PUBLIC NOTICE

Application No: NWO-2000-11313 Project Name: Lincoln South Beltway Applicant: Nebraska Department of Transportation Waterway: Salt Creek, unnamed tributaries to Salt Creek, unnamed tributaries to Hickman Branch of Salt Creek, unnamed tributaries to Stevens Creek, and abutting/adjacent wetlands Issue Date: April 8, 2019 Expiration Date: April 29, 2019

21 DAY NOTICE Reply To: NEBRASKA REGULATORY OFFICE TH 8901 SOUTH 154 STREET, SUITE 2, OMAHA, NEBRASKA 68138-3635

JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE: This public notice is issued jointly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Omaha District, and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ). The NDEQ will review the proposed project for state certification in accordance with the provisions of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The NDEQ hereby incorporates this public notice as its own public notice and procedures by reference thereto. For the purposes of the NDEQ, their public notice will expire 30 calendar days from the issue date shown above.

AUTHORITY: Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1344).

APPLICANT: Mr. Thomas Goodbarn, Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), District 1 Engineer, 302 Superior Street, PO Box 94759, Lincoln, Nebraska 68521.

PROJECT LOCATION: The project is located south of the City of Lincoln (City) in Sections 26, 35 and 36, Township 9 North, Range 6 East; Sections 1, 2 and 11, Township 8 North, Range 6 East; Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, Township 8 North, Range 7 East; and Sections 25, 31 and 36, Township 9 North, Range 7 East; Section 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34, Township 9 North, Range 8 East in Lancaster County, Nebraska. The project will begin at Station Number (Sta.) 110+00 (40.716091°, -96.709171°) and will end at Sta. 730+00 (40.711692°, -96.520572°).

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The NDOT proposes to construct a new 11.5-mile-long four-lane divided freeway along the southern perimeter of the City. The project begins on U.S. Highway 77 (US-77) between Saltillo Road and Bennet Road and traverses east to the intersection of South 120th Street and Nebraska Highway 2 (N-2), where it then continues east on N-2 until the intersection at South 148th Street. Interchanges are proposed along the freeway at US-77, Saltillo Road, 27th Street, 68th Street, 84th Street, and 120th Street. Overpass structures are proposed

1

along the freeway at 25th Street, the Homestead Trail, the BNSF Railroad, 54th Street, Saltillo Road (East of 98th Street), and the OPPD Rail Spur. The roadway will be designed to NDOT freeway standards.

Permanent and temporary impacts to wetlands and channels will occur at 43 impact sites along the project. Permanent impacts include the placement of fill material for new roadway construction, water conveyance structures (i.e. bridges, concrete box culverts, corrugated metal pipes, etc.), and riprap for embankment and bridge abutment protection. Approximately 2 bridges, 23 concrete box culverts, and 20 corrugated metal pipes will be constructed in aquatic resources as part of this project. The total amount of fill material used at the impact sites will consist of approximately 6,094034 cubic yards of fill material and 1,466 tons of riprap. Temporary impacts include temporary roads, construction staging areas, silt fence, and temporary bridges along project. Plan sheets showing aerial views of the proposed project’s impacts to aquatic resources is attached to this Public Notice.

Project History: An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) was completed for the project in 2002 and was subsequently included in the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan and the Lincoln/Lancaster County 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The project was in the design phase until 2009, when it was put on hold since construction funding could not be secured. In 2014, the project was reinitiated under the Build Nebraska Act 10-Year Plan. The lead federal agency for this project, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), required an Environmental Assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to reevaluate the conclusions of the 2002 EIS considering changes in the project design, project area, and current laws and regulations. The Draft EA was issued in August 2017 and the Final EA-Errata in February 2018. A Finding of No New Significant Impacts (FONNSI) was issued by FHWA in March 2018.

PROJECT PURPOSE: The applicant’s project purpose is to improve east-west connectivity for regional and interstate travel through Nebraska and to reduce conflicts along existing urban streets in Lincoln between local and through traffic, including heavy truck traffic.

