[Federal Register: November 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 227)]
[Notices]
[Page 71370-71372]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28no05-120]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Bay Area To Central Valley High-Speed Train Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that FRA with
the California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will jointly
prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) and
programmatic (program) environmental impact report (EIR) for the San
Francisco Bay Area to Central Valley portion of the California High-
Speed Train (HST) System in compliance with state and Federal laws, in
particular the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). FRA is also issuing this
notice to solicit public and agency input into the development of the
scope of the Bay Area to Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS and to
advise the public that outreach activities conducted by the Authority
and its representatives will be considered in the preparation of the
EIR/EIS. The FRA and the Authority recently completed a Program EIR/EIS
as the first-phase of a tiered environmental review process for the
Proposed California HST system, and as part of the selected HST
Alternative defined a broad corridor between the Bay Area and Central
Valley generally bounded by (and including) the Pacheco Pass (SR-152)
to the South, the Altamont Pass (I-580) to the North, the BNSF Corridor
to the East, and the Caltrain Corridor to the West. The Bay Area to
Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS will further examine this broad
corridor as the next phase of the tiered environmental review process.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the
programmatic environmental review, please contact: Mr. Dan Leavitt,
Deputy Director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, 925 L
Street, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814, (telephone 916-324-1541) or
Mr. David Valenstein, Environmental Program Manager, Office of
Passenger Programs, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont
Avenue (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 20590, (telephone 202 493-6368).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The need for a high-speed train (HST) system
is directly related to the expected growth in population and resulting
increases in intercity travel demand in California over the next twenty
years and beyond. As a result of this growth in travel demand, there
will be more travel delays from the growing congestion on California's
highways and at airports. In addition, there will be effects on the
economy and quality of life from a transportation system that is less
and less reliable as travel demand increases and from deteriorating air
quality in and around California's metropolitan areas. The intercity
highway system, commercial airports, and conventional passenger rail
serving the intercity travel market are currently operating at or near
capacity, and will require large public investments for maintenance and
expansion in order to meet existing demand and future growth. The
proposed high HST system would provide a new mode of high-speed
intercity travel that would link the major metropolitan areas of the
state; interface with international airports, mass transit, and
highways; and provide added capacity to meet increases in intercity
travel demand in California in a manner sensitive to and protective of
California's unique natural resources.
Background
The California High-Speed Rail Commission, established in 1993 to
investigate the feasibility of high-speed rail in California, concluded
that a HST system is technically, environmentally, and economically
feasible and set forth recommendations for the technology, corridors,
financing, and operations of a proposed system. Following the
Commission's work, a new nine-member California High-Speed Rail
Authority (Authority) was established in 1996 and is authorized and
directed by statute to undertake the planning for the development of a
proposed statewide HST network that is fully coordinated with other
public transportation services. The Legislature has granted the
Authority the powers necessary to oversee the construction and
operation of a statewide HST network once financing is secured. As part
of the Authority's efforts to implement a HST system, the Authority
adopted a Final Business Plan in June 2000, which reviewed the economic
feasibility of a 700-mile-long HST system capable of speeds in excess
of 200 miles per hour on a dedicated, fully grade-separated state-of-
the-art track.
The FRA has responsibility for oversight of the safety of railroad
operations, including the safety of any proposed high-speed ground
transportation system. For the California proposal, the FRA would need
to take
[[Page 71371]]
certain regulatory actions before any new high-speed train system could
operate.
Between 2001 and 2005, the Authority and FRA completed a Program
EIR/EIS for the proposed California HST System. The Authority certified
the Program EIR under CEQA and approved the proposed HST System, and
the FRA issued a Record of Decision under NEPA on the Program EIS for
the proposed California HST system. The Program EIR/EIS established the
purpose and need for the HST system, analyzed a proposed high-speed
train alternative and compared it with a No Project/No Action
Alternative and a Modal Alternative. In conjunction with approving the
Program EIR/EIS, the Authority and the FRA selected the High-Speed
Train Alternative and selected certain corridors/general alignments,
general station locations, mitigation strategies, design practices and
further measures to guide development of the HST system at the site-
specific project level to avoid and minimize potential adverse
environmental impacts.
For the Bay Area to Central Valley segment, the Authority and FRA
selected a broad corridor between the Bay Area and the Central Valley
containing a number of feasible route options and proposed further
study in this area to make programmatic selections of alignments and
stations. The FRA consulted with the Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ), and CEQ concurred that the proposed tiering of programmatic
decisions for this segment would be consistent with NEPA and would
support compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The primary
purpose of the Bay Area to Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS
environmental process is to do further studies to help identify a
preferred alignment between these two parts of the state.
The preparation of this Program EIR/EIS is being coordinated with
the concurrent preparation of a Bay Area Regional Rail Plan by a
coalition of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART),
the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the Peninsula Joint
Powers Board (Caltrain) and the Authority. Bay Area voters in 2004
passed Regional Measure 2, which requires MTC to adopt a Regional Rail
Plan. As stipulated in the Streets and Highways Code Section 30914.5
(f), the Regional Rail Plan will define the future passenger rail
transportation network for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area,
including an evaluation of the HST options. Information on the Regional
Rail Plan is available on the Internet at: http://www.bayarearailplan.info
.
