Presidential Document2024-23401
Authorizing Southwebb Bridge Company LLC To Construct, Maintain, and Operate a Vehicular and Pedestrian Border Crossing Near Laredo, Texas, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Mexico
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 8, 2024
Signed
October 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 195 (Tuesday, October 8, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 8, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 81289-81292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23401]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 81289]]
Presidential Permit of October 3, 2024
Authorizing Southwebb Bridge Company LLC To
Construct, Maintain, and Operate a Vehicular and
Pedestrian Border Crossing Near Laredo, Texas, at the
International Boundary Between the United States and
Mexico
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of
the United States of America (the ``President''), I
hereby grant permission, subject to the conditions set
forth herein, to Southwebb Bridge Company LLC (the
``permittee'') to construct, maintain, and operate a
vehicular and pedestrian crossing located on the United
States border with Mexico in Laredo, Texas, as
described in the ``Presidential Permit Application
Laredo 4/5 International Bridge'' dated March 15, 2022
(``March 15, 2022, Application''), by the permittee to
the Secretary of State and determined to be complete on
June 6, 2024, in accordance with 33 U.S.C. 535d and
associated procedures.
The term ``Border facilities'' as used in this permit
consists of the bridge, its approaches, and any land,
structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant
thereto located on the United States side of the
international boundary between the United States and
Mexico in the proposed project site located
approximately 12.6 miles south/southeast of the City of
Laredo, Texas, approximately 3.0 miles west of U.S.
Highway 83, approximately 4.4 miles southwest of Texas
State Highway Loop 20, approximately 10.5 miles
southwest of State Highway 359, and approximately 10.6
miles south of Interstate Highway 35.
This permit is subject to the following conditions:
Article 1. The Border facilities herein described and
all aspects of their operation are subject to all the
conditions, permissions, and requirements of this
permit and any subsequent Presidential amendment to it.
The construction, maintenance, and operation of the
Border facilities shall be in all material respects as
described in the March 15, 2022, Application.
Article 2. The standards for and the manner of
construction, maintenance, and operation of the Border
facilities are subject to inspection by the
representatives of appropriate Federal, State, and
local agencies. The permittee shall grant officers and
employees of such agencies that are duly authorized and
performing their official duties free and unrestricted
access to said Border facilities.
Article 3. The permittee shall comply with all
applicable Federal laws and regulations regarding the
construction, maintenance, and operation of the Border
facilities.
Article 4. (1) The permittee shall take or cause to be
taken all appropriate measures to mitigate adverse
impacts on or disruption of the human environment in
connection with the construction, maintenance, and
operation of the Border facilities. Mitigation measures
are those that avoid, minimize, or compensate for
adverse impacts.
(2) The permittee shall hold harmless and indemnify
the United States for any claimed or adjudged liability
arising out of construction, maintenance, and operation
of the Border facilities, including environmental
contamination from the release, threatened release, or
discharge of hazardous substances or hazardous waste.
[[Page 81290]]
(3) The permittee is responsible for obtaining any
required Federal, State, and local permits, approvals,
and authorizations prior to commencing construction
activities. The permittee shall implement the
mitigation identified in any environmental decision
documents prepared in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act and Federal permits, including
stormwater permits and permits issued in accordance
with section 402 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C.
1342). The permittee shall comply with applicable
Federal, State, and local environmental laws.
Article 5. The permittee shall immediately notify the
President or the President's designee of any decision
to transfer custody and control of the Border
facilities or any part thereof to any executive
department or agency (agency) of the United States
Government. Said notice shall identify the transferee
agency and seek the approval of the President for the
transfer of the permit. In the event of approval by the
President of such transfer, this permit shall remain in
force and effect, and the Border facilities shall be
subject to all the conditions, permissions, and
requirements of this permit and any amendments thereof.
The permittee may transfer ownership or control of the
Border facilities to a non-Federal entity or individual
only upon the prior express approval of such transfer
by the President, which approval may include such
conditions, permissions, and requirements that the
President, in the President's discretion, determines
are appropriate and necessary for inclusion in the
permit, to be effective on the date of transfer.
