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Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed Train System From Los Angeles to Orange County, CA
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: March 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 50)]
[Notices]
[Page 12250-12252]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15mr07-122]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed
Train System From Los Angeles to Orange County, 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: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that FRA and
the California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will jointly
prepare a project level Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and
project level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the section of the
Authority's proposed California High-Speed Train (HST) System from the
City of Los Angeles (Union Station) to Orange County (Anaheim) in
compliance with relevant State and federal laws, in particular the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
FRA is issuing this notice to solicit public and agency input into
the development of the scope of the EIS and to advise the public that
outreach activities conducted by the Authority and its representatives
will be considered in the preparation of the combined EIR/EIS. The
Authority and FRA completed a Program EIR/EIS for the California HST
System in 2005 as the first-phase of a tiered environmental review
process for the proposed California HST System. The Authority certified
the Final Program EIR and issued a decision, and FRA issued a Record of
Decision in November 2005 on the Final Program EIS, selecting the HST
Alternative for further project level environmental review and
selecting corridor alignments and potential station locations,
including a corridor between Los Angeles and Orange County. The
preparation of this project level Los Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS
will involve development of preliminary engineering designs and
assessment of environmental effects associated with the construction,
operation, and maintenance of the HST system, including track,
ancillary facilities and stations, along the previously selected Los
Angeles-Orange County corridor.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the Los Angeles-Orange County
HST EIR/EIS should be provided to the Authority by April 24, 2007.
Public scoping meetings are scheduled from April 5-April 12, 2007, as
noted below.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope should be sent to Mr. Dan
Leavitt, Deputy Director, ATTN. Los Angeles--Orange County, California
High-Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA
95814, or via e-mail with the subject line ``Los Angeles-Orange County
HST'' to: comments@hsr.ca.gov. Comments may also be provided orally or
in writing at the scoping meetings scheduled at the following locations:
? Union Station/METRO (Los Angeles), METRO Board Room, One
Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012, on April 5, 2007, from 3 p.m. to
5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
? Anaheim, Gordon Hoyt Conference Room, City Hall West, 201
S. Anaheim Boulevard, Anaheim, CA on April 11, 2007, from 3 p.m. to 5
p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m..
? Norwalk, Arts & Sports Complex Community Meeting Center
(Sproul Room), 13000 Clarkdale Avenue, Norwalk, CA 90651 on April 12,
2007, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m..
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Valenstein, Environmental
Program Manager, Office of Railroad Development, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 20590;
Telephone (202) 493-6368, or Mr. Leavitt at the above noted address.
[[Page 12251]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The California High-Speed Rail Authority
(Authority) was established in 1996 and is authorized and directed by
statute to undertake the planning for the development of a proposed
statewide HST network that is fully coordinated with other public
transportation services. The Legislature has granted the Authority the
powers necessary to oversee the construction and operation of a
statewide HST network once financing is secured. As part of the
Authority's efforts to implement a high-speed train system, the
Authority adopted a Final Business Plan in June 2000, which reviewed
the economic feasibility of a 700-mile long HST system capable of
speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour on a dedicated, fully grade-
separated state-of-the art track.
The FRA has responsibility for oversight of 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 a Final Program EIR/EIS
for the Proposed California High-Speed Train System (statewide program
EIR/EIS), as the first-phase of a tiered environmental review process.
The Authority certified the Final Program EIR under CEQA and approved
the proposed HST System, and FRA issued a Record of Decision under NEPA
on the Final Program EIS. This statewide program EIR/EIS established
the purpose and need for the HST system, analyzed a HST alternative,
and compared it 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 and selected certain corridors/
general alignments and general station locations, incorporated
mitigation strategies and design practices, and specified further
measures to guide the development of the HST System at the site-
specific project level of environmental review to avoid and minimize
potential adverse environmental impacts.
The Los Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS will be developed as a
second-tier, site-specific environmental document. It is one of a
number of second-tier environmental reviews for sections of the HST
system that FRA and the Authority intend to undertake. It will be
tiered from and incorporate by reference the certified statewide
program EIR/EIS in accordance with Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) regulations (40 CFR 1508.28) and State CEQA Guidelines (14 C.C.R.
Sec. 15168[b]). Tiering will ensure that the Los Angeles-Orange County
HST EIR/EIS builds upon all previous work prepared for and incorporated
in the statewide program EIR/EIS. The EIR/EIS will be carried out in
accordance with FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts
(64 FR 28545 [May 26, 1999]) and will address not only NEPA and CEQA,
but other applicable statutes, regulations and executive orders,
including the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act, 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 merger
process established through the statewide program EIR/EIS process.
