[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 171 (Friday, September 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45891-45893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21381]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed
Train Project From Palmdale to Bakersfield, CA
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to advise the public that FRA and the
California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will jointly prepare a
project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and project Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) for the Palmdale to Bakersfield section of the
Authority's proposed California High Speed Train (HST) System in
compliance with relevant state and federal laws, in particular the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
In 2001, the Authority and FRA started a tiered environmental
review process for the HST system and in 2005, completed the first tier
California High Speed Train Program EIR/EIS (Statewide Program EIR/EIS)
and approved the statewide HST system for intercity travel in
California between the major metropolitan centers of Sacramento and the
San Francisco Bay Area in the north, through the Central Valley, to Los
Angeles and San Diego in the south. The approved HST system would be
about 800-miles long, with electric propulsion and steel-wheel-on-
steel-rail trains capable of maximum operating speeds of 220 miles per
hour (mph) on a mostly dedicated system of fully grade-separated,
access-controlled steel track and with state-of-the-art safety,
signaling, communication, and automated train control systems. In
approving the HST system, the Authority and FRA also selected preferred
corridor alignments and station location options throughout most of the
system. In 2008, the Authority and FRA completed a second program EIR/
EIS to evaluate alignments and station locations within the broad
corridor between and including the Altamont Pass and the Pacheco Pass
to connect the Bay Area and Central Valley portions of the HST system.
The preparation of the Palmdale to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS
will involve the development of preliminary engineering designs and the
assessment of potential environmental effects associated with the
construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST system, including
track and ancillary facilities along the State Route 58/14 corridor
from Bakersfield to Palmdale.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the Palmdale to Bakersfield HST
Project EIR/EIS should be provided to the Authority by 5 p.m., Monday,
November 2, 2009. Public scoping meetings are scheduled from September
15, 2009 to September 17, 2009, as noted below in the cities of
Bakersfield, CA, Tehachapi, CA and Palmdale, CA.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope should be sent to Ms. Carrie
Bowen, Regional Director, ATTN: Bakersfield to Palmdale, California
High Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA
95814, or via e-mail with subject line ``Palmdale to Bakersfield HST''
to: [email protected]. Comments may also be provided orally or in
writing at the scoping meetings scheduled at the following locations:
Red Lion Hotel, 2400 Camino Del Rio Court. Bakersfield, CA
93308, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., September 15, 2009.
Stallion Springs Community Center, 27850 Stallion Springs
Drive, Tehachapi, CA 93561, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., September 16, 2009.
Chimbole Cultural Center, 38350 Sierra Highway, Palmdale,
CA 93550, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., September 17, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Valenstein, Environmental
Program Manager, Office of Railroad Development, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., (Mail Stop 20),
Washington, DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 493-6368, or Ms. Carrie Bowen,
Telephone: (559) 221-2636 at the above noted address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Authority was established in 1996 and is
authorized and directed by statue to undertake the planning and
development of a proposed statewide HST network that is fully
coordinated with other public transportation services. The Authority
adopted a Final Business Plan in June 2000, which reviewed the economic
feasibility of an 800-mile-long HST capable of speeds in excess of 200
miles per hour on a mostly dedicated, fully grade-separated state-of-
the-art track. The Authority released an updated Business Plan in
November 2008.
The FRA has responsibility for overseeing the safety of railroad
operations, including the safety of any proposed high-speed ground
transportation system. For the proposed HST, it is anticipated that FRA
would need to take certain regulatory actions prior to operation.
