#656591 KING COUNTY ROAD SERVICES DIVSION DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION ISSUANCE

#656591 KING COUNTY ROAD SERVICES DIVSION DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION ISSUANCE OF DETERMINATION OF NONSIGNIFICANCE AND ADOPTION OF EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS Proponent and Lead Agency: King County Department of Transportation, Road Services Division Name of Proposal: Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road Project (CIP 1115099) Date of Issuance: July 31, 2012 Description of Proposal: King County, in partnership with the Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest of the U.S. Forest Service, proposes to improve approximately 9.7 miles of Washington Forest Highway 29 also called the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road, Road 56 and Lake Dorothy Road, hereafter referred to as the Middle Fork Road. The route serves as the only motorized access to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley, a popular recreation area located less than an hour drive from the Seattle metropolitan area. The area provides a wide range of recreational opportunities including hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, swimming, hunting, fishing, camping, hot springs, and other activities. The project area currently consists of 9.7 miles of unpaved, unimproved gravel roadway with four bridges and numerous culverts. Because of the high recreational use and lack of facilities, uncontrolled recreational access and use occur at numerous locations in the project area, damaging the natural environment, including riparian and other sensitive areas. The lack of designated travel lanes encourages parking along and within the roadway near the recreational area, often constricting the roadway to a single lane. The proposed project involves the following: " Reconstructing and paving the existing Middle Fork Road from approximately Milepost 2.7 to Milepost 12.4 in order to create a uniform 20-foot-wide paved road with isolated sections of 18-foot-wide paved road in areas with severe terrain constraints. " Raising the grade where needed to ensure roadway stability and minimize flood damage to the roadway. " Performing minor alignment adjustments to soften sharp curves. " Replacement of three bridges, one each at Mileposts 6.0, 8.4 and 10.6. " Of the 108 culverts in the project corridor 70 will be replaced (with five being made fish passable), 13 will be cleaned and no improvements will be made to the remaining 25. " Upgrading signage and other roadside safety features. The project construction will take approximately 2.5 years between February and December subject to weather and timing restrictions to protect wildlife. It is anticipated that the project will be advertised in the fall of 2013 and that construction would begin in April 2014. The exact construction timing or schedule will be determined by the contractor. Location of Proposal: The project is located just east of the city of North Bend on Middle Fork Road and begins at Milepost 2.7 and ends within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest at the new Middle Fork Campground located at Milepost 12.4. The subject property is located in the following Township/Range/Section combinations as the Middle Fork road progresses from Milepost 2.7 to Milepost 12.4: T23N R09E S20, S21, S16, S15, S10, S02, S35, S36; T23N R10E S31, S30, S29, S28, and S21. Title of Documents Being Adopted: "Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road Project WA PFH 29-1(1) Environmental Assessment" (EA) dated March 2012 and "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI) dated May 31, 2012. These documents were prepared for the project by FHWA in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. These documents are available at the following FHWA website: http://www.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/wa/snoqualmie/ Adoption: This Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) document serves as adoption (Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 197-11-610 (2)) of the EA and the FONSI. The EA and FONSI documents satisfy the requirements for a determination of nonsignificance under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). After independent review, it has been determined that these documents meet the environmental review needs for the current proposal and they will accompany the proposal to the decision maker. The lead agency for this proposal has determined that the project does not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment. An environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required under the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 43.21C.030(2)(c). This determination was made after review of the following: (1) the adopted EA and FONSI documents discussed above; (2) the completed Environmental Checklist prepared for the project; and (3) other information on file with the lead agency. This DNS is issued under the WAC 107-11-340(2); the lead agency will not act on this proposal for fourteen (14) days from the date of issuance for the DNS per WAC 197-11-502. Any comments regarding this project must be submitted by telephone or in writing by 4:30 PM on August 15, 2012. If you have any questions, concerns, or require additional information, please call the Managing Engineer or the Senior Environmental Engineer for the project listed below. The information is available to the public on request (for a nominal photocopying fee) or can be reviewed in the office free of charge. The documents are available at the following libraries: " Seattle Public Library, Business & Science Dept., 1000 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104" North Bend, 115 East 4th Street, North Bend, WA 98045 This DNS is issued under Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 197-11-340(2); the lead agency will not act on this proposal for fourteen (14) days from the date of issuance for the DNS per WAC 197-11-502. Responsible Official: Harold S. Taniguchi Position/title: Interim Division Director, Road Services Division Address: King Street Center Mail Stop: KSC-TR-0313, 201 South Jackson Street, Seattle, Washington 98104-3856 Contact Persons: Rose LeSmith, Managing Engineer, 206-296-8756 Tina Morehead, Senior Environmental Engineer, 206-296-3733 (signed) Harold S. Taniguchi Interim Division Director, Road Services Division Comments and appeals: Comments received before August 15, 2012 will be reviewed by the lead agency. Since the DNS is for an action not classified as a land use permit decision, there is no King County administrative appeal in accordance with King County Ordinance 12196, Section 51(A)(4). If you have any questions, please contact the persons listed above. Published in The Seattle Times on July 31, 2012. Published in the Snoqualmie Valley Record on August 1, 2012.