[Federal Register: September 18, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 180)]
[Notices]
[Page 47987-47989]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18se09-114]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Notice of Intent (NOI) To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center
(ARTIC) in the City of Anaheim, Orange County, CA
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in cooperation with
the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and the City of
Anaheim, is issuing this notice of intent to advise other agencies and
the public that they will be preparing a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) for the Anaheim
Regional Transportation Intermodal center (ARTIC), which is proposed to
provide a new multimodal transportation facility in the vicinity of the
existing Metrolink/Amtrak Anaheim Station in Anaheim, California. The
EIS will be prepared in accordance with regulations implementing the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as provisions of the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for
[[Page 47988]]
Users (SAFETEA-LU, 2005). The EIR will be prepared in accordance with
guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA). The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to alert interested
parties regarding the plan to prepare the DEIS/EIR, to provide
information on the proposed transit project and possible alternatives,
to invite participation in the DEIS/EIR process, including comments on
the scope of the DEIS/EIR, and to announce that a public scoping
meeting will be conducted.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the DEIS/EIR including the
project's purpose and need, the alternatives to be considered, the
impacts to be evaluated, and the methodologies to be used in the
evaluations should be sent to Ms. Jennifer Bergener, Rail Program
Manager, at the ADDRESSES below by November 25, 2009. A scoping meeting
will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the
location indicated under ADDRESSES below. Representatives of Native
American tribal governments and all Federal, State, regional and local
agencies that may have an interest in any aspect of the project will be
invited to be participating or cooperating agencies, as appropriate.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on this Notice of Intent should be sent to
Ms. Jennifer Bergener, Rail Program Manager, at OCTA, 600 S. Main
Street, Orange, CA 92868. Comments also may be submitted in writing at
the public scoping meeting. The address for the public scoping meeting
is as follows:
OCTA, 600 S. Main Street, Orange, CA 92868, Room 103/104.
The Scoping Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 from 5
to 7 p.m. The project's purpose and need and the description of
alternatives currently under consideration for the proposed project
will be presented at this meeting. The meeting facilities will be
accessible to persons with disabilities. If special translation or
signing services or other special accommodations are needed, please
contact Laura Scheper at (714) 560-5697 or lscheper@octa.net at least
48 hours before the scoping meeting. Paper copies of scoping materials
may be obtained from Laura Scheper at (714) 560-5697 or
lscheper@octa.net. Also, scoping materials will be available at the
meetings and on the OCTA Web site (http://www.octa.net).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Hymie Luden, City and Regional
Planner, of the Federal Transit Administration's San Francisco Regional
Office at (415) 744-2732 or write to FTA Region IX Office, 201 Mission
Street Suite 1650, San Francisco, CA 94105-1926.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Scoping
The FTA, OCTA, and the City of Anaheim invite all interested
individuals, and organizations, public agencies and Native American
Tribes to provide comments on the scope of the DEIS/EIR, including the
project's purpose and need, the alternatives currently under
consideration, the impacts to be evaluated and the evaluation methods
to be used. Comments should focus on: alternatives that may be less
costly or have fewer environmental or community impacts while achieving
similar transportation objectives, and the identification of any
significant social, economic or environmental issues related to
alternatives.
NEPA ``scoping'' (40 CFR 1501.7) 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
In the interest of producing a readable and user-friendly public
document, and pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.10, the EIS shall be limited to
150 pages exclusive of any 4(f) and/or 6(f) evaluation. The EIS should
emphasize graphics and virtual visual simulations over technical
jargon, and technical appendices shall be included in a separate
volume.
The Proposed Project
The ARTIC Project proposes to provide a new multimodal transit
center in the Platinum Triangle area of the City of Anaheim. ARTIC
would provide convenient and efficient transfers between Metrolink,
Amtrak, local fixed-route bus, the planned Anaheim Fixed-Guideway, the
planned high-speed trains service, future bus rapid transit, private
automobiles and other forms of transportation.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Project
The primary purpose of the ARTIC Project is to provide a multimodal
transportation center in the vicinity of the existing Metrolink/Amtrak
Anaheim Station, with capacity to accommodate the expected population
growth and the planned new modes of transportation. The project is
needed because Orange County's travel demand will continue to increase
overtime, with the highest concentration in central and northern Orange
County for the foreseeable future. With a population of more than 3
million, Orange County is the second-largest county in California and
the fifth-largest county in the nation. Population is expected to
continue to grow in the coming decades with a population of 3.7 million
expected by 2040. The city of Anaheim is California's tenth-largest
city with nearly 350,000 residents and is in the heart of the county.
ARTIC would serve this growing community, now and into the future. With
the implementation and integration of additional transit options, it is
important to maximize the return on the transit services already
deployed in that area and create new opportunities for transit use. The
existing Anaheim Station is not able to accommodate some of these
additional transit options, particularly the high speed train mode. A
facility is needed that can provide easy connections with other bus,
taxi, car, other local transit, and other train modes.