Article 6. The permittee is responsible for acquiring
and maintaining any right-of-way grants or easements,
permits, and other authorizations as may become
necessary or appropriate. To ensure the safe operation
of the Border facilities, the permittee shall maintain
them and every part of them in a condition of good
repair and in compliance with applicable law and use of
best management practices.
Article 7. To the extent authorized by law, and
consistent with any Donation Acceptance Agreements
(DAAs) already executed with the permittee under the
Donation Acceptance Authority found in 6 U.S.C. 301a
and section 559 of title V of division F of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113-
76), as amended, as continued by 6 U.S.C. 301b, the
permittee shall provide to the Commissioner of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (Commissioner) of the
Department of Homeland Security and the heads of any
other relevant agencies, at no cost to the United
States, suitable inspection facilities, infrastructure
improvements, equipment, and maintenance, as set forth
in the DAAs. Nothing in this permit obligates such
agencies to provide a particular level of services or
staffing for such inspection facilities or for any
other aspect of the port of entry associated with the
Border facilities.
Article 8. Before beginning design activities, the
permittee shall fulfill requirements associated with
the following conditions, as refined by the relevant
agencies below and as consistent with applicable law:
(1) Obtain the concurrence of the United States
Section of the International Boundary and Water
Commission, United States and Mexico;
(2) Provide a plan for the approval of the
Commissioner detailing how the permittee will fund the
necessary staffing by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection for the Border facilities upon commencement
of operations and thereafter;
(3) Provide a plan for the approval of the
Administrator of General Services (Administrator) and
the Commissioner detailing how the permittee will fund
the necessary operations and maintenance costs for the
Border facilities upon commencement of operations and
thereafter;
(4) Provide a plan for the approval of the
Administrator and the Commissioner detailing how the
permittee will fund construction, outfitting
(furniture, fixtures, and equipment to include
information technology and necessary inspection
technologies), technology integration, and outyear
refresh
[[Page 81291]]
of said program elements for the Border facilities
detailed in their March 15, 2022, Application; and
(5) Provide a plan for the approval of the
Secretary of Transportation detailing construction and
funding of commercial motor vehicle inspection
facilities and detailing how the permittee will ensure
the necessary funding for appropriate Department of
Transportation staffing and operations and maintenance
costs for the Border facilities upon commencement of
operations and thereafter.
Relevant agencies will coordinate with the permittee to
further refine the above conditions, as necessary,
within 1 year of permit issuance.
Article 9. The permittee shall not initiate
construction until the Department of State has provided
notification to the permittee that the Department of
State has completed its exchange of diplomatic notes
with the Government of Mexico regarding authorization.
The permittee shall provide written notification to the
President or the President's designee at the time that
the construction authorized by this permit begins, at
the time as such construction is completed,
interrupted, or discontinued, and at other times as may
be requested by the President.
Article 10. Upon request, the permittee shall provide
appropriate information to the President or the
President's designee with regard to the Border
facilities. Such requests could include requests for
information concerning current conditions,
environmental compliance, mitigation, or anticipated
changes in ownership or control, construction,
connection, operation, or maintenance of the Border
facilities.
Article 11. The permittee shall file any applicable
statements and reports required by applicable Federal
law in connection with the Border facilities.
Article 12. The permittee shall make no substantial
change inconsistent with the March 15, 2022,
Application to the Border facilities, in the location
of the Border facilities, or in the operation
authorized by this permit, unless such changes have
been approved by the President. The President may
terminate, revoke, or amend this permit at any time at
the President's sole discretion. The permittee's
obligation to implement any amendment to this permit is
subject to the availability of funds. If the permittee
permanently closes the Laredo 4/5 International Bridge
and it is no longer used as an international crossing,
then this permit shall terminate, and the permittee may
manage, utilize, or dispose of the Border facilities in
accordance with applicable authorities. This permit
shall continue in full force and effect for only so
long as the permittee continues the operations hereby
authorized.
Article 13. This permit shall expire 5 years from the
date of its issuance if the permittee has not commenced
construction of the Border facilities by that date.
Article 14. This permit is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
[[Page 81292]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President
of the United States of America, have hereunto set my
hand this third day of October, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-23401
Filed 10-7-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 8, 2024.
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