The Los Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS and other project level
EIR/EISs will examine a range of project alternatives for portions of
the proposed HST system within corridors selected in the statewide
program EIR/EIS, as well as a no action alternative. This and other
project level EIR/EISs will fully describe site-specific environmental
impacts and will identify specific mitigation measures to address those
impacts and will 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 and
other project EIR/EISs will identify and evaluate reasonable and
feasible site-specific alignment alternatives, evaluate the impacts
from construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST system, and
identify mitigation measures. Information and documents regarding the
HST environmental review process will be made available through the
Authority's Internet site: http://www.cahighspeedrail.gov/.
Purpose and Need: 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 growth
in travel demand, there will be an increase in travel delays arising
from the growing congestion on California's highways and at 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 a 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 purpose of the proposed HST system is to provide a
new mode of high-speed intercity travel that would link the major
metropolitan areas of the state; interface with international airports,
mass transit, and highways; and provide added capacity to meet
increases in intercity travel demand in California in a manner
sensitive to and protective of California's unique natural resources.
Alternatives: The Los Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS will
consider a No Action or No Project Alternative and HST Alternatives for
the Los Angeles to Orange County corridor.
No Action Alternative: The take no action (No Project or No Build)
alternative is defined to serve as the baseline for assessment of the
HST Alternative. The No Build Alternative represents the region's
transportation system (highway, air, and conventional rail) as it
existed in 2006, and as it would exist after completion of programs or
projects currently planned for funding and implementation by 2030. The
No Build Alternative defines the existing and future intercity
transportation system for the Los Angeles to Orange County corridor
based on programmed and funded improvements to the intercity
transportation system through 2030, according to the following sources
of information: State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP),
Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport
plans, and intercity passenger rail plans.
HST Alternative: The Authority proposes to construct, operate and
maintain an electric-powered steel-wheel-on-steel-rail HST system, over
700-mile long (1,126-kilometer long), capable of speeds in excess of
200 miles per hour (mph) (320 kilometers per hour [km/h]) on dedicated,
fully grade-separated tracks, with state-of-the-art safety, signaling,
and automated train control systems. The Los Angeles to Orange County
corridor that was selected by the Authority and FRA with the statewide
program EIR/EIS follows the existing BNSF/Metrolink rail corridor (also
known as the LOSSAN Corridor) from Los Angeles Union Station as far
south as Irvine. The Los Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS
[[Page 12252]]
will consider HST service from Los Angeles to Anaheim. The HST system
can provide service to Orange County with a terminus in Anaheim. Beyond
Anaheim right-of-way is constrained and environmental conditions are
different. HST service beyond Anaheim to Irvine may be considered
separately in the future.
Further engineering studies to be undertaken as a part of this EIR/
EIS process will examine and refine alignments in the selected
corridor, including the alignment option identified in the statewide
program EIR/EIS that shares tracks with other passenger services
separated from freight trains with 4 total tracks (2 for passenger rail
service and 2 for freight service) between Los Angeles and Fullerton
and 2 total tracks with additional passing tracks South of Fullerton.
With this alignment option, the electrified HST would share tracks (at
reduced speeds) with non-electric Metrolink commuter rail, Amtrak
Surfliner intercity services and occasional freight trains (there are
fewer freight operations south of Fullerton). This alignment option is
based on the premise that the capacity and compatibility issues
associated with the shared operations with existing non-electric
service (Surfliners, Metrolink, and freight) can be resolved.
Additional alignment options will be considered that involve dedicated
HST tracks that may be exclusive to HST service or that may also
accommodate Metrolink express services.
Station location options were selected by the Authority and FRA
with the statewide program EIR/EIS considering travel time, train
speed, cost, local access times, potential connections with other modes
of transportation, ridership potential, and the distribution of
population and major destinations along the route, and local planning
constraints/conditions. Alternative station sites at the selected
general station locations will be identified and evaluated in this
project level EIR/EIS. Station area development policies to encourage
transit-friendly development near and around HST stations that would
have the potential to promote higher density, mixed-use, pedestrian-
oriented development will be prepared in coordination with local and
regional planning agencies. Potential station locations to be evaluated
in the Los Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS include: City of Los
Angeles-Union Station; City of Norwalk-Norwalk Transportation Center;
and City of Anaheim-Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center
(ARTIC). In addition, potential sites for turnback/layover train
storage facilities and a main HST repair and heavy maintenance facility
will be evaluated in the Los Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS.
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 the 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; secondary
development; land acquisition, displacements, and relocations; cultural
resource 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 all adverse impacts will be identified and evaluated.
Scoping and Comments: FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS
process during scoping and review of the resulting environmental
documents. 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 a potential for significant impacts
identifiable at a project level. Public agencies with jurisdiction are
requested to advise FRA and the Authority 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
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 level EIR/EIS.
Public scoping meetings have been scheduled as 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
advertised locally and included in additional public notification.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2007.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development.
[FR Doc. E7-4710 Filed 3-14-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P