Alternatives
An initial alternatives evaluation will consider all reasonable HST
alignment and station options within the selected broad corridor at a
programmatic level of analysis to identify the most practical and
feasible HST options for analysis in the Bay Area to Central Valley HST
Program EIR/EIS. The alternatives will include:
No-Action Alternative: The take no action (No-Project) alternative
is defined to serve as the baseline for comparison of HST alternatives.
The No-Build Alternative represents the state's transportation system
(highway, air, and conventional rail) as it exists in 2005, and as it
would exist after completion of programs or projects currently planned
for funding and implementation by 2020, according to the following
sources of information:
State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of
travel
Airport plans
Intercity passenger rail plans (Amtrak Five- and Twenty-
year Plans)
High-Speed Train Alternatives: The Authority and FRA have selected
a steel-wheel-on-steel-rail HST system for advancement, over 700 miles
long (1,126-kilometer long) capable of speeds in excess of 200 miles
per hour (mph) (320 kilometers per hour [km/h]) on dedicated, fully
grade-separated tracks, with state-of-the-art safety, signaling, and
automated train control systems that would serve the major metropolitan
centers of California, extending from Sacramento and the San Francisco
Bay Area, through the Central Valley, to Los Angeles, Orange County,
the Inland Empire, and San Diego. The Authority and the FRA have also
selected a broad corridor for the HST between the Bay Area and Merced
generally bounded by (and including) the Pacheco Pass (SR-152) to the
South, the Altamont Pass (I-580) to the North, the BNSF Corridor to the
East, and the Caltrain Corridor to the West. Within this corridor there
are several potential alignments and potential station locations that
will be considered. In heavily constrained urban areas, potential
alignments that assume sharing corridors and/or tracks with other
passenger rail services will be considered. The Authority and FRA will
consider all reasonable and practical HST alignment and station
alternatives and will focus the program environmental analysis on the
alternatives that best meet the purpose and need of the HST system.
Within the previously selected broad corridor, the Authority would not
pursue alignments through Henry Coe State Park or a station at Los
Banos.
Station placement would be determined on the basis of ridership
potential, system-wide needs, and local planning constraints/
conditions. Station placement will be coordinated with local and
regional planning agencies, and will provide for seamless connectivity
with other modes of travel. Potential station locations to be evaluated
further include: Gilroy, San Jose, Redwood City, San Francisco
International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, Merced, Modesto, Tracy,
Pleasanton, Fremont/Union City, Oakland International Airport (OAK),
and Oakland. The potential sites listed represent general locations for
planning purposes.
Scoping and Comments
FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS process during
scoping and review of the resulting environmental documents. Comments
and suggestions are invited from all interested agencies and the public
at large to insure the full range of issues related to the proposed
action and all reasonable alternatives are addressed and all
significant issues are identified. In particular, FRA is interested in
determining whether there are areas of environmental concern where
there might be the potential for significant impacts identifiable at a
programmatic level. Public agencies with jurisdiction are requested to
advise the FRA and the Authority of the applicable environmental review
requirements of each agency, and the scope and content of the
environmental information that is germane to the agency's statutory
responsibilities in connection with the proposed project.
Public ``scoping'' meetings have been scheduled together with
regional rail plan workshops as an important component of the scoping
process for both the State and Federal environmental review. Scoping
meetings will be advertised locally and additional public notice will
be provided separately with the dates, times, and locations of these
scoping meetings. Scoping meetings are scheduled for the following
major cities:
Oakland on November 29, 2005--Joseph P. Bort Metrocenter,
Larry Dahms Auditorium, 101 Eighth Street, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6
p.m. to 8 p.m.
San Jose on November 30, 2005--New San Jose City Hall--
Council Wing, Community Room, W120, 200 East Santa Clara Street, from 3
p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
[[Page 71372]]
San Francisco on December 1, 2005--San Francisco Civic
Center Complex, Hiram Johnson Building, Auditorium, 455 Golden Gate
Avenue, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Livermore on December 5, 2005--Livermore public San
Francisco Civic Center Complex, Hiram Johnson Building, San Diego Room,
455 Golden Gate Avenue, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Modesto on December 6, 2005--DoubleTree Hotel, 1150 Ninth
Street, Modesto, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Suisun City on December 8, 2005--Suisun City Hall, Council
Chambers, 701 Civic Center Blvd., from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8
p.m.
Persons interested in providing comments on the scope of the
programmatic EIR/EIS should do so by December 16, 2005. Comments can be
sent in writing to Mr. David Valenstein at the FRA address identified
above. Comments may also be addressed to Mr. Dan Leavitt of the
Authority at their address identified above. Information and documents
regarding the environmental review process will also be made available
through the Authority's Internet site: http://www.cahighspeedrail.gov/.
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2005.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development.
[FR Doc. E5-6526 Filed 11-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P