C  O  M  M  I  S  S  I  O  N       N  E  W  S       R  E  L  E  A  S  E

Contact:  

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
ATTN: Mr. David P. Willis, Environmental Manager
P.O. Box 67676
Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676
  

February 2nd , 2004

All interested persons are advised that the Federal Highway Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Coast Guard, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Act of 1966 (49 USC, Section 303) and the Clean Water Act of 1977, as amended, have prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)/Final Section 4(f) Evaluation/Section 404 Permit Application for the Mon/Fayette Transportation Project from PA Route 51 to Interstate 376 in Allegheny County, PA.

The FEIS addresses the 24-mile (38.6 kilometer) long Mon/Fayette Transportation Project from PA Route 51 in Jefferson Hills, Allegheny County to Interstate 376 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Two toll road alternatives on new alignment, known as the North Shore and South Shore Alternatives, in addition to the No Build Alternative, were studied in detail during the development of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Descriptions of these alternatives, the results of the engineering, traffic and environmental studies, and the environmental impacts of the alternatives are presented in the FEIS. The FEIS identifies the North Shore Alternative as the Preferred Alternative. However, the final decision on a Selected Alternative will not be made until all comments on the FEIS are evaluated and then the Federal Highway Administration will issue a Record of Decision (ROD).

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, has identified jurisdictional wetlands and/or other waters of the United States in the project area, which are regulated by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. The FEIS contains an application for a Section 404 and/or Section 10 Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the proposed discharge of dredged, excavated and/or fill materials into Waters of the United States associated with the proposed highway. The decision as to whether to issue the Section 404 and/or Section 10 permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts including cumulative impacts of the proposed project on the public interest. The decision will reflect the national concern for the protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposed project, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors, which may be relevant to the proposed project, will be considered including the cumulative effects thereof. Among those factors are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, as well as the general needs and welfare of the people.

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 P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676         Phone: (717) 939-9551         Fax: (717) 986-9649