In 2005, the Authority and FRA completed the Statewide Program EIR/
EIS for the Proposed California High Speed Train System, as the first
phase of a tiered environmental review process. The Authority certified
the Statewide Program EIR under CEQA and approved the proposed HST
System. FRA issued a Record of Decision on the Statewide Program EIR/
EIS as required under NEPA. The Statewide Program EIR/EIS established
the purpose and need for the HST system, analyzed an HST system, and
compared the proposed HST system with a No Project/No Action
Alternative and a Modal Alternative. In approving the Statewide Program
EIR/EIS, the Authority and FRA selected the HST Alternative, selected
certain corridors/general alignments and general station locations for
further study, incorporated mitigation strategies and design practices,
and specified further measures to guide the development of the HST
system during the site-specific, project level environmental review to
avoid and minimize potential adverse environmental impacts. In the
Statewide Program EIR/EIS, the Authority and FRA selected the State
Route 58/14 corridor for the Palmdale to Bakersfield section of the
HST.
The Palmdale to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will tier from the
Statewide Program EIR/EIS and the Final Bay Area to Central Valley HST
Program EIR/EIS in accordance with Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) regulations, (40 CFR 1508.28) and State CEQA Guidelines (14
C.C.R. 15168(b)). Tiering ensures that the Palmdale to Bakersfield HST
Project EIR/EIS builds upon all previous work prepared for, and
incorporated in, the Statewide Program EIR/EIS and the Bay Area to
Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS.
[[Page 45892]]
The Palmdale to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will describe site-
specific environmental impacts, identify specific mitigation measures
to address those impacts, and incorporate design practices to avoid and
minimize potential adverse environmental impacts. The FRA and the
Authority will assess the site characteristics, size, nature, and
timing of proposed site-specific projects to determine whether the
impacts are potentially significant and whether impacts can be avoided
or mitigated. This project EIR/EIS will identify and evaluate
reasonable and feasible site-specific alignment alternatives, and
evaluate the impacts of construction, operation, and maintenance of the
HST system. Information and documents regarding this HST environmental
review process will be made available through the Authority's Internet
site: http://www.cahighspeedrail.gov/.
Purpose and Need: The purpose of the proposed HST system is to
provide a new mode of high-speed intercity travel that would link major
metropolitan areas of the state; interface with airports, mass transit,
and highways; and provide added capacity to meet increased intercity
travel demand in California in a manner sensitive to and protective of
California's unique natural resources. The need for a HST system is
directly related to the expected growth in population, and increases in
intercity travel demand in California over the next twenty years and
beyond. With the growth in travel demand, there will be an increase in
travel delays arising from the growing congestion on California's
highways and airports. In addition, there will be negative effects on
the economy, quality of life, and air quality in and around
California's metropolitan areas from an increasingly congested
transportation system that will become less reliable as travel demand
increases. The intercity highway system, commercial airports, and
conventional passenger rail serving the intercity travel market are
currently operating at or near capacity, and will require large public
investments for maintenance and expansion to meet existing demand and
future growth. The proposed HST system is designed to address some
social, economic and environmental problems associated with
transportation congestion in California.
Alternatives: The Palmdale to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will
consider a No Action or No Project Alternative and an HST Alternative
for the Palmdale to Bakersfield section.
No Action Alternative: The No Action Alternative (No Project or No
Build) represents the conditions in the corridor as it existed in 2007,
and as it would exist based on programmed and funded improvements to
the intercity transportation system and other reasonably foreseeable
projects through 2035, taking into account the following sources of
information: The State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and
Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport
plans, intercity passenger rail plans, city and county plans.
HST Alternative: The Authority proposes to construct, operate and
maintain an electric-powered steel-wheel-on-steel-rail HST system,
about 800 miles long, capable of operating speeds of 220 mph on mostly
dedicated, fully graded-separated tracks, with state-of-the-art safety,
signaling, and automated train control systems. In the Statewide
Program EIR/EIS, the Authority and FRA selected the State Route 58/14
corridor for the Palmdale to Bakersfield section of the HST.
