[Federal Register: September 16, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 178)]
[Notices]
[Page 47640-47642]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16se09-110]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Capitol Expressway Light Rail Project in the City of
San Jose and County of Santa Clara, CA.
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS).
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration and the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) are planning to prepare a Supplemental
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 2.3 mile
extension of light rail along Capitol Expressway from the existing Alum
Rock Station to Eastridge Transit Center in the City of San Jose.
Pursuant to 23 C.F.R 771.129(a) and 771.130, the Supplemental Draft EIS
will replace the Draft EIS that was made available for public review in
April 2004. The Final EIS required under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.) (NEPA) was never completed
for this project as a result of limited opportunities for securing
federal funds at that time. Due to dramatic declines in local and state
funding sources as a result of the global economic recession, VTA is
now preparing a Supplemental Draft EIS in order to be eligible for
federal funds for this project. A Supplemental Draft EIS is needed to
address major changes to the project since April 2004.
The Supplemental Draft EIS will be prepared in accordance with
regulations set by the NEPA as well as the provisions of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to alert interested
parties about the plan to prepare the Supplemental Draft EIS, to invite
public participation in the scoping process and to announce that a
public scoping meeting will be conducted.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the Supplemental Draft EIS
should be sent to Tom Fitzwater, VTA Environmental Programs and
Resources Management Manager, by October 19, 2009. A Public scoping
meeting will be held on September 30, 2009 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at
the location indicated under ADDRESSES below.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the Supplemental Draft EIS
should be submitted via mail, e-mail, fax, or the project Web site,
with attention to: Tom Fitzwater, Manager,VTA Environmental Programs
and Resources Management, 3331 North First Street, Building B-2, San
Jose, CA 95134-1927, E-mail: Tom.Fitzwater@vta.org, Fax: (408) 321-
5787, Project Web site: http://www.vta.org.
Comments may also be offered at the public scoping meeting. The
address for the public scoping meeting is in the Community Room on the
second floor of Eastridge Shopping Center located at 2200 Eastridge
Loop Road in San Jose California (Old Navy/JC Penney's entrance). The
meeting facility will be accessible to persons with disabilities. If
special translation or signing services or other special accommodations
are needed, please contact VTA Customer Service five days prior to the
meeting at (408) 321-2300, or e-mail community.outreach@vta.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the
proposed project, environmental review process, or to be placed on the
project mailing list, contact Tom Fitzwater, VTA Environmental Programs
and Resources Management, at VTA, 3331 North First Street, Building B-
2, San Jose, CA 95134-2709, (408) 321-5789 or Eric Eidlin, Community
Planner, at Federal Transit Administration, San Francisco Regional
Office, 201 Mission Street, Room 1650, San Francisco, CA 94105-1926,
(415) 744-2502.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Scoping
Scoping is the process of determining the scope, focus and content
of an EIS. FTA and VTA invite all interested individuals and
organizations, public agencies, and Native American Tribes to comment
on the scope of the Supplemental Draft EIS, including the project's
purpose and need, the alternatives to be studied, the impacts to be
evaluated, and the evaluation methods to be used. Comments should focus
on: alternatives that may be less costly or have less environmental or
community impacts while achieving similar transportation objectives,
and the identification of any significant social, economic, or
environmental issues relating to the alternatives.
NEPA ``scoping'' has specific and fairly limited objectives, one of
which is to identify the significant issues associated with
alternatives that will be examined in detail in the document, while
simultaneously limiting consideration and development of issues that
are not truly significant. It is in the NEPA scoping process that
potentially significant environmental impacts--those that give rise to
the need to prepare an environmental impact statement--should be
identified; impacts that are deemed not to be significant need not be
developed extensively in the context of the impact statement, thereby
keeping the statement focused on impacts of consequence. Transit
projects may also generate environmental benefits; these should be
highlighted as well--the impact statement process should draw attention
to positive impacts, not just negative impacts.