Alternatives
Project alternatives currently under consideration include a no
build alternative, the proposed ARTIC alternative, at least one
alternative that would provide a transit facility similar to ARTIC at
the location of the existing Metrolink/Amtrak Anaheim Station, and at
least one reduced project alternative. These alternatives are further
described as follows:
No Build Alternative--the No Build Alternative assumes
that the proposed
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ARTIC is not constructed, and that the expansion and addition of
transportation services planned to occur with the completion of ARTIC
Phase 1 would be accommodated at the existing Metrolink/Amtrak Anaheim
Station.
ARTIC Alternative--The ARTIC Alternative would include
three phases. Phase 1 would include realignment of the existing Los
Angeles to San Diego (LOSSAN) rail corridor mainline tracks; relocation
of track platforms; reconstruction of the existing rail bridge over
Douglass Road; provisions for new pedestrian access; station terminal
and other station area improvements with the terminal and supporting
facilities relocated to the ARTIC site southeast of the intersection of
Katella Avenue and Douglass Road; associated parking facilities; and
roadway improvements to facilitate access and egress from the site and
accommodate predicted traffic levels. Phases 2 and 3 would build upon
the infrastructure provided in Phase 1 and introduce new or expanded
transportation facility connections at the ARTIC site. The later phases
would also include opportunities for potential joint development and
other private-sector cost-sharing and/or revenue-sharing arrangements.
The site for this alternative included the existing railroad right-of-
way from approximately Katella Avenue to the Santa Ana River, where
track improvements would be made; the existing Anaheim Station for
Amtrak and Metrolink, which would be removed; and two parcels of land
where the new multimodal station and associated development would
occur. The first parcel, which is owned by OCTA, is located east of
Douglass Road between Katella Avenue and the entrance to Angels Stadium
of Anaheim, south of the existing development on the south side of
Katella Avenue; west of the Santa Ana River, and north of the railroad
right-of-way. The second parcel is owned by the City of Anaheim, is a
smaller, triangular-shaped parcel south of the railroad right-of-way,
with the Santa Ana River to the east and State Route 57 to the west.
The current uses of the site are former maintenance facilities and
storage yards. Adjacent land uses include retail and office/light
industrial uses, sports/entertainment facilities (Angel Stadium and the
Honda Center), a hotel, the Santa Ana River, and State Route 57.
ARTIC On Existing Site Alternative--This alternative would
provide the facilities proposed under the ARTIC alternative at the
existing Anaheim Station site adjacent to Angels Stadium. A new
terminal and supporting facilities would be constructed to replace the
existing terminal. Existing track will be modified to accommodate
extension of the existing platforms by approximately 200 feet. This
alternative would also include improved and expanded pedestrian access,
station area improvements similar to the ARTIC alternative, improved
station area roadway access, and expanded parking facilities. Multiple
options may be considered for this alternative.
Reduced Development Alternative--This alternative would
include only the transportation-related aspects of the ARTIC project,
without some or all of the opportunities for potential joint
development and other private-sector cost-sharing and/or revenue-
sharing arrangements. Multiple options may be considered for this
alternative.
The EIS Process and the Role of Participating Agencies and the Public
The purpose of the EIS process is to explore in a public setting
the potentially significant effects of implementing the proposed action
and alternatives on the physical, human, and natural environment. Areas
of investigation will be developed during the scoping process and may
include, but not be limited to, aesthetics, air quality, biological
resources, cultural resources, geology/soils, hazards and hazardous
materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, noise
and vibration, population and housing, public services, recreation,
transportation and traffic, and utilities and service systems.
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, OCTA, and the City of
Anaheim do the following: (1) Extend an invitation to other Federal and
non-Federal agencies and Indian 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 in
helping to define the purpose and need for a proposed project, as well
as the range of alternatives for consideration in the impact statement,
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 agency, with the scoping
information packet appended, will be extended to other Federal and non-
Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have an interest in the
proposed project. It is possible that we may not be able to identify
all Federal and non-Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have
such an interest. Any Federal or non-Federal agency or Indian tribe
interested in the proposed project that does not receive an invitation
to become a participating agency should notify the OCTA Rail Program
Manager identified above under ADDRESSES, at the earliest opportunity,
but no later than 30 days following this notice.
A comprehensive public involvement program has been developed. A
technical advisory committee called the Project Development Team,
consisting of representatives of state, regional and local agencies, is
in place. The program also includes a public scoping process including
a public review/comment period, a public hearing on the DEIS/EIR, and
posting of information on the project Web site. We invite the public
and participating agencies to consider the preliminary statement of
purpose and need for the proposed project, the alternatives currently
proposed for consideration, and potential significant environmental
impacts that may be associated with the proposed project. All comments
and suggestions will be given serious consideration. 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 regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality implementing
NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and 23 CFR part 771), the project-level
air quality conformity regulation of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) (40 CFR part 93), section 404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40
CFR part 230), Executive Orders 11988, 11990 and 12898 regarding
floodplains, wetlands, and environmental justice, respectively, Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR Part 800),
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR part 402), and section
4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135).
Issued on: September 14, 2009.
Raymond Sukys,
Acting Regional Administrator, FTA, Region 9.
[FR Doc. E9-22478 Filed 9-17-09; 8:45 am]