Polityka i handel międzynarodowy · 30.03.1995

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Concerning the Department of State's Permitting Process for International Bridges Along the Texas/Mexico Border

Under Executive Order 11423 (August 16, 1968) and the International Bridge Act of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 535 et seq., the U.S. Department of State (``the Department'') has the authority, inter alia, to issue permits for the construction of bridges along the Texas/Mexico border. (Once such a permit is granted, other agencies, including the U.S. Section of the IBWC and the U.S. [[Page 16526]] Coast Guard, require additional permits related to their respective regulatory functions; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may also require separate permits.) To date, with respect to each permit application, the Department has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact, based on an Environmental Assessment (EA), consistent with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (NEPA). With several bridges permitted to date and given the expectation of continuing permit applications, the Department intends to prepare voluntarily a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to assess the cumulative environmental impacts in the United States of existing bridges along the Texas/Mexico border. The PEIS will also describe the general types of projec