[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 48 (Friday, March 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12400-12402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6152]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Transportation Improvements 
Within the Riverview Corridor Study Area in the City of Saint Paul, 
Minnesota

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) is issuing this 
notice to advise interested agencies and the public that FTA and Ramsey 
County Regional Railroad Authority (RCRRA) intend to study and evaluate 
alternative transportation system changes in the Riverview Corridor 
study area in the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, in an Environmental 
Impact Statement.

DATES: Public scoping interviews with key community stakeholders were 
held in November and December, 1998, and January and February, 1999, to 
receive information on the scope, alternatives and transportation 
problems in the corridor. Interagency and public scoping and 
information meetings will be held on March 25, 1999, from 10 a.m. to 
12:00 p.m., and from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., respectively. The 
locations of both meetings are wheelchair-accessible. Sign language 
interpreters for the hearing impaired can be arranged with advance 
notice of seven business days. Please contact the RCRRA office (651-
266-2762) for further information and for directions to the meeting 
locations.
    Scoping Interviews with 60 stakeholders were held as follows:

November 1998:
    November 24-25, 1998
December 1998:
    December 7-8, 1998
    December 21-22, 1998
January 1999:
    January 4-28, 1999
February 1999:
    February 8-12, 1999

    Interagency Scoping Meeting will be held at the following location: 
Thursday, March 25, 1999, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., West Seventh 
Community Center, Gymnasium, 265 Oneida Street, St. Paul, MN 55102.
    Public Scoping Meeting will be held at the following location: 
Thursday, March 25, 1999, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., West Seventh 
Street Recreation Center, Gymnasium, 265 Oneida Street, St. Paul, MN 
55102.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of analysis and impacts to be 
considered should be sent by April 24, 1999 to: Ms. Kathryn 
DeSpiegelaere, Director, Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority, 
Suite 665 RCGC West, 50 West Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul, MN 55102.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul Fish, Director, Planning & 
Program Development, FTA Region 5, 200 West Adams Street, Suite 2410, 
Chicago, IL 60606, Telephone: (312) 353-2789.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RCRRA, in consultation with the Metropolitan 
Council and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, has decided to 
conduct a Major Investment Study (MIS) to assist local decision-making, 
even though the separate MIS requirement was eliminated by the 
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) legislation. 
The transportation improvements are being defined in the MIS for the 
study area. The MIS includes the NEPA scoping process, the 
identification and evaluation of multi-modal transportation facility 
and/or service alternatives, and, if appropriate the selection of a 
preferred design concept and scope in the study area. Subsequently, 
alternative transportation facility alignments and designs that are 
consistent with the selected concept and scope may be addressed in an 
EIS for the study area. It is important to note that a final decision 
to prepare an EIS has not been made at this time. This decision will be 
made at the end of the Major Investment Study and will depend upon the 
nature of the selected concept and its expected impacts.

I. Scoping

    The public scoping process was initiated by the Ramsey County 
Regional Railroad Authority on November 24, 1998, based upon 
approximately 60 interviews with individuals representing the local 
residential communities, businesses and other interests within the 
study area. This process was continued through February 1999. 
Additional meetings have been scheduled to ensure that all interested 
parties in the corridor and the

[[Page 12401]]

adjacent community are provided an opportunity to participate in the 
process of determining the scope of the study.
    Two scoping meetings will be held at different hours on the same 
day to facilitate attendance by interested agencies and the general 
public. An interagency scoping meeting will be held on March 25, 1999, 
from 10:00 am to 12:00 p.m. at the West Seventh Community Center, and a 
general public scoping meeting will be held on March 25 from 5:00 p.m. 
to 8:00 p.m. at the same location. FTA and RCRRA invite all interested 
individuals, organizations, and federal, state, and local public 
agencies to participate in the scoping process defining the 
alternatives to be evaluated in the MIS and identifying any significant 
social, economic or environmental issues related to the alternatives.
    FTA and RCRRA invite interested individuals, organizations, and 
public agencies to participate in the scoping process by attending the 
scoping meetings and participating in establishing the purpose, 
alternatives, time frame, and analysis approach, as well as an active 
public involvement program. The public is invited to comment on the 
public involvement approach, the alternatives to be addressed, the 
modes and technologies to be evaluated, the alignments and termination 
points to be considered, the environmental, social, and economic issues 
related to the alternatives, and the evaluation approach to be used to 
select a locally preferred alternative.
    People with special needs should call Kathy DeSpiegelaere at 651-
266-2762. The buildings for the scoping meetings are accessible to 
people with disabilities.
    To ensure that a full range of issues is addressed and all 
significant issues are identified, comments and suggestions are invited 
from all interested parties. Comments or questions should be directed 
to Ms. Kathryn DeSpiegelaere at the address provided above.

