Hwy 12 Alignment News

USACE preparing Highway 12 Environmental Impact Statement
3/6/2019
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Omaha District is beginning work on a supplemental draft environmental impact statement for the Highway 12 road project in Knox County, Nebraska. ...
Nebraska Highway 12 EIS permit application withdrawn
11/24/2015
Following the November 9 public hearing hosted by the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, Omaha District, the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has withdrawn their permit application for the Nebraska...
Public Open House and Public Hearing set for NE HWY12 – Niobrara Project
10/16/2015
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District will host an open house and public hearing to provide information and receive public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section...
Draft EIS for NDOR proposed Nebraska Highway 12 project released
10/9/2015
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Nebraska Department of Roads’ proposed Nebraska Highway12 project is now available for public review.The project, coordinated by the Nebraska...
Nebraska Highway 12 – Niobrara East & West Project Update
2/4/2011
This spring, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will make a preliminary Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) available to the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) and the Nebraska Highway...

Environmental Impact Statement - Highway 12

Nebraska Highway 12 roadway east and west of the Village of Niobrara, Knox County

Nebraska Department of Transportation Project Web Page (Niobrara East & West - Highway 12) 

Summary: Two segments of the existing Nebraska Highway 12 roadway east and west of the Village of Niobrara, in Knox County, Neb., have experienced flooding and damage associated with precipitation events and high water levels on the Missouri River. The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) proposes to rehabilitate N-12 to reduce the risk of flooding, incorporating current safety standards and elevations to the 100-year flood event. Design and construction alternatives will be evaluated in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The road rehabilitation is a change from the previous purpose of the project, therefore a Supplemental Draft EIS will be prepared.

Background: Due to this project's likely impact to wetlands and other waters of the U.S., as well as other potential impacts, an EIS was initiated in 2008 with USACE as the lead Federal agency with authority under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). In September, 2015, NDOT submitted an application under Section 404 of the CWA for Alternative A7 at the base of the bluffs. A Draft EIS was released October 9, 2015, followed by a Public Hearing on November 9, 2015. NDOT withdrew its application due to public concerns about Alternative A7.  NDOT held public meetings to discuss options, and in November 2018, NDOT submitted a notice of intent to pursue a road rehabilitation project designed to a lower roadway elevation, which they propose to construct under traffic.

EIS Milestones Completed
Publish Notice of Intent to Prepare EIS (Federal Register)  July 25, 2008
Public Notice of Intent to Prepare EIS (District Public Notice) July 25, 2008
Public Scoping August 2008
Public Meeting July 2009
Publish Notice of Available Draft EIS (Federal Register) October 9, 2015
Press Release of Available Draft EIS October 9, 2015
Public Open House and Hearing November 9, 2015
Public Comments Due November 23, 2015
Permit Application Withdrawn; EIS Status Pending November 20, 2015
Press Release EIS Process Resumes March 20, 2015
Public Notice of Intent to Prepare Supplemental Draft EIS (Federal Register) May 3, 2019
Public Notice of Intent to Prepare Supplemental Draft EIS (District Public Notice) May 3, 2019
Press Release Notice of Intent to Prepare Supplemental Draft EIS and Request for Public Comment  May 2, 2019
Public Scoping May 3 - 24, 2019
Public Notice of Availability Supplemental Draft EIS (Federal Register) January 3, 2020
Public Notice of Availability Supplemental Draft EIS (District Public Notice) January 3, 2020
Press Release Notice of Availability Supplemental Draft EIS January 3, 2020
Public Comments Due February 17, 2020
Public Notice of Availability Final EIS (Federal Register)  
Public Notice of Availability Final EIS (District Public Notice)  
Press Release Public Notice of Availability Final EIS  
Record of Decision  

 

Highway 12 Final EIS - Currently in development

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 Any questions please contact:  

Lee Fuerst, Highway 12 EIS Regulatory Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District
Nebraska Regulatory Field Office
8901 South 154th Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68138 Email: lee.a.fuerst@usace.army.mil

Highway 12 Draft Supplemental EIS

Draft Supplemental EIS Release Date: January 3, 2020

Permit Applicant: Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT)

Draft Supplemental EIS Prepared by: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District Regulatory Branch (the Corps' Regulatory Branch is neither a proponent nor opponent of the proposed project).

A list of libraries and offices where a paper copy of the Draft Supplemental EIS is available in the Public Notice.

Comments Due: February 17, 2020

Submit comments in writing to:

Lee Fuerst, Highway 12 EIS Regulatory Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District
Nebraska Regulatory Field Office
8901 South 154th Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68138
Email: lee.a.fuerst@usace.army.mil 

Documents

Highway 12 Draft EIS

Draft EIS Release Date: October 9, 2015

Permit Applicant: Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR)

Draft EIS Prepared by: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District Regulatory Branch (the Corps Regulatory Branch is neither a proponent nor opponent of the proposed project).

A list of libraries and offices where a paper copy of the Draft EIS is available in the Public Notice.

Comments Due: November 23, 2015

Submit comments in writing to:

Becky Latka, Highway 12 EIS Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District
Omaha District Regulatory Office
ADDRESS
E-mail: 
Rebecca.J.Latka@usace.army.mil

Tip: Files that are larger than 20 MB will not open automatically. After clicking the link to the section you wish to open, clicking the blue "download" button in the upper right hand corner of the page will improve download efficiency.

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 November 9, 2015 - N-12 Draft EIS - Open House and Public Hearing
 Draft EIS - Highway 12 Project

The entire report is available in three downloadable files. Click the links to begin downloading. The files are large and may take some time to download.

 Executive Summary
 Volume 1
 Volume II
 Background/Project History:

Part of the EIS process is to screen alternatives. NDOR provides USACE with proposed roadway alternatives that have to meet standard State and local roadways design criteria that specify an area from the driving lane free of obstacles, including above bodies of water. N-12 shall have approximately 7.5 feet of clearance above the 100-year flood elevation, and N-14 shall have approximately 7 feet of clearance above the 100-year flood elevation. 

Flooding in 2011 provided new details and in spring 2013, USACE developed a new floodplain model for a study requested by the Niobrara Public School District. This new model included information from the 2011 flood. USACE then compared the floodplain elevations developed under the new model to the Parallel Alignment (Alternative A2) as it was currently designed. USACE found that this alignment alternative no longer met 100-year flood design criteria, and may also impact other road alternatives. 

With this new information, NDOR chose to redesign the floodplain alternatives to raise the roadway elevations based on the new floodplain modeling. Additionally, NDOR reevaluated its design engineering for the Bluffs Alignment (Alternative B1), redesigning the alignment to reduce the potential for slides and road failures due to the presence of Pierre shale. 

Alternatives Carried Forward figures are available in the HQ USACE Digital Library. The redesign changes the cost of each alternative and wetlands impacts. Because USACE uses cost as a determining factor to practicable alternatives, a new review of alternatives and their costs is needed. USACE also reviews and presents in the EIS each revision for impacts on wetlands and other resources.

2008

2009

2013