The applicant’s need for the project includes: • Increased travel demand on the City’s transportation network from regional population and traffic growth. Population and traffic volumes in the City and Lancaster County have increased steadily. New development has been concentrated on the edges of the City, with strong growth projected to the south and east where road system capacity is limited. • Potential impacts of conflicts between local and regional trips along the Nebraska Highway through the City. Nebraska Highway is an Urban Principal Arterial and a link in the regional N-2 rural expressway. Nebraska Highway serves local traffic within Lincoln as well as regional traffic passing through the City. Nebraska Highway traverses the urban area diagonally between South 120th Street and US-77. The roadway has signal controlled intersections and many driveways with direct access to private properties, which provide important local access but make through travel inefficient in comparison to a freeway-type

2

facility. Also, adding regional through traffic to the local trips increases volumes and congestion on Nebraska Highway, slowing both local and regional travel. • Unique challenges associated with heavy truck traffic through the City. Nebraska Highway through the City presents a slowdown or bottleneck in uninterrupted freight travel, as roadways east and west of the urban area (N-2 and US-77) have been upgraded to expressway standards. Frequent stops and slow acceleration and deceleration of trucks on Nebraska Highway through the City disrupts traffic flow, impedes mobility, and presents safety concerns for both freight and local travelers.

The basic project purpose, as defined by the USACE, is road construction.

The overall project purpose, as defined by the USACE, is to improve east-west connectivity for regional and interstate travel through Nebraska and to reduce conflicts along existing urban streets in Lincoln between local and through traffic, including heavy truck traffic.

SPECIAL AQUATIC SITES: The proposed project will permanently impact 11.62 acres of PEMA/C, PEMF, PFOA, PSSA and PUBG wetlands and 8,210 linear feet (0.596 ac.) of channel, including temporary impacts to 0.969 acres of wetlands and 429 linear feet (0.174 ac.) of channel. The tributaries impacted include Salt Creek, unnamed tributaries to Salt Creek, unnamed tributaries to Hickman Branch of Salt Creek, and unnamed tributaries to Stevens Creek.

AVOIDANCE, MINIMIZATION, AND MITIGATION: This project is located in two different 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) watersheds and also crosses a 6-digit HUC watershed boundary; the 8-digit HUC watersheds include the “Salt”, 10200203, and the “Little Nemaha”, 10240006. The applicant has provided an alternatives analysis for the proposed project for the USACE to review for compliance with the 404(b)(1) guidelines during the permit decision evaluation process. The applicant evaluated alternatives and provided a description of avoidance and minimization measures for aquatic resource impacts in the environmental document. Efforts made by the applicant to avoid and minimize impacts to aquatic resources were the result of design changes that included shifts in the roadway alignment, modifications to interchange locations, modifications to design criteria and other design changes. Overall, a total of approximately 7.8 acres of wetlands and 7,510 linear feet (1.3 acres) of stream channels were avoided and minimized between the Preliminary Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative (LEDPA) determination to the Final Design stage.

Compensatory Mitigation: Since the project occurs in two different 8-digit HUC watersheds, the applicant is proposing to mitigate unavoidable wetland impacts at two different locations: a permittee-responsible wetland mitigation site and at a wetland mitigation bank. Permanent wetland impacts in the “Little Nemaha”, 10240006, watershed will be mitigated at the City of Lincoln – Lancaster County Wetland Bank; approximately 0.188 acre of PSSA and 0.301-acre of PEMA/C will be debited at this bank for a total of 0.489 credits. Wetland and channel impacts occurring in the “Salt”, 10200203, watershed will be mitigated at the proposed NDOT Wilderness Park Mitigation Site near 14th Street and Rokeby Road. Approximately 8.024 acres of floodplain depression wetlands and 3.184 acres of riverine channel wetlands will be mitigated at this site with

