Notice2025-13202
Notice of Availability for the Record of Decision on the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Floodplain and Wetlands Assessment and Statement of Findings for the Grand Portage Land Port of Entry Modernization and Expansion Project in Grand Portage, Minnesota
Primary source
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Published
July 15, 2025
Issuing agencies
General Services Administration
Abstract
GSA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Floodplain and Wetlands Assessment and Statement of Findings for the Modernization and Expansion of the Grand Portage Land Port of Entry (LPOE) in Grand Portage, Minnesota on [DATE], 2025 (Identification Number: EISX-023-00- 005-1728295331). The ROD was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and GSA PBS NEPA Desk Guide.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 133 (Tuesday, July 15, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31667-31668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-13202]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
[Notice-PBS-2025-07; Docket No. 2025-0002; Sequence No. 13]
Notice of Availability for the Record of Decision on the Final
Environmental Impact Statement and Floodplain and Wetlands Assessment
and Statement of Findings for the Grand Portage Land Port of Entry
Modernization and Expansion Project in Grand Portage, Minnesota
AGENCY: Public Buildings Service (PBS), Great Lakes Region 5, United
States (U.S.), General Services Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: GSA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Floodplain and Wetlands
Assessment and Statement of Findings for the Modernization and
Expansion of the Grand Portage Land Port of Entry (LPOE) in Grand
Portage, Minnesota on [DATE], 2025 (Identification Number: EISX-023-00-
005-1728295331). The ROD was prepared in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and GSA PBS NEPA Desk Guide.
ADDRESSES: The ROD can be found online the following website: <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/region-5-great-lakes/buildings-and-facilities/minnesota/grand-portage-land-port-of-entry">https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/region-5-great-lakes/buildings-and-facilities/minnesota/grand-portage-land-port-of-entry</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Heiman, Senior Project
Manager, GSA at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e18c809595898496cf8984888c808fa1869280cf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="93fef2e7e7fbf6e4bdfbf6fafef2fdd3f4e0f2bdf4fce5">[email protected]</span></a> or call 612-615-6172.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Grand Portage LPOE is located within the Grand Portage
Reservation of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (herein
referred to as the Grand Portage Band). The existing Grand Portage LPOE
is owned and managed by GSA and is operated by the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The existing
5.7-acre Grand Portage LPOE serves as the port of entry for vehicles
and pedestrians crossing the U.S.-Canada border between Grand Portage
Reservation in the U.S. and Neebing, Ontario in Canada.
GSA prepared a Final EIS and Floodplain and Wetlands Assessment and
Statement of Findings for the purpose of analyzing the potential
environmental, cultural, and economic impacts resulting from the
Proposed Action to modernize and expand the existing Grand Portage
LPOE.
The purpose of the Proposed Action is for GSA to support CBP's
mission by bringing the Grand Portage LPOE operations in line with
current land port design standards and operational requirements of CBP
while addressing existing deficiencies identified with the ongoing port
operations. In order to bring the Grand Portage LPOE operations in line
with CBP's design standards and operational requirements, the Proposed
Action is needed to (1) address space constraints and inefficient
traffic flows; (2) shorten and expedite vehicle processing time, to
include improving daily commutes across the U.S.-Canada border; (3)
decrease congestion and long wait times during the peak travel season;
(4) allow CBP to process a higher volume of vehicles traveling to and
from Canada, to include further accommodation of potential future
spikes in travelers crossing the U.S.-Canada border; and (5) provide a
wider single lane for large semi-trucks hauling wind turbine components
from Canada.
On September 22, 2023, GSA published a Notice of Intent for the EIS
in the Federal Register (88 FR 65392) and underwent a 30-day scoping
period that ended on October 22, 2023. The NOA for the Draft EIS was
published in the Federal Register (89 FR 87373) on November 1, 2024 and
was available for a 45-day public comment period that ended on December
16, 2024. The NOA for the Final EIS was published in the Federal
Register (90 FR 19719) on May 9, 2025 and was available for a 30-day
waiting period that ended on June 8, 2025.
Comments received, along with GSA's responses, during the Final
SEIS waiting period are provided in an attachment to the ROD.
Preferred Alternative
GSA has chosen to implement the Proposed Action as defined in the
Final EIS. This decision is based on the Final EIS issued in May 2025;
associated technical reports; comments from federal and state agencies,
stakeholders, members of the public, tribes, and elected officials; and
miscellaneous resources contained in the administrative record.
The Proposed Action is defined in the 2025 Final EIS and includes
replacement of the Grand Portage LPOE with a modernized facility on an
expanded footprint that encompasses approximately 10.4 acres. The
Proposed Action will also include utility upgrades and construction of
renewable energy technologies (i.e. solar or geothermal),
[[Page 31668]]
as needed. This will include construction of a 7.3-mile buried power
line within an existing utility right-of-way along the western side of
Highway 61 to provide three-phase power to the modernized and expanded
Grand Portage LPOE. A construction phasing plan will be developed
during design and implemented during demolition and construction to
ensure continuity of operations of the LPOE, as well as minimize
disruptions to the adjacent Grand Portage State Park and more broadly
the Grand Portage Reservation lands.
The Proposed Action was selected because it best satisfies the
purpose and need for the project, while resulting in the fewest
substantial, adverse environmental consequences.
GSA is currently undergoing formal consultation with the Grand
Portage Band Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) to follow
coordination procedures as required under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) to determine impacts to historic
properties. Mitigation measures may be determined in consultation
between GSA, the THPO, and applicable consulting parties.
The project area occurs within a region unmapped by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency for floodplains and floodways. GSA
therefore assumed that the project area is located within a 1-percent-
annual-chance or 0.2-percent-annual-chance floodplain and prepared a
Floodplain and Wetlands Assessment and Statement of Findings addressing
potential impacts on floodplains and wetlands, which is included in the
2025 Final EIS.
Russell Riberto,
Regional Commissioner, Great Lakes Region 5, U.S. General Services
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2025-13202 Filed 7-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-CF-P
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