Public Notice: Clean Water Act Certification for Two Medicine Road Project in Glacier National Park

Clean Water Act Certification for Two Medicine Road Project in Glacier National Park
How to Comment
Comments Due

You may comment on the proposed action in writing by email. Submit comments to: [email protected] with the subject line “401 WQC – NWP 14 – “Two Medicine Road Project.”

If you cannot adequately address comments via email, please reach out to Estella Moore at the email adress above or at 303-312-6357 to discuss alternative arrangements.

Do not submit any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered in the formulation of any final certification and will be part of the administrative record.

Publish Date

Summary

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Western Federal Lands Highway Division for a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certifications (WQC) for the Two Medicine Road Project in Glacier National Park, under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) CWA Section 404 Nationwide Permit (NWP) 14. Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA requires applicants for Federal permits and licenses that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge would originate.

Action

The EPA acts as the certifying authority on lands of exclusive federal jurisdiction in relevant respects, in this case on lands within Glacier National Park.

The EPA will act on these certification requests by either: (1) granting certification; (2) granting certification with conditions; (3) denying certification; or (4) expressly waiving certification consistent with CWA Section 401 and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR 121.

The proposed project would be authorized under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) NWP 14. NWP 14 authorizes discharges of dredged or fill material into non-tidal waters of the United States for the construction, expansion, modification, or improvement of linear transportation projects (e.g., roads, highways, railways, trails, driveways, airport runways, and taxiways) in waters of the United States.

Project Description

Applicant’s Name: Federal Highway Administration Western Federal Lands Highway Division
Waterways: Eleven unnamed tributaries to Lower Two Medicine Lake, one unnamed tributary to Two Medicine Creek, and wetlands in Glacier National Park
Project Location: Eleven unnamed tributaries to Lower Two Medicine Lake (48.511, -113.308; 48.510, -113.306; 48.510, -113.301; 48.510, -113.296; 48.509, -113.294; 48.495, -113.264; 48.491, -113.261; 48.309, -113.511; 48.509, -113.295; 48.509, -113.287; 48.506, -113.281; 48.504, -113.277; 48.504, -113.277; 48.501, -113.2767; 48.500, -113.275; 48.509, -113.282; 48.508, -113.289; 48.508, -113.285; 48.504, -113.277; 48.501, -113.274; 48.500, -113.271), one unnamed tributary to Two Medicine Creek (48.494, -113.263; 48.489, -113.258), wetlands (48.509, -113.294; 48.498, -113.269), and a ditch (48.496, -113.267) in Glacier National Park

The proposed project is to reconstruct 4.22 miles of Two Medicine Road within Glacier National Park (GNP) beginning at the park boundary about 1.4 miles east of the Two Medicine entrance station located on the east side of the park off of Montana State Highway 49. Construction will continue through the Two Medicine Valley until the end of the Two Medicine Road at the Two Medicine Lake Lodge. This project will include excavation and reconstructing the road with compacted granular material and multiple layers of geosynthetic reinforcement, constructing a new roadway pavement structure, and re-shaping and grading ditches to improve surface drainage. Failed, undersized or otherwise deficient culverts will be replaced, increasing pipe diameter where appropriate. All staging and stockpiling of construction materials will be conducted on top of the area previously disturbed during road construction as the road will be closed during construction. This project is part of a larger road reconstruction project that extends east of out the park for three miles within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The Blackfeet Tribe is the certifying authority for the portion of the project within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.  Within Glacier Nation Park, 53 linear feet of streams that are tributaries to Lower Two Medicine Lake or Two Medicine Creek will be permanently impacted from culvert installation. An additional 0.01 acres of wetlands will be permanently impacted from installing culverts and grading of a roadside ditch for culvert installation.

Public Comments

Submit comments as described in the “How to Comment” box at the righthand side of this webpage. The EPA must receive comments by 12:59 pm on December 20, 2024.

All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered in the preparation of the Clean Water Action Section 401 Water Quality Certification and will be part of the administrative record. Contact Estella Moore, [email protected] and 303-312-6357 to request additional information, public notice updates, submit comments or provide additional information relevant to this certification.

At this time there is no opportunity to review the submitted material and documents in person at an EPA office. These documents are only available electronically and can be provided upon request.

Notice of any extension of the comment period will be published on this page.

Public Hearings

Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. If the EPA determines that a public hearing is appropriate or necessary, the EPA will schedule a public hearing. You may request a public hearing using the information in the “How to Comment” box on the righthand side of this webpage.

Project Applicant

Stephen Morrow, Environmental Protection Specialist ([email protected])
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Western Federal Lands Highway Division
(360) 619-7811

Permit Number
USACE CWA Section 404 Nationwide Permit 14

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Last updated on November 21, 2024