II. Description of Study Areas and Project Need

    The study area being analyzed for this MIS is the Riverview 
Corridor, which generally follows the Mississippi River between the 
eastern edge of the Saint Paul downtown area, the Fort Snelling site, 
the Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport, and the Mall of 
America. The corridor includes two major roadways, West 7th Street and 
Shepard Road, which traverse the study area running parallel with the 
Mississippi River floodplain, and a railroad alignment located between 
the roads.
    The Riverview Corridor study area can be described as a long, 
narrow corridor aligned in a southwesterly to northeasterly direction. 
The study area limits are generally the Mississippi River on the south, 
West 7th Street on the north, Arcade Street at 7th Street on the 
northeast, and the Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport and 
Mall of America on the southwest. The Riverview Corridor study area 
covers approximately 20 square miles in the City of Saint Paul, the 
City of Minneapolis, and the City of Bloomington. Potential alignments 
for crossing the Mississippi River and connecting with the airport and 
Mall of America are located in the cities of Minneapolis and 
Bloomington and on federal lands where Fort Snelling and the adjacent 
Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport are located.
    There are several issues that have been identified in the Riverview 
Corridor study area that relate to transportation. These include 
mobility limitations, redevelopment activity within the study area, 
projected growth of residential population, changing demographics in 
the local population that would correlate with an increased proportion 
of transit captive residents, projected growth of employment, lack of 
east-west connections along the corridor, lack of an efficient 
connection from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to the 
Saint Paul Central Business District (CBD), congestion (especially 
along I-35E and State Highway 5), and pedestrian and vehicular safety.

III. Alternatives

    It is expected that the public scoping process and written comments 
will be a major source of candidate alternatives for consideration in 
the study. The types of transportation alternatives suggested in a 
prior study for consideration in the Riverview Major Investment Study 
include: No-Build, Transportation Demand Management (TDM), 
Transportation Systems Management (TSM), Busway Alternatives, and Light 
Rail Transit Alternatives.
    1. No-Build Alternative--Existing and planned transit services and 
programmed new transportation facilities to the year 2020.
    2. Transportation Demand Management (TDM)--Strategies to reduce 
automobile usage such as carpooling programs, parking fee increases and 
employer-based programs.
    3. TSM Alternative--Low cost improvements, such as enhanced bus 
service, or signal coordination or ramp metering to enhance the 
capacity of the existing roadway system.
    4. Busway Alternative--Exclusive lanes for buses to move transit 
riders more quickly.
    5. Light Rail Transit Alternative--Light rail transit service that 
would connect the Saint Paul CBD with the Minneapolis-Saint Paul 
International Airport and Mall of America, and eventually link to other 
proposed busway and/or light rail lines as part of an integrated 
regional transit system.
    The previous study of the Riverview Corridor also concluded that 
the following alignments should be examined for transportation 
improvements in the study area: West Seventh Street Busway; Canadian 
Pacific Railroad Corridor Busway; Canadian Pacific Railroad Corridor 
Light Rail Transit; and West Seventh Street Light Rail Transit. Based 
on public input received during scoping and subsequent technical 
analyses, variations of the above alternatives and other 
transportation-related improvement options will be considered for the 
study area.

IV. Probable Effects/Potential Impacts for Analysis

    Issues and impacts to be considered during the study analyses 
include potential changes to: the physical environment (air quality, 
noise, water quality, aesthetics, etc.); the social and manmade 
environment (land use, development, neighborhoods, etc.); vehicular 
circulation, parking and in-street operation of buses and rail; 
parklands and historic resources; transportation system performance; 
capital, operating and maintenance costs; available financial 
resources; and positive or negative financial impact on the region.
    Evaluation criteria will include consideration of the local goals 
and objectives established for the study area, measures of 
effectiveness identified during scoping, criteria established by FTA 
for ``New Start'' transit projects, consistent with the applicable 
Federal, State of Minnesota, and local standards, criteria, 
regulations, and policies. Mitigation measures will be explored for any 
adverse impacts that are identified as part of the analyses.

V. Procedures

    In accordance with the regulations and guidance established by CEQ, 
as well as with 23 CFR 450 and 23 CFR 771 of the FHWA/FTA planning and 
environmental regulations and policies, the MIS and possible Draft EIS 
(DEIS) will include an evaluation of the social, economic, and 
environmental impacts

[[Page 12402]]

of the alternatives. The MIS will also comply with the requirements of 
the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) and with the Executive 
Order 12898 on Environmental Justice. After its publication, the MIS 
and DEIS will be available for public and agency review and comment. If 
a DEIS is prepared, a public hearing will be held. On the basis of the 
MIS and DEIS, and the comments received, RCRRA and the MPO will select 
a locally preferred alternative for a major investment strategy. The 
locally preferred alternative will then be reaffirmed by the MPO for 
inclusion into the Transportation Policy Plan for the Twin Cities 
Metropolitan Area (regional transportation plan) and the Transportation 
Improvement Program (TIP). The MIS shall lead to specification of the 
project's mode, the design concept and scope in sufficient detail to 
meet the requirements of the US Environmental Protection Agency's 
transportation conformity regulations [40 CFR 93 and 23 CFR 
450.322(b)(8)]. RCRRA and the MPO will then seek approval from FTA to 
continue with Preliminary Engineering and the preparation of the Final 
EIS.

    Issued on: March 8, 1999.
Joel P. Ettinger,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Chicago, 
Illinois.
[FR Doc. 99-6152 Filed 3-11-99; 8:45 am]
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