Once the scope of the environmental study, including significant
environmental issues to be addressed, is settled, an annotated outline
of the document will be prepared and shared with interested agencies
and the public. The outline serves at least three worthy purposes,
including (1) documenting the results of the scoping process; (2)
contributing to the transparency of the process; and (3) providing a
clear roadmap for concise development of the environmental document.
II. Description of Project Study Areas and Need
Purpose of the Supplemental Draft EIS: The original Notice of
Intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
Impact Report (EIS/EIR) was issued on September 18,
[[Page 47641]]
2001. Following the circulation of the Draft EIS/EIR in April 2004, it
was determined that the opportunity for securing federal funds at that
time was limited. As a result, a Final EIS was never completed.
A Final EIR was prepared to comply with the state process
(California Environmental Quality Act) and was certified by the VTA
Board of Directors in May 2005. A Final Supplemental EIR was later
prepared to address changes to the project and was certified by the VTA
Board of Directors in August 2007.
Due to dramatic declines in local and state funding sources as a
result of the global economic recession, a Supplemental Draft EIS will
be prepared in order to be eligible for federal funds. The purpose of
the Supplemental Draft EIS is to fully disclose the environmental
consequences of building and operating the Project in advance of any
federal decisions to commit substantial financial or other resources
towards its implementation. The Supplemental Draft EIS explores the
extent to which project alternatives and design options result in
environmental impacts and will discuss actions to reduce or eliminate
such impacts as required by current federal (NEPA) environmental laws
and current Council on Environmental Quality and FTA guidelines.
Project Description: The proposed project will extend light rail
along Capitol Expressway between the existing Alum Rock Light Rail
Station and Eastridge Transit Center, a distance of approximately 2.3
miles. Light rail will operate primarily in the median of Capitol
Expressway within exclusive and semi-exclusive rights-of-way. Property
acquisition for the project will be minimized through the removal of
two High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Capitol Expressway. The
alignment will include an elevated section north of Capitol Avenue and
south of Story Road, and an elevated crossing of Tully Road. The
project will include new light rail stations at Story Road (aerial),
Ocala Avenue (optional, at-grade) and Eastridge Transit Center (at-
grade and aerial options). At Eastridge Mall, the existing transit
center and park-and-ride lot will be modified and expanded to
accommodate the project. The project will also include traction power
substations at Ocala Avenue and Eastridge Transit Center. Approximately
seven 115-kilovolt electrical transmission towers and two tubular steel
poles (TSPs) will require relocation from the median of Capitol
Expressway to the east side of Capitol Expressway in order to
accommodate the project. While the project will cross over Silver
Creek, no work is anticipated below the top of the bank.
Project Purpose and Need: The Capitol Expressway Light Rail Project
is needed to:
Improve public transit service in the Capitol Expressway
Corridor by providing increased capacity and faster, convenient access
to downtown San Jose and major employment and activity centers;
make transit an attractive alternative to the automobile
for travel along the expressway; enhance regional connectivity through
expanded, interconnected transit services along some of the primary
travel corridors in Santa Clara County, including U.S. 101 (Guadalupe
Corridor) and I-680 (Tasman East, Capitol Avenue, and Capitol
Expressway Corridors);
improve regional air quality by reducing the growth in
automobile emissions;
improve mobility options to employment, education, medical
and retail centers for all corridor residents and in particular, low-
income, transit dependent, youth, elderly, disabled, and ethnic
minority populations; and
support local economic and land development goals.
III. Proposed Project Alternatives
The No-Build Alternative represents conditions that would be
reasonably expected to occur in the foreseeable future if the proposed
build alternative were not implemented. This includes existing transit
conditions and programmed transportation projects that will be
constructed by 2035. A Baseline Alternative representing the optimal
level of bus service that could be provided in the corridor without an
investment in major new infrastructure is not proposed. VTA is not only
currently operating Line 522 Rapid Bus service in the Capitol
Expressway Corridor, but is also proposing to improve this service with
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). BRT will provide more frequent headways,
upgraded facilities, real-time information, transit priority, and
specialized vehicles. VTA will also analyze any reasonable alternatives
that are uncovered during public scoping.
