Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
Date Published July 10, 2020
MDOT SHA and FHWA concluded the extended public comment period for the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study DEIS which was open for 123 days from July 10, 2020 until 11:59 p.m., November 9, 2020.
Related extended public comment periods for the JPA for the Alteration of Any Floodplain, Waterway, Tidal or Nontidal Wetland in Maryland by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have also concluded.
Comments were accepted during the extended comment period through multiple methods including oral testimony, online comment form, email, and letter. MDOT SHA and FHWA will review and consider all comments received, perform additional analyses, as needed, and respond to substantive comments in the Study’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).
To view mapping of the Build Alternatives analyzed in the DEIS and the environmental resources along the study corridors, review the interactive map here.
Introduction
FHWA and MDOT SHA have completed the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation for the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study, with the Notice of Availability published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2020. The DEIS includes traffic, environmental, engineering, and financial analyses of the Build Alternatives and the No Build Alternative. The DEIS comment period provided an opportunity for the public, interest groups and other agencies to review and provide comment on the proposed federal action and the adverse and beneficial environmental impacts and proposed mitigation for unavoidable impacts. Comments were also accepted on the Joint Federal/State Application (JPA) for the Alteration of Any Floodplain, Waterway, Tidal or Nontidal Wetland in Maryland. USACE is responsible for reviewing the JPA per the Clean Water Act, Section 404(b)(1) and MDE is responsible for reviewing the Application per Environment Article §5-503 and §5-906, Annotated Code of Maryland.
FHWA, MDOT SHA, and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) conducted six Joint Public Hearings for the public to provide oral testimony on the DEIS and JPA. Virtual public hearings were held on August 18, 20, 25 and September 3, 2020. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) participated in the August 25 virtual public hearing to meet the Department of the Army requirements. Two in-person public hearings were held in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties on September 1 and 10, 2020, respectively.
Stay up to date on the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study by checking the program website and feel free to reach out to the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study team by methods found here.
View the DEIS Documents
FHWA and MDOT SHA have completed the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation for the Managed Lanes Study, with the Notice of Availability published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2020. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement or DEIS provides a summary of the 19 technical reports and contains ten chapters.
DEIS Document by Chapter
Signature Page, Title Page, and Table of Contents
Chapter 1 presents the Study’s Purpose and Need
Chapter 2 presents the alternatives development and analysis
Chapter 3 presents the existing and future traffic conditions and the results from the traffic operational analyses
Chapter 4 presents the existing environmental conditions (affected environment), the anticipated effects to the resources (environmental consequences), and measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate potential environmental effects, where applicable.
Chapter 5 presents a summary of the Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation, which discusses the potential effects to significant public parks, recreational areas, and historic properties in compliance with Section 4(f) of the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Act of 1966.
Chapter 6 presents the Executive Order 13807: Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects that requires Federal agencies to process environmental reviews and authorization decisions for major infrastructure projects as “One Federal Decision.”
Chapter 7 presents a summary of the public outreach and agency coordination for the Study that has occurred, to date.
Chapter 8 presents the List of Preparers of the DEIS
Chapter 9 presents the Distribution List of agencies, organizations, and persons to whom the DEIS was made available for review and comment.
Chapter 10 presents the references for the DEIS.
DEIS Technical Reports
To review the 19 supporting DEIS Technical Reports click on the report titles below. Note, unless otherwise listed the appendices supporting each DEIS Technical Report are include in the single file for viewing, if applicable. In cases where the files are large, they have been broken up into smaller file sizes for viewing.
APPENDIX A | Purpose and Need Statement |
APPENDIX B |
Alternatives Technical Report Appendix A & B: MD 200 Diversion Alternatives Analysis Results Paper and Alternative 9 Modified Preliminary Evaluation |
APPENDIX C | Traffic Technical Report |
APPENDIX D | Environmental Resource Mapping |
APPENDIX E | Community Effects Assessment/ Environmental Justice Technical Report |
APPENDIX F | Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation |
APPENDIX G |
Cultural Resources Technical Report (Redacted) Volume 1: Overview and Effects Assessment Volume 2: Archaeological and Historic Architectural Gap Analysis and Assessment Volume 3 Part 1: Architectural Resources Evaluation Technical Report Volume 4: Phase I Archaeological Investigation Volume 5: Phase II Archaeological Evaluation at Sites 18PR750, 18MO749, and 18MO751 for the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Volume 6: Phase I Archaeological Survey, Intensive Phase I Archaeological Survey of 44FX0373, and Phase II Archaeological Evaluation at Sites 44FX0374, 44FX0379, 44FX0381, 44FX0389, 44FX3160, and 44FX3900 Within the George Washington Memorial Parkway for the I-495 Northern Extension (NEXT) Project and the I-495/I-270 Managed Lanes Study, Fairfax County, Virginia |
APPENDIX H | Draft Section 106 Programmatic Agreement |
APPENDIX I | Air Quality Technical Report |
APPENDIX J | Noise Analysis Technical Report |
APPENDIX K |
Hazardous Materials Technical Report Appendix A: Priority Table Appendix B: 700-foot Scale Sites of Concern Maps Appendix C: 200-foot Scale Potential Environmental Concerns Maps Appendix D: EDR Report Appendix E: MDE Records Appendix F: Photo Log |
APPENDIX L |
Natural Resources Technical Report Appendix A: Impact Tables Appendix B: Natural Resources Inventory Maps Appendix C: Soil Tables Appendix D: Overview and Key Maps Appendix E: Delineated Features Table Appendix F: Delineated Features Maps Appendix G Part 1: Field Datasheets Appendix H Part 1: Photo Documentation Appendix I: NPS Property Additional Information Appendix J: Wetland Functions and Values Table Appendix K: Aquatic Biota and Surface Water Sampling Monitoring Map Appendix L: Wildlife Table Appendix M: Aquatic Biota Monitoring Table Appendix N: Agency Correspondence Appendix O: Sampled Fish Table Appendix P: Bridge Survey Report Northern Long Eared Bat and Indiana Bat Appendix Q: Unique and Sensitive Areas Map Appendix R: RTE Plant Species Survey |
APPENDIX M | Avoidance, Minimization & Impacts Report (AMR) |
APPENDIX N | Draft Compensatory Mitigation Plan |
APPENDIX O | Indirect and Cumulative Effects Technical Report |
APPENDIX P | Public Involvement & Agency Coordination Technical Report |
APPENDIX Q | Conceptual Mitigation Plan |
APPENDIX R | Joint Permit Application |
APPENDIX S | Environmental Assessment Form |
DEIS and JPA In-Person Document Availability
Hard copies of the DEIS, supporting technical reports and the JPA were available for review in multiple locations in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, as well as one in Fairfax, Virginia and one in Washington, D.C. from July 10, 2020 through November 9, 2020. While no longer available in-person, the DEIS and JPA will continue to be available online.