[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12788-12791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5201]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed Urban Rail system
in Austin, TX
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as the Federal lead
agency, and the City of Austin (the City) intend to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Urban Rail system
in Austin, Texas. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with
regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
as well as provisions of the recently enacted Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU). The proposed project, described more completely within,
is an Urban Rail System, similar to Streetcar, that would connect key
activity centers within Central Austin--Mueller Transit-Oriented
Redevelopment (Mueller), the University of Texas at Austin (UT) campus,
the State Capitol Complex (Capitol), the central business district
(CBD), and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) with each
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other and to emerging regional transportation network nodes for
commuter rail, regional rail, and rapid bus in Austin, Travis County,
Texas. The purpose of this notice is to alert interested parties
regarding the intent to prepare the EIS, to provide information on the
nature of the proposed project and possible alternatives, and to invite
public participation in the EIS process.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, 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 Mr. Scott Gross, P.E., Study Manager,
City of Austin Transportation Department on or before Friday, April 29,
2011. Written comments should be submitted at least two weeks after the
final scoping meeting or at least 30 days after publication of the NOI,
whichever date is later. Two public scoping meetings will be held by
FTA during which questions about the project will be addressed and
written comments will be accepted. The scoping meetings will be held on
the following dates:
Monday, April 4, 2011; 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.; at the Austin
Convention Center (Meeting Room 3 on first floor), 500 E. Cesar Chavez
Street, Austin, TX 78709, Telephone (512) 404-4000.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011; 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; at the
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) (Conference Room on
first floor) in the Mueller Redevelopment, 4700 Mueller Boulevard,
Austin, TX 78723, Telephone (512) 476-6861.
Three local agency public outreach meetings, at which information
about the project will be provided, will be held on the following
dates:
Thursday, April 7, 2011; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; at the AT&T
Executive Education and Conference Center (Classroom 103 on first
floor), 1900 University Avenue, Austin, TX 78705, Telephone (512) 404-
1900.
Thursday, April 7, 2011; 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; at the George
Washington Carver Museum (Museum Foyer), 1161 Angelina Street, Austin,
TX 78702, Telephone (512) 974-4926.
Saturday, April 9, 2011; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; at the Ruiz
Branch Library (Meeting Rooms), 1600 Grove Boulevard, Austin, TX 78741,
Telephone (512) 974-7500.
The buildings used for the meetings are accessible to persons with
disabilities. Any individual who requires special assistance, such as a
sign language interpreter, to participate in the meetings should
contact Mari[oacute]n S[aacute]nchez at Estilo Communications (512)-
477-1018 or [email protected], five days prior to the meeting.
Information describing the project purpose and need and the
alternatives proposed for analysis will be available at the meetings
and on the project Web site at http://www.austinstrategicmobility.com/resources/urban-rail-project. Paper copies of the information materials
may also be obtained from Mr. Scott Gross, P.E., Study Manager, City of
Austin Transportation Department at (512) 974-5621 or e-mail
[email protected]. Representatives of Native American Tribal
governments and of 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 the scope of the EIS, 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 will be accepted at the public scoping meetings or they may
be sent to: Mr. Scott Gross, P.E., Study Manager, City of Austin
Transportation Department, 505 Barton Springs Road, Suite 800, Austin,
TX 78704, e-mail [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Julieann Dwyer, Environmental
Protection Specialist, Federal Transit Administration Region VI, 819
Taylor Street, Room 8A36, Fort Worth, TX 76102, phone 817-978-0550, e-
mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Scoping
FTA and the City of Austin invite all interested individuals and
organizations, public agencies, and Native American Tribes to comment
on the scope of the EIS for the proposed Urban Rail system, 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 address (1) feasible alternatives that may better
achieve the project's purpose and need with fewer adverse impacts, and
(2) any significant environmental impacts relating to the alternatives.
``Scoping'' as described in the regulations implementing the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (Title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (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 consistent with the ultimate objectives of the NEPA
implementing regulations--``to make the environmental impact statement
process more useful to decision makers and the public; and to reduce
paperwork and the accumulation of extraneous background data, in order
to emphasize the need to focus on real environmental issues and
alternatives * * * [by requiring] impact statements to be concise,
clear, and to the point, and supported by evidence that agencies have
made the necessary environmental analyses'' (Executive Order 11991, of
May 24, 1977). 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 participating agencies
and posted on the project Web site. 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.
Purpose and Need for the Project
The purpose of the Urban Rail system is to improve the mobility,
connectivity, and sustainability of Central Austin--the region's core--
by providing greater mobility options; improving person-moving
capacity; improving access and linkages to major activity centers and
commuter and regional rail; supporting the City's environmental, public
health, and economic development goals; and encouraging investment.
