Chapter 1.0 Purpose of and Need for the Project CHAPTER 1.0 Purpose of and Need for the Project The purpose of this Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) is to provide a full and fair discussion of the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s (NDOT) Applied-for Project and other reasonable alternatives for the Nebraska Highway 12 (N-12) Niobrara East and West project. The Applied-for Project is the alternative for which NDOT has submitted an application for a US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Section 404; 33 United States Code [USC] 1344) permit. This SDEIS informs decision makers and the public of the environmental impacts of the Applied-for Project, and the reasonable alternatives that would avoid or minimize adverse impacts or enhance the quality of the human environment. The Corps’ Omaha District, Regulatory Branch, received a Section 404 permit application from the applicant, NDOT, on September 11, 2015. NDOT requested authorization for the placement of fill material in waters of the US in connection with NDOT’s proposed project east and west of the village of Niobrara, Nebraska. The Corps, as part of its permit review process, developed a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).1 A Draft EIS for this project was released on October 9, 2015. A public open house and hearing was held on November 9, 2015. During the public comment period that was scheduled to close on November 23, NDOT elected to withdraw its Section 404 permit application on November 20, 2015. Since that time, NDOT has developed a modified project purpose and need, as well as alternatives that are responsive to this purpose and need. The Corps has determined that this SDEIS is needed to satisfy the requirements of NEPA and its implementing regulations for all pertinent agency actions. The Corps is the lead agency in the preparation of the SDEIS. The National Park Service (NPS), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Knox County are cooperating agencies pursuant to 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1501.6, pertaining to the development and review of this SDEIS. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE; formerly the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality [NDEQ]) are reviewing as participating agencies. This SDEIS has been developed to provide the Corps with the information to make an informed decision regarding a Section 404 permit. The Corps decision would be provided in the form of a Record of Decision (ROD). Information presented in this SDEIS would also be used to aid in the decision required by NPS, a cooperating agency, as it relates to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This chapter provides an overview of the project and identifies the purpose of and need for the project as required by NEPA and Section 404. It also discusses the NEPA analysis conducted by the Corps that includes the project area and describes the federal (and other) decisions, permits, and approvals that are necessary for the Applied-for Project. 1 NEPA (42 USC 4321–4347) is the foundation of environmental policy making in the United States. The NEPA process is intended to help public officials make decisions based on an understanding of environmental consequences and take actions that protect, restore, and enhance the environment. It includes an environmental review process early in the planning for a project. N-12 Niobrara East and West 1-1 January 2020 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 1.0 Purpose of and Need for the Project 1.1 Project Overview The generic reference to the east-west rehabilitation of N-12 is the “project.” The project is not the same identifier as NDOT’s Applied-for Project with minimized impacts. The following sections provide information pertaining to the project location, the scope of NEPA analysis (Study Area), and the background of the project. 1.1.1 Project Location and Study Area The project is located in northeastern Nebraska near Niobrara in Knox County, as shown in Figure 1-1. N-12 runs parallel to a reach of the Missouri River and is predominately located in the Missouri River floodplain both east and west of Niobrara. West of the village of Niobrara, N-12 crosses the Niobrara River and its floodplain, but the project would not occur in the Niobrara River or its floodplain. The Study Area and termini for the project are derived from locations of N-12 that experience frequent flooding and have incurred damage due to high water levels associated with the Missouri River. The two segments of N-12 that have experienced flooding are the following: • The west segment is approximately 6.2 miles long and extends from just east of Verdel, Nebraska, on the west end to 2 miles west of the bridge over the Niobrara River. • The east segment is approximately 6.0 miles long and extends from just east of Buckeye Road in Niobrara to approximately 1 mile east of Spur 54D (S-54D; also referred to as the Santee Spur). Figure 1-2 identifies these two segments and the Study Area for the project. N-12 in the Study Area is an east-west two-lane highway that provides a route for local residents and through traffic. Because there are limited corridors in this area that provide for east-west vehicle traffic movement, N-12 provides a vital travel link for adjacent rural residents and for traffic traveling north- south and east-west through northeastern Nebraska. FHWA classifies N-12 in the Study Area as a rural minor arterial (FHWA 2015). A rural minor arterial road system should, in conjunction with the principal arterial system,2 form a rural network having the following characteristics (FHWA 2013): 1. Link cities and larger towns3 (and other traffic generators, such as major resort areas, that are capable of attracting travel over similarly long distances) and form an integrated network providing interstate and intercounty service. 2. Be spaced at such intervals, consistent with population density, so that all developed areas of the State are within a reasonable distance of an arterial highway. 3. Provide (because of the two characteristics defined immediately above) service to corridors with trip lengths and travel density greater than those predominantly served by rural collector or local systems. Minor arterials therefore constitute routes whose design should be expected to provide for relatively high overall travel speeds, with minimum interference to-through movement. 2 According to FHWA, principal arterial systems serve corridor movements for substantial or interstate travel and urban areas. 3 “The definition of a ‘large’ town, in terms of population, cannot be arbitrarily determined in such a way as would fit all States. It can be determined in a given State during the classification process by building the system ‘from the top down,’ in terms of size of places served, and evaluating successive system increments on a diminishing returns basis, in terms of population service or traffic service” (FHWA 2013). 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