[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32240-32242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13587]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Draft Tier II Environmental Impact Statement: Southeast High
Speed Rail Corridor-Richmond, VA (Main Street Station) to Raleigh, NC
(Boylan Wye)
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Tier II Draft Environmental
Impact Statement and public hearings for the Southeast High Speed Rail,
Richmond, VA to Raleigh, NC Project (Project).
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SUMMARY: The Federal Railroad Administration announces the availability
of the Southeast High Speed Rail, Richmond, VA to Raleigh, NC Project
Draft Tier II Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for public review
and comment. The DEIS was prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq., the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing
regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and the FRA NEPA guidance, 64 FR
28545 (May 26, 1999). FRA is the lead Federal agency; the Federal
Highway Administration, United States Coast Guard, United States Army
Corps of Engineers, United States Environmental Protection Agency, and
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are cooperating Federal
agencies. The North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division
(NCDOT) and the Virginia
[[Page 32241]]
Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) are co-lead State
agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency included the DEIS in the
Notice of Availability published on June 4, 2010.
DATES: FRA invites interested Members of Congress, state and local
governments, other Federal agencies, Native American tribal
governments, organizations, and members of the public to provide
comments on the DEIS. The public comment period opened on May 28, 2010,
and will continue until August 30, 2010. Written and oral comments will
be given equal weight, and FRA will consider all comments received or
postmarked by that date in the preparing the Final EIS. Comments
received or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent
practicable. Dates and locations for the public hearings are listed
below. ``Open House'' information sessions will be held from 5-7 p.m.
followed by public hearings at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time:
1. Norlina, NC: July 13, 2010, Northside Elementary School, 164
Elementary Avenue, Norlina, NC 27563.
2. Alberta, VA: July 15, 2010, Southside Virginia Community
College, Christanna Campus, 109 Campus Drive, Alberta, VA 23821.
3. Richmond, VA: July 20, 2010, Virginia Department of Motor
Vehicles Cafeteria, 2300 West Broad Street, 1st floor, Richmond, VA
23269.
4. Petersburg, VA: July 21, 2010, Union Station, 103 River Street,
Petersburg, VA 23804.
5. McKenney, VA: July 22, 2010, Sunnyside Elementary School, 10203
Sunnyside Road, McKenney, VA 23872.
6. Raleigh, NC: July 26, 2010, Raleigh Convention Center, 500 South
Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.
7. Henderson, NC: July 27, 2010, Aycock Elementary School, 305
Carey Chapel Road, Franklin County, NC 27537.
8. Franklinton, NC: July 29, 2010, Franklinton High School Gym,
6948 N. Cheatham Street, Franklinton, NC 27525.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted at the public hearings both
verbally and in writing. Written comments may be submitted
electronically via the project Web site at http://www.sehsr.org or
mailed to SEHSR Comments, NCDOT Rail Division, 1553 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1553, or SEHSR Comments, Virginia Department
of Rail and Public Transportation, 600 East Main Street, Suite 2102,
Richmond, VA 23219.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the
environmental review, please contact one of the following three
individuals: Mr. Patrick Simmons, NCDOT Rail Division, 1553 Mail
Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1553 (telephone 919-733-7245), or by
e-mail at [email protected], with ``SEHSR Richmond to Raleigh,'' in
the subject heading; or Ms. Christine Fix, Virginia Department of Rail
& Public Transportation, 600 East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA
23219 (telephone 804-786-1052) or by e-mail at
[email protected], with ``SEHSR Richmond to Raleigh'' in
the subject heading; or Mr. John Winkle, Transportation Industry
Analyst, Office of Passenger Programs, Federal Railroad Administration,
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Room W38-311, Washington, DC 20590
(telephone 202 493-6067), or by e-mail at [email protected] with
``SEHSR Richmond to Raleigh'' in the subject heading.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tier II DEIS evaluates alternatives and
the environmental impacts for proposed high speed passenger rail
service with a maximum authorized speed of 110 miles per hour within
the preferred corridor described in the Tier I Record of Decision for
the SEHSR Corridor from Washington, DC to Charlotte, NC. This Tier II
DEIS is focused on the approximately 162 mile portion of the corridor
between Main Street Station in Richmond, VA and the Boylan Wye in
Raleigh, NC. The project corridor generally follows the CSX S-line from
Main Street Station, Richmond, VA, to Centralia, VA, then the CSX A-
line to Collier Yard, Petersburg, VA. South of Collier Yard the
corridor follows the Burgess Connector rail line to Burgess, VA, and
the former Seaboard Air Line (S-line) to Norlina, NC, where the S-line
returns to an active freight railroad. In Raleigh, NC, the study
corridor includes two alternatives: the western branch follows the
existing Norfolk Southern (NS) NS-line; the eastern branch continues to
follow the CSX S-line. The two branches rejoin before the terminus of
the project at the Boylan Wye. Included in the project are nearly 100
new bridges/overpasses that, when combined with existing bridges/
overpasses, will create a fully grade-separated system to ensure the
safety of both passengers and the surrounding community.
