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Preparation of An Environmental Impact Statement on a Transit Connection Between the 2100 South Light Rail Station and the Cities of West Valley City and Taylorsville in Metropolitan Salt Lake City, UT
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: December 21, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 246)]
[Notices]
[Page 66009-66011]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21de01-129]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Preparation of An Environmental Impact Statement on a Transit
Connection Between the 2100 South Light Rail Station and the Cities of
West Valley City and Taylorsville in Metropolitan Salt Lake City, UT
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), in cooperation with
the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) and Utah Transit Authority
(UTA), is issuing this notice to advise interested agencies and the
public that, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for a
transit connection westward from the North-South Light Rail line to a
logical terminus near the West Valley City center. Possible extensions
or other transit improvements extending southward to the city of
Taylorsville will also be evaluated. This proposed transportation
project was identified in a Type I Major Investment Study (MIS)
completed in March 2000. In addition to the rail transit alternatives
from the ``Transit Corridors Analysis,'' the No-Build Alternative and
any new alternatives generated through the scoping process will be
evaluated. Scoping will be accomplished through coordination with
interested persons, organizations, and federal, state, and local
agencies. FTA is serving as the federal lead agency for the project in
anticipation of a grant application from UTA for its construction.
Based on the results of the scoping process, FTA will establish the
scope of the environmental review under NEPA, including the
identification of environmental issues and effects to be addressed and
the reasonable alternatives to be retained for detailed evaluation.
DATES: Interagency and public scoping and information meetings will be
held on the following dates at the locations indicated:
Interagency Scoping Meeting: Wednesday, January 9th, 2002 from 10
a.m. to noon, at the Wasatch Front Regional Council, 295 North Jimmy
Doolittle Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84116.
Public Scoping Meeting No. 1: Wednesday, January 9, 2002 from 5
p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Utah Transit Authority Board Room, located at
3600 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84119-0810.
Public Scoping Meeting No. 2: Saturday, January 12, 2002 from 9
a.m. to 11 a.m. at the West Valley City Hall located at 3600 South
Constitution Blvd., West Valley City, UT 84119-3720.
Written comments on the scope of the environmental study should be
sent by January 28, 2002, to Barry Banks, Project Manager, Wasatch
Front Regional Council, 295 North Jimmy Doolittle Road, Salt Lake City,
UT 84116.
ADDRESSES: The addresses where scoping meetings will be held and where
comments on the scope of the study may be sent, appear above in the
DATES section. A Scoping Booklet is available from Barry Banks, Project
Manager, Wasatch Front Regional Council, 295 North Jimmy Doolittle
Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84116 or by calling the project information
line at (801) 904-4127.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Cover, Federal Transit
Administration, 216 16th Street, Suite 650, Denver, Colorado 80202;
telephone (303) 844-3242.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 66010]]
I. Scoping
The WFRC and UTA will hold interagency and public scoping meetings
as presented in the DATES section above. At these meetings, WFRC and
UTA will present the results of the ``Type 1 MIS'' and the alternatives
proposed for detailed evaluation in the EIS. At the public meetings,
interested persons will have an opportunity to speak individually with
a WFRC or UTA representative. In addition, a WFRC or UTA person will be
available to receive written and record verbal comments on the scope of
the NEPA review. All scoping meeting locations are accessible to
persons with disabilities. Individuals who require special
accommodations, such as a sign language interpreter, to participate in
the meeting should contact Ms. Sherry L. Repscher, ADA Compliance
Officer, Utah Transit Authority, 3600 South 700 West, Salt Lake City,
UT 84119-0810 or by telephone at (801) 262-5626 or TDD at (801) 287-
4657. Interested individuals, organizations, and public agencies are
invited to attend the scoping meetings and participate in identifying
any important environmental impact issues related to the proposed
alternatives and suggesting alternatives which would be more economical
or would have less environmental impact while achieving similar
transportation objectives. An information packet, referred to as the
Scoping Booklet, will be distributed to all public agencies and
interested individuals and will be available at the meetings. Others
may request the Scoping Booklet by contacting Barry Banks at the
address listed above in ADDRESSES. Anyone wishing to be placed on the
project mailing list to receive meeting notices and further information
as the project develops should also contact Barry Banks at the address
listed in ADDRESSES or call the project information line (801) 904-
4127. Comments during the scoping period should focus on identifying
the social, economic, and environmental concerns associated with the
proposed action, and alternatives that deserve consideration, and not
on a preference for a particular alternative. Comments regarding
preference for a particular alternative may be submitted during
subsequent public meetings or at a hearing on the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement, when it is published. Scoping comments may be made at
the scoping meetings or may be directed in writing to Barry Banks,
Project Manager, at the address given in ADDRESSES.