The need for the proposed Urban Rail system is based on the
following considerations for Central Austin: A need for direct
connectivity between Mueller Redevelopment, the University of Texas,
the State Capitol Complex, the central business district, and Austin-
[[Page 12790]]
Bergstrom International Airport; a need for a direct link between
existing and planned passenger rail systems at opposite sides of
downtown; a need for increased transportation network capacity in
constrained rights-of-way through established neighborhoods; a need for
additional alternatives to single-occupancy/privately owned vehicles; a
need to attract and concentrate development within the region's core; a
need to improve air quality by reducing the growth of automobile
emissions; and a need to support the City's environmental, public
health, and economic development goals.
Alternatives
The City of Austin Transportation Department (ATD) completed the
Central Austin Transit Study (CATS) Alternatives Evaluation in July
2010, which evaluated potential route, technology, and investment
alternatives. The CATS is posted on the project Web site. ATD
recommended Urban Rail as the modal option on the alignment described
above in July 2010, after evaluating three investment alternatives: No-
Build, Better Bus (TSM), and Urban Rail. The Better Bus (TSM)
Alternative, as described in detail in the CATS, was considered per FTA
New Starts requirements and will not be examined further for NEPA
purposes because it does not meet the purpose and need of the proposed
action. Accordingly, the Urban Rail Alternative and the No-Build
Alternative are proposed to be evaluated in the EIS. These two NEPA
alternatives are described as follows:
No-Build Alternative: The No-Build Alternative is defined as the
existing transportation system, plus any committed transportation
improvements. Committed transportation improvements include the highway
and transit projects in CAMPO's current fiscally constrained long-range
transportation plan, CAMPO 2035 Plan, as amended, except for the
proposed Urban Rail system. The No-Build Alternative serves as the NEPA
baseline against which the environmental effects of other alternatives,
including the proposed project, are measured. Under the No-Build
Alternative, the transit network within the project area is projected
to be substantially the same as it is now, with bus service adjusted to
meet anticipated demand. All elements of the No-Build Alternative are
included in each of the other alternatives.
Urban Rail Alternative: The Urban Rail Alternative would utilize
modern streetcar technology on the alignment described above, along
with all of the elements of the No[hyphen]Build Alternative. Urban Rail
is the City of Austin's term for an overhead[hyphen]electric powered
fixed[hyphen]guideway service that blends the operational
characteristics of modern streetcar and light rail transit (LRT). Urban
Rail may use shared street or exclusive rights-of-way with single- or
multi-car trains, boarding passengers at track level or car floor
level.
Other refinements to the Urban Rail Alternative will be considered
as part of the EIS alternatives' evaluation process, including
refinement of the proposed alignment, Lady Bird Lake crossing options,
project termini, operating plans, stop locations, vehicle storage and
maintenance facility location, and/or design alternatives, such as
median-running vs. curb-running location within the preferred
alignment. While the environmental process will examine the entire 16.5
mile system, an initial phase or First Investment Segment (FIS),
consisting of a minimum operating segment (MOS), will be identified
within this NEPA process and may be constructed and operated as a
starter system, with the remainder being constructed during subsequent
phases.
In addition to the alternatives described above, other transit
alternatives identified through the public and agency scoping process
will be evaluated for potential inclusion in the EIS.
EIS Process and the Role of Participating Agencies and the Public
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 (23 U.S.C. 139) require that FTA
and the City 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. 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 the project's Web site at http://www.austinstrategicmobility.com/resources/urban-rail-project. The
public involvement program includes a full range of activities
including maintaining the project Web site and outreach to local
officials, community and civic groups, and the public. Specific
activities or events for involvement will be detailed in the project's
public participation plan.
Paperwork Reduction
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
written request for a complete printed set of environmental documents
is received by the close of the scoping process by the Project Manager
identified under ADDRESSES, FTA and its grantees will distribute only
the executive summary and a Compact Disc (CD) of the complete
environmental document. A complete printed set of the environmental
document will be available for review at the project sponsor's offices
and elsewhere; an electronic copy of the complete environmental
document will also be available on the project Web site.
Other
The City is expecting to seek New or Small Starts funding for some
or all phases of the proposed project under 49 United States Code 5309
and will, therefore, be subject to New Starts regulations (49 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part 611) at some point in the project
development process. The New and Small Starts regulations also require
the submission of certain project justification and local financial
commitment information to support a request to FTA for approval of
entry into the Preliminary Engineering phase of the New Starts review
process. Pertinent New Starts evaluation criteria will be included in
the EIS.
The 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
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Related Procedures'' (23 CFR part 771). Related environmental
procedures to be addressed during the NEPA process include, but are not
limited to, Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice; Section 106
of the National Historic Preservation Act; and Section 4(f) of the DOT
Act (49 U.S.C. 303).
Issued on: March 2, 2011.
Blas M. Uribe,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration Region
VI, Fort Worth, Texas.
[FR Doc. 2011-5201 Filed 3-7-11; 8:45 am]
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