[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 414-415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-33146]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement for the Los Angeles to San
Luis Obispo (LOSSAN North) Rail Corridor Improvements Studies: Los
Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties, California
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), 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 Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will jointly
prepare a Tier-1 environmental impact statement (EIS) and a program
environmental impact report (EIR) for rail corridor improvements to the
Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN North) rail corridor (LOSSAN
North Program). FRA is also issuing this notice to solicit public and
agency input into the development of the scope of the EIR/EIS and to
advise the public that outreach activities conducted by Caltrans and
its representatives will be considered in the preparation of the EIR/
EIS. The objective of the Tier-1 EIR/EIS is to evaluate alternatives
and present thorough environmental analysis to help make corridor level
decisions regarding the level of intercity passenger rail service
provided in the corridor, including variations in train frequency, trip
time, and on-time performance.
DATES: Locations, dates, and start and end times for public meetings
involving the EIS are listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the
Tier-1 environmental review, please contact: Ms. Lea Simpson, Manager,
California Department of Transportation, Division of Rail, MS 74, PO
Box 942874, Sacramento, CA 94274-0001, (telephone 916-654-7184) or Ms.
Melissa Elefante DuMond, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of
Railroad Policy and Development, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE. (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 20590, (telephone
202-493-6366).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need
FRA and Caltrans have determined that improvements to the existing
LOSSAN North rail corridor are necessary to meet the expected growth in
population and resulting increases in intercity travel demand between
Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. As a result of this growth in travel
demand, their travel delays from the growing congestion on California's
highways and at airports will increase. In terms of passenger volume,
the LOSSAN corridor is the second-busiest intercity rail corridor in
the nation, after the Northeast Corridor connecting Washington DC, New
York, and Boston. However, rail capacity constraints result in rail
congestion and travel delays which is compounded by delays related to
weather conditions, accidents and other factors which collectively
result in unreliable rail service. In addition, in some cases rail
infrastructure has not been upgraded or improved in over one hundred
years. Goals of the project underlying the environmental review include
increasing the cost-effectiveness of State-supported intercity
passenger rail systems; increasing the rail capacity on existing
routes; reduction in running times to attract additional riders and to
provide a more attractive service; and improvement to the safety of
State-supported intercity rail service.
Rail Services Along Corridor
Amtrak uses the LOSSAN rail corridor for the Pacific Surfliner
Service between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo that is supported by
Caltrans. Amtrak's Coast Starlight (service between Los Angeles, the
Bay Area, and Portland/Seattle) also operates on the corridor. The
Southern California Regional Rail Authority also uses the LOSSAN rail
corridor for their Metrolink commuter rail service between Los Angeles
and Ventura. Union Pacific operates freight service along the corridor.
Environmental Review Process
The EIS/EIR will be developed in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 and the Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR part 1500 et seq.)
implementing NEPA; the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),
Division 13, Public Resources Code; and FRA's Procedures for
Considering Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545; May 26, 1999). The FRA
and the Caltrans will use a tiered process, as provided for in 40 CFR
1508.28 and in accordance with FRA Procedures for the completion of the
environmental review of the LOSSAN North Program.
``Tiering'' is a staged environmental review process often applied
to environmental reviews for complex transportation projects. The
initial phase (Tier-1 EIS) of this process will
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address broad questions and likely environmental effects for the entire
corridor including, but not limited to, the type of service(s) being
proposed, including cities and stations served, route alternatives,
service levels, types of operations (speed, electric, or diesel
powered), ridership projections, major infrastructure components, and
identification of major terminal area or facility capacity constraints.
Subsequent phases or tiers will analyze, at a greater level of detail,
narrower site-specific proposals based on any decisions made in the
Tier-1 EIR/EIS.
Alternatives
Alternatives to be evaluated and analyzed in the Program EIR/EIS
include a no-action (No-Project or No-Build) scenario and an
alternative with multiple options that considers the construction of
incremental, independent passenger rail improvements in the LOSSAN
North rail corridor. Possible environmental impacts include
displacement of commercial and residential properties; disproportionate
impacts to minority and low-income populations; community and
neighborhood disruption; increased noise and vibration along the rail
corridor; traffic impacts associated with stations; effects to historic
properties or archaeological sites; impacts to parks and recreation
resources; visual quality effects; exposure to seismic and flood
hazards; impacts to water resources, wetlands, and sensitive biological
species and habitat; land use compatibility impacts; energy use; and
impacts to agricultural lands.
No-Build Alternative
The no action (No-Project or No-Build) alternative is defined to
serve as the baseline for comparison of all alternatives. The No-Build
Alternative represents the State's transportation system (highway, air,
and rail) as it exists, and as it would exist after completion of
programs or projects currently funded or being implemented. The No-
Build Alternative would draw upon the following sources of information:
State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of
travel.
Airport plans.
Passenger rail plans.
Passenger Rail Alternative and Options
The LOSSAN North Program improvements are incremental, independent
rail upgrade projects to the LOSSAN corridor. The Passenger Rail
Alternative will have ``options'' that consider timing of the
improvements and logical groupings of improvements that reflect likely
funding scenarios. The upgrade of the LOSSAN rail corridor was
previously studied in the LOSSAN North Corridor Strategic Plan issued
in October 2007, which identified major improvements that could be
undertaken between the Los Angeles Union Station and the San Luis
Obispo Amtrak Station. The improvements to be discussed in the program
EIR/EIS may include:
Track upgrades.
Curve realignments.
Siding extensions and upgrades.
Addition of second main track.
Grade separations.
Station and platform upgrades.
Track realignments.
Run-through tracks.
Pedestrian crossing upgrades.
Installation of Centralized Traffic Control (CTC).
Scoping and Comments
FRA encourages broad participation in the EIR/EIS process during
scoping and subsequent review of the resulting environmental document.
Letters describing the proposed project and soliciting comments were
sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and appropriate
railroads. 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 program level. Public agencies with jurisdiction are
requested to advise the FRA and Caltrans of the applicable permit and
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
improvements.
Scoping meetings will be advertised locally and are planned for the
following major cities along the LOSSAN North rail corridor at the
dates and times indicated:
Los Angeles: January 10, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Headquarters--
Board Room One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA.
Ventura: January 11, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; Camarillo
Public Library, 4101 Las Posas Road, Camarillo, CA 93010.
Santa Barbara: January 12, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; Louise
Lowry Davis Center, Lu Gilbert Room, 1232 De La Vina St., Santa
Barbara, CA, 93101.
San Luis Obispo: January 13, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; San
Luis Obispo City/County Public Library, Community Room, 995 Palm
Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
Persons interested in providing comments on the scope of the Tier-1
EIR/EIS should do so by February 3, 2011. Comments can be sent in
writing to Ms. Melissa Elefante DuMond at the FRA address identified
above. Comments may also be addressed to Ms. Lea Simpson of Caltrans at
their address identified above. Information regarding the environmental
review process and technical studies will be made available through
Caltrans' rail services Internet site: http://www.amtrakcalifornia.com/.
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 28, 2010.
Karen Rae,
Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-33146 Filed 1-3-11; 8:45 am]
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