Engineering studies undertaken as part of this EIR/EIS process will
examine and refine alignments in the State Route 58/14 corridor. The
entire alignment would be grade separated. The options to be considered
for the design of grade separated roadway crossings would include (1)
Depressing the street to pass under the rail line; (2) elevating the
street to pass over the rail line; and (3) leaving the street as-is and
constructing rail line improvements to pass over or under the local
street. In addition, alternative sites for right-of-way maintenance,
train storage facilities and a heavy maintenance and repair facility
will be evaluated in the Palmdale to Bakersfield HST project area.
No station would be included in this section as this project
connects the HST line in the Central Valley with the HST line from Los
Angeles and stations are being evaluated as part of the project EIR/
EISs associated with those HST sections. A station at the Palmdale
Airport/Transportation Center is being evaluated in the Los Angeles to
Palmdale HST Project EIR/EIS. The Truxtun station option in downtown
Bakersfield at the other end of this section is being evaluated in the
Bakersfield to Merced HST Project EIR/EIS. These station locations were
selected by the Authority and FRA in the Program EIR/EIS documents
after considering the project purpose and need, and the program
objectives.
Probable Effects: The purpose of the EIR/EIS process is to explore,
in a public setting, the effects of the proposed project on the
physical, human, and natural environment. The FRA and Authority will
continue the tiered evaluation of all significant environmental,
social, and economic impacts of the construction and operation of the
HST system. Impact areas to be addressed include transportation
impacts; safety and security; land use and zoning; land acquisition,
displacements, and relocations and cumulative and secondary impacts;
agricultural land impacts; cultural resources impacts, including
impacts on historical and archaeological resources and parklands/
recreation areas; neighborhood compatibility and environmental justice;
natural resource impacts including air quality, wetlands, water
resources, noise, vibration, energy, wildlife and ecosystems, including
endangered species. Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse
impacts will be identified and evaluated.
The Palmdale to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will be prepared in
accordance with FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts
(64 FR 28545 (May 26, 1999)) and will address, as necessary, other
applicable statutes, regulations, and executive orders, including the
Clean Air Act, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, Section 4(f) of the
Department of Transportation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and
Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice.
This EIR/EIS process will also continue the NEPA/Clean Water Act
Section 404 integration process established through the Statewide
Program EIR/EIS process. The EIR/EIS will evaluate project alignment
alternatives and station and maintenance facility locations to support
a determination of the Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable
Alternative (LEDPA) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Scoping and Comments: FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS
process during scoping and review of the resulting environmental
documents. Comments are invited from all interested agencies and the
public to ensure the full range of issues related to the proposed
action and reasonable alternatives are addressed and all significant
issues are identified. In particular, FRA is interested in hearing from
communities whether there are areas of environmental concern where
there might be a potential for significant site-specific impacts from
the high-speed transportation projects in the Palmdale to Bakersfield
section. Public agencies with jurisdiction are requested to advise FRA
and the Authority of the applicable permit and environmental review
requirements of each agency,
[[Page 45893]]
and the scope and content of the environmental information germane to
the agency's statutory responsibilities relevant to the proposed
project. Public agencies are requested to advise FRA if they anticipate
taking a major action in connection with the proposed project and if
they wish to cooperate in the preparation of the Project EIR/EIS.
Public scoping meetings have been scheduled and are an important
component of the scoping process for both the State and Federal
environmental review. The scoping meetings described in this Notice
will also be the subject of additional public notification.
FRA is seeking participation and input of all interested federal,
state, and local agencies, Native American groups, and other concerned
private organizations or individuals on the scope of the EIR/EIS.
Implementation of the Palmdale to Bakersfield section of the HST system
is a federal undertaking with the potential to affect historic
properties. As such, it is subject to the requirements of Section 106
of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470f). In
accordance with regulations issued by the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, 36 CFR part 800, FRA intends to coordinate compliance
with Section 106 of this Act with the preparation of the EIR/EIS,
beginning with the identification of consulting parties through the
scoping process, in a manner consistent with the standards set out in
36 CFR 800.8.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2009.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development, Federal Railroad
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-21381 Filed 9-3-09; 8:45 am]
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