For engineering purposes and discussions of impacts, the project
corridor is divided into 26 sections. There are three alternatives in
each section, and each rail alternative includes an associated set of
highway improvements. In many areas, the alternatives are concurrent.
The endpoints of each of the 26 sections are in locations where the
alternative alignments are in a common location. The alternatives are
evaluated section by section, allowing a ``best-fit'' preferred
alternative to be developed for the entire study corridor. The Tier I
EIS established the purpose and need for the project; and evaluated
nine build alternatives, as well as a No-Build Alternative; therefore,
a no-build alternative was not evaluated in this Tier II document.
Potential environmental impacts of the alternatives include increased
noise and vibration, local traffic impacts associated with
consolidation of existing at-grade crossings to new or existing bridges
and underpasses, impacts on historic properties and archeological
sites, impacts on parks and recreation resources, impacts on sensitive
biological resources and wetlands, and use of energy. Potential
mitigation strategies are described to avoid or minimize potential
impacts. Such strategies would be further refined when the preferred
alternative is selected, and discussed in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement.
Availability of the DEIS
Copies of the Draft EIS and appendices are available for review at
the following locations:
Richmond Main Public Library, 101 East Franklin Street,
Richmond, VA.
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission, 9211
Forest Hill Avenue, Suite 200, Richmond, VA.
Chesterfield County Central Public Library, 9501 Lori
Road, Chester, VA.
Colonial Heights Public Library, 1000 Yacht Basin Drive,
Colonial Heights, VA.
Petersburg Central Public Library, 137 S. Sycamore Street,
Petersburg, VA.
Crater District Planning Commission, 1964 Wakefield
Street, Petersburg, VA.
Dinwiddie County Planning Department, 14016 Boydton Plank
Road, Dinwiddie, VA.
Southside Virginia Community College Library, Christiana
Campus, 109 Campus Drive, Alberta, VA.
Southside Planning District Commission, 200 S. Mecklenburg
Avenue, South Hill, VA.
Norlina Town Hall, 101 Main Street, Norlina, NC.
NCDOT District 3 Office, 321 Gillburg Road, Henderson, NC.
Franklinton Branch Public Library, 9 West Mason Street,
Franklinton, NC.
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NCDOT District 1 Office, 4009 District Drive, Raleigh, NC.
The project Web site http://www.sehsr.org includes a complete list
of locations and addresses. The document is also available at the
Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Office at 600
East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA; and the North Carolina
Department of Transportation Rail Division at 1 South Wilmington
Street, Raleigh, NC. In addition, electronic versions of the Draft Tier
II EIS and appendices are available through FRA's Web site at
www.fra.dot.gov, on the DRPT Web site at http://www.drpt.virginia.gov
and on the project Web site at www.sehsr.org.
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 2, 2010.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-13587 Filed 6-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P