3

approximately 3,153 feet of existing channelized stream restored at the site to the approximate 1949 historic alignment. The applicant has submitted a mitigation plan, which is available for review upon request. A conceptual design map of the proposed NDOT Wilderness Park Mitigation Site from the applicant’s conceptual compensatory mitigation plan is attached to this Public Notice.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The FHWA is the lead Federal Agency for the proposed project and is responsible to ensure compliance with the National Historic Properties Act of 1966. FHWA determined in February 2016 that the proposed project would result in a project effects determination of “No Historic Properties Effected”; the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office (NeSHPO) and the Lincoln Certified Local Government concurred with the FHWA’s determination in February 2016. A supplemental evaluation of the newly proposed Wilderness Park Mitigation Site located near 14th Street and Rokeby Road was completed by the FHWA in November 2018 resulting in a determination of “No Historic Properties Effected”. The NeSHPO concurred with the FHWA’s determination in November 2018 and the Lincoln Certified Local Government concurred with the FHWA’s determination in December 2018. We will evaluate input by the State Historic Preservation Office, Tribes and the public in response to this public notice and we may conduct or require a survey of the permit area to check for unknown historic or prehistoric properties, if warranted.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The FHWA is the lead Federal Agency for the proposed project and is responsible to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act. An Individual Biological Assessment (BA) was completed for the proposed project in March 2017 by FHWA and NDOT. The following federal- and/or state-listed species were listed for Lancaster County, Nebraska: Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), Rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), Salt creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana), Saltwort (Salicornia rubra), Western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara), and Whooping crane (Grus americana). In the Individual BA, FHWA and NDOT determined the project “May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect” the Northern long-eared bat and would have no effect to all other species and critical habitat. Conservation conditions proposed for implementation to avoid adverse impacts to the Northern long-eared bat are identified in the Individual BA. The Individual BA was reviewed and approved by FHWA and NDOT in March 2017, with determination concurrence received from USFWS and NGPC in April 2017. An additional approval was provided to NDOT from FHWA in August 2018 for the newly proposed Wilderness Park Mitigation Site located near 14th Street and Rokeby Road. In order to complete our evaluation of this activity, comments are solicited from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and other interested agencies and individuals.

FLOODPLAIN: The FHWA is the lead Federal Agency for the proposed project and is responsible to ensure compliance with Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, which discourages direct or indirect support of floodplain development whenever there is a practicable alternative. FHWA’s EA identified six floodplains that will be crossed. The six floodplains identified in the EA were near US-77 and Rokeby Road. Project encroachment on the floodplain will comply with local and federal regulations. NDOT has identified that they will obtain required

4 floodplain permits, comply with the requirements of Lincoln’s floodplain ordinance, comply with FEMA regulations, and address FHWA’s floodplain regulations in the 23 CFR 650.111. By this notice, comments are requested from individuals and agencies that believe the described work will adversely impact the floodplain.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1341) requires that all discharges of fill material must be certified by the appropriate state agency as complying with applicable effluent limitations and water quality standards. The discharge must be certified before a Department of the Army permit can be issued. Certification, if issued, expresses the State’s opinion that the discharge will not violate applicable water quality standards. It is the responsibility of the applicant to contact Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality as soon as possible in the permitting process to discuss requirements for certification. Please contact:

CWA Section 401 Coordinator Water Quality Division, Planning Unit Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality 1200 'N' Street, Suite 400 Lincoln, NE 68509-8922 Phone: 402.471.2875 Fax: 402.471.2909 E-mail: [email protected]

PUBLIC INTEREST REVIEW: The decision whether to issue the USACE permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts including cumulative impacts of the proposed/completed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against their reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic properties, 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, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. In addition, the evaluation of the impact of the work on the public interest will include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act (40 C.F.R. Part 230).

COMMENTS: The USACE is soliciting comments from the public, Federal, State, and Local agencies and officials, Indian Tribes and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this activity. Any comments received will be considered by the USACE to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this project. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are

5

used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the activity.

Anyone whose interests may be affected by the proposed/completed work is invited to submit favorable or unfavorable written comments to the Nebraska Regulatory Office, 8901 South 154th Street, Suite 2, Omaha, NE 68138-3635. The District Engineer is particularly interested in receiving comments related to the proposal’s probable impacts on the affected aquatic system’s functional values, cumulative and secondary effects and endangered species. All comments received will be considered public information; copies of all comments, including names and addresses of commenters, may be provided to the applicant unless confidentiality is requested. Comments must be submitted on or before the expiration date (located at the top of the first page) of this notice to be considered in the subsequent actions on this application.

PUBLIC HEARING: Before the expiration date of this notice, anyone may request, in writing, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests shall specifically state the reason(s) for holding a public hearing. If the District Engineer determines that the information received in response to this notice is inadequate for thorough evaluation, a public hearing may be warranted. If a public hearing is warranted, interested parties will be notified of the time, date, and location.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Additional information about this application may be obtained by writing to Mr. Phil Rezac at the address shown on page one, by email at [email protected], or by calling (402) 896-0896.

REQUEST TO POSTMASTERS: Please post this notice conspicuously and continuously until the expiration date specified at the top of page one.

NOTICE TO EDITORS: This notice is provided as background information for your use in formatting news stories. This notice is not a contract for classified display advertising.

6