Calais ME-St Stephen NB Border Crossing Project A

Calais, ME-St. Stephen, NB Border Crossing Project A Case Study

Agenda v Introduction v Planning, coordination, and permitting v Considerations during Design v Considerations during Construction v Lessons learned

Introduction v v v New crossing discussed for about 30 years 8 th busiest commercial crossing along the U. S. / Canadian border Annual traffic – 2. 9 million vehicles 7, 500 AADT including 550 heavy trucks Delays inbound to the U. S. can be up to 2 hours Truck traffic entering Maine has doubled since NAFTA implementation (70, 000 to 140, 000 annually)

Project Management v Maine and New Brunswick DOTs share the costs of bridge design/construction on a 50/50 basis v Maine. DOT: Bridge design lead v Maine. DOT: Project Manager for the bridge construction portion

Agencies — U. S. v FHWA – lead federal agency v Maine. DOT v GSA – cooperating agency v U. S. Department of Homeland Security § Customs and Border Protection § U. S. Border Patrol v U. S. Department of State

Agencies — Canada v New Brunswick Department of Transportation v Transport Canada v Canada Border Services Agency v Canada Revenue Agency v Citizenship & Immigration Canada v Foreign Affairs Canada v Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Four Alternatives including no action considered v Alternatives 2 A and 3 deemed viable v Chosen: Alternative 3 Calais Industrial Park v

Timeline v Preliminary design and NEPA compliance – started 1999 v FHWA issued FONSI in July 2002 v Final design and permitting July 2002 – September 2006 v Construction Begins § NBDOT - Spring 2006 § Maine. DOT – Spring 2007 § GSA and CBSA - 2007 v Open to traffic - Fall 2008

This Last Year… v January 2006 – Reevaluation of 2001 Environmental Assessment v May 2006 – Army Corps of Engineers request for details v June 2006 – Maine DOT replies v June 2006 - US Coast Guard Approval v Sept 2006 – Army Corps of Engineers approval v Project tendered September 27, 2006

Planning v Maine and New Brunswick circulated studies at same time § Changes in process (New Brunswick was very flexible) § Public Involvement § 9 PAC meetings, 2 public meetings, and 1 formal public hearing v Maine. DOT – GSA enter into a cost reimbursement agreement for NEPA

International Coordination v Partnership, respect for others’ process, flexibility v International Stakeholders workshops Every 6 months to 1 year throughout the process International partnering agreement Master schedule discussed and developed Good forum for troubleshooting problems like labor issues § Communication between workshops § § v Find ways to maintain national focus for future funding purposes § TBWG, BSPC, etc.

Permitting — Coast Guard Bridge Permit v Required for an international bridge v Cooperating agency under NEPA v Bridge permit § 40% plans required § Approved Presidential Permit is also required § Long lead time is necessary

Permitting – Presidential Permit v U. S. Department of State 2003 -2005 v No precedent for the northern border § First one in at least 30 years v Guidelines for complete application § State Dept. distributes application to at least 55 agencies for comment and determinations § Prepared and circulated own EA and FONSI as part of their process as well

Treaties and Approvals v Transport Canada – New Brunswick agreement § This project spurred a new Canadian equivalent of the U. S. Presidential Permit process v International Boundary Commission approval Joint Commission or exchange of diplomatic notes required between Foreign Affairs Canada and U. S. State Department v Maine. DOT - New Brunswick agreement to construct and reimburse

Design Considerations — U. S. Inspection facility – increased in size from 20 to 50 acres. (Post 911) v Maine. DOT – GSA cost reimbursement agreements v Advance notice for materials and people crossing the border v Buy America clause for steel v Maine. DOT – NBDOT funding and management agreement v Bridge contractor ‘fact sheet’ and prequalification v Coordination between GSA and Maine. DOT of design issues; staging issues, exchange of plans, etc. v

Considerations During Construction - Labor v Labor and requirements foreign workers v Human Resources Development Canada-Canadian Labor Market Opinion v CBSA – immigration v Maine Dept of Labor v Security and background check v Ideal worker – dual citizenship, no

Considerations During Construction Security v Security during construction § U. S. Border Patrol § RCMP v Movement of workers; must be able to cross border within project limits § No precedent on this issue

Considerations During Construction - Taxes U. S Canada Customs Duties EXEMPT All international bridge projects are exempt Exempt – but imports need NAFTA certificate of origin Sales Tax EXEMPT None Value Added Tax (GST/HST) None 6% GST collected at border 14% HST Income Tax Withholding Non-resident withholding NB responsible for 15% non-residents

Lessons Learned v Partnerships among agencies on both sides of the border that are built to last v Respect for others and stay flexible v Communicate and communicate some more v Combine NEPA/Presidential Permit Process as much as possible v Maximize the use of the cooperating agencies v Taxation issues for international bridge projects are complex

Project Status International Bridge Construction (11. 58 Million) v March 2007 – Summer 2008 U. S. Inspection Facility v Summer 2007 – Fall 2008 US Route 1 (9. 33 Million): v April 2007 – Summer 2008 NB Route 1: v Spring 2007 Canadian Inspection Facility v Summer 2007 – Fall 2008

Calais, ME-St. Stephen, NB Border Crossing Project