapers having general circulation in the study 
area. The newspaper notice will notify the public that scoping meetings 
will be held to gain their input concerning the alternatives to be 
considered and environmental impacts to be evaluated, with comments on 
the environmental impacts being used to help formulate the scope of 
analysis for the EIS. The Public Scoping Meetings will be open house 
format with project information displayed and representatives from the 
FAA and the Port Authority available to answer questions. Sign and oral 
interpretation can be made available at the meeting, as well as an 
assistive listening device, if requested 10 calendar days before the 
meeting. The meetings will be open to all persons on a space-available 
basis. There will be no admission fee or other charge, including 
parking, to attend and participate. Written and oral comments will be 
accepted at each of the meetings. The public comment period on the 
Scoping phase of the EIS will end on June 17, 2019.
    The purpose of the Scoping Process, as stated above, is to receive 
input from the public, as well as from Federal, state, and local 
agencies that have legal jurisdiction and/or special expertise, with 
respect to any potential environmental impacts associated with the 
proposed project, as well as concerns, issues, and alternatives they 
believe should be addressed in the EIS. During this process, questions 
regarding the scope and process related to the EIS will be answered. 
More information about the sponsor's proposed project and the scoping 
meetings can be found at: www.LgaAccessEIS.com.
    Comments should be addressed to the listed contact person, or by 
email to comments@lgaaccesseis.com. The Scoping comment period is from 
May 3, 2019 through June 17, 2019.
    The FAA is aware that there may be Native American tribes with a 
historical interest in the area. The FAA will interact on a government-
to-government basis, in accordance with all executive

[[Page 19153]]

orders, laws, regulations, and other memoranda. The tribes will also be 
invited to participate in accordance with NEPA and Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act.

    Issued in Jamaica, New York, April 23, 2019.
Evelyn Martinez,
Manager, New York Airport District Office, Airports Division, Eastern 
Region.
[FR Doc. 2019-08863 Filed 5-2-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