IV. Probable Effects
The Supplemental Draft EIS will explore the extent to which project
alternatives and design options result in environmental impacts and
will discuss actions to reduce or eliminate such impacts. Environmental
issues to be examined may include: Changes in the physical environment
(natural resources, air quality, climate change, noise, water quality,
geology, aesthetics); changes in the social environment (land use,
business and neighborhood disruptions); changes in traffic and
pedestrian circulation; changes in transit service and patronage;
associated changes in traffic congestion; and impacts on parklands and
historic resources. Impacts will be identified both for the
construction period and for the long-term operation of the
alternatives. Based on the findings of the Final and Supplemental EIR,
it is anticipated that the project will result in adverse noise,
vibration, and traffic impacts.
V. FTA Procedures
The regulations implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), call for public involvement in the EIS
process. Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires that FTA and VTA do the
following: (1) Extend an invitation to other Federal and non-Federal
agencies and Native American tribes that may have an interest in the
proposed project to become ``participating agencies;'' (2) provide an
opportunity for involvement by participating agencies and the public to
help define the purpose and need for a proposed project, as well as the
range of alternatives for consideration in the EIS; and (3) establish a
plan for coordinating public and agency participation in, and comment
on, the environmental review process. An invitation to become a
participating or cooperating agency, with scoping materials appended,
will be extended to other Federal and non-Federal agencies and Native
American tribes that may have an interest in the proposed project. It
is possible that FTA and VTA will not be able to identify all Federal
and non-Federal agencies and Native American tribes that may have such
an interest. Any Federal or non-Federal agency or Native American tribe
interested in the proposed project that does not receive an invitation
to become a participating agency should notify at the earliest
opportunity the Project Manager identified above under ADDRESSES.
A comprehensive public involvement program and a Coordination Plan
for public and interagency involvement will be developed for the
project and posted on http://www.vta.org. The public involvement
program includes a full range of activities including the development
and distribution of project newsletters, and outreach to local
officials, community and civic groups, and the public. Specific
activities or
[[Page 47642]]
events for involvement will be detailed in the public involvement
program.
The Paperwork Reduction Act seeks, in part, to minimize the cost to
the taxpayer of the creation, collection, maintenance, use,
dissemination, and disposition of information. Consistent with this
goal and with principles of economy and efficiency in government, it is
FTA policy to limit insofar as possible distribution of complete
printed sets of environmental documents. Accordingly, unless a specific
request for a complete printed set of environmental documents is
received (preferably in advance of printing), FTA and its grantees will
distribute only the executive summary of the environmental document
together with a Compact Disc of the complete environmental document. A
complete printed set of the environmental document is available for
review at the grantee's offices and elsewhere; an electronic copy of
the complete environmental document is also available on http://
www.vta.org.
The Supplemental Draft EIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA
and its implementing regulations issued by the Council on Environmental
Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and with the FTA/Federal Highway
Administration regulations ``Environmental Impact and Related
Procedures'' (23 CFR part 771). In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a)
and 771.133, FTA will comply with all Federal environmental laws,
regulations, and executive orders applicable to the proposed project
during the environmental review process to the maximum extent
practicable. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the
environmental and public hearing provisions of Federal transit laws (49
U.S.C. 5301(e), 5323(b), and 5324); the project-level air quality
conformity regulation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
(40 CFR part 93); the section 404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part
230); the regulation implementing section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (36 CFR part 800); the regulation implementing section
7 of the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR part 402); section 4(f) of the
Department of Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135); and Executive Orders
12898 on environmental justice, 11988 on floodplain management, and
11990 on wetlands.
Related Documents: The Final Environmental Impact Report (April
2005), and the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (April
2007) for the Capitol Expressway Corridor are available by contacting
Tom Fitzwater at the address and phone number given above.
Issued on: September 9, 2009.
Raymond Sukys,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. E9-22322 Filed 9-15-09; 8:45 am]
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