II. Description of the Project Area and Transportation Need
The UTA North-South TRAX system that now includes the extension
from the Salt Lake City Central Business District (CBD) to the
University of Utah provides the spine for an expanded Light Rail
Transit (LRT) system to serve more communities in Salt Lake County.
Recent passage of a \1/4\ cent regional sales tax increase indicates
broad public support for expansion and improvement of transit services
throughout Salt Lake, Davis and Weber Counties. Expanded and improved
bus service and extensions of the existing LRT system have been studied
for several years by WFRC and UTA, and the West Valley City Transit
Corridors has been identified as a high priority among five proposed
LRT corridors previously studied by WFRC and UTA.
In March 2000, a Major Investment Study (MIS) was completed for a
transportation corridor connecting West Valley City, Utah's second most
populous, with Salt Lake City. The Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA)
emerging from this MIS was an LRT extension extending from the existing
North-South (TRAX) Light Rail line near Andy Avenue to the West Valley
City center. The proposed alignment crosses Interstate Highways 15 and
215 utilizing existing structures and would connect several major trip
generators in West Valley City with TRAX. The MIS identified
significant and growing demand for transit service in this corridor and
concluded that construction of LRT in this corridor held far more
advantages than other alternatives. This concept enjoys strong support
from local government. The Project Sponsors propose to advance the West
Valley City Corridor through the EIS-PE phase of development in two
contract phases. This first phase (DEIS) includes all work necessary to
gain FTA approval to commence PE in the corridor. The current planning
and project approval status for this corridor follows.
A copy of the ``Type I MIS'' (executive summary) is available for
review by contacting Barry Banks, Project Manager, as previously
presented, or on the Internet at www.wfrc.org. 
III. Alternatives To Be Studied
A feasibility analysis was conducted as part of the South Lake
County Transit Corridors Analysis. During scoping, the alternatives,
findings and issues covered in the earlier studies will be reviewed and
will be either affirmed or, if necessary, reconsidered in detail during
the NEPA process.
The alternatives expected to be considered in detail in the EIS
include:
A ``no-build'' alternative: This alternative represents no
change in transportation services or facilities in the corridor beyond
already committed projects. Committed projects include those transit
improvements defined in the transportation agencies' Long-Range
Transportation Plans and Transit Development Plans for which funding
has been committed.
Transportation Systems Management Alternative: This
alternative consists of low-cost infrastructure and bus transit
improvements, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) improvements,
improvements in bus routes and operations, and other transportation
systems management improvements.
Rail Transit Alternatives: These alternatives represent
the construction of a rail transit system using LRT technology. The
eastern terminus of the project would be the North-South (TRAX) LRT
Line at the 2100 South Station. Opportunities for interlining with the
existing (TRAX) system will be explored for the LRT alternative. The
rail alternatives would also include all facilities associated with the
construction and operations of a rail transit line, including right of
way, structures, track, stations, park-and-ride lots, storage and
maintenance facilities, and the respective rail and bus operating
plans.
IV. Probable Effects
The EIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA and its
implementing regulations including those of the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508),
and the FTA regulation on environmental procedures shared with the
Federal Highway Administration (23 CFR part 771). The EIS will evaluate
the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives.
Primary concerns to be addressed include: safety at grade crossings,
site contamination in railroad rights-of-way, property effects
including business disruptions and relocation, impacts on local traffic
and travel patterns, noise and vibration impacts, land use impacts,
wetland impacts, and aesthetic/visual impacts. The cumulative impacts
of the project together with other reasonably foreseeable actions and
activities will be addressed.
V. FTA New Starts Procedures
Following public review of the Draft EIS, the UTA will request FTA
approval
[[Page 66011]]
to initiate Preliminary Engineering, in accordance with the FTA New
Starts regulation (49 CFR part 611). FTA will consider the merits of
the project at that time, in comparison with other projects across the
nation competing for New Starts funding, and either recommend or not
recommend that the preferred alternative advance into Preliminary
Engineering, which would include the preparation of the Final EIS.
Issued on: December 12, 2001.
Lee O. Waddleton,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-31527 Filed 12-20-01; 8:45 am]
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