[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16778-16780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8478]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement on the I-71 Light Rail Transit 
Project in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Region

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) (the Federal lead 
agency) and the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments 
(OKI), the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Cincinnati 
region (the local lead agency), intend to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the I-71 Light Rail Transit Project. In 
March of 1998, OKI completed a Major Investment Study (MIS) which 
studied four alternatives for the I-71 Corridor: Light Rail Transit, 
No-Build, Transportation Systems Management (TSM), Busway and High 
Occupancy Vehicle Lanes. The OKI selected the Light Rail Transit as the 
Locally Preferred Strategy.
    The EIS is being prepared in conformance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and will also satisfy the requirements 
of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA). The EIS will evaluate the 
following transportation alternatives: a No-Build Alternative, a 
Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternative, and the Light Rail 
Transit (LRT) Alternative. Key stakeholders include the Ohio Department 
of Transportation (ODOT), the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), 
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), Transit Authority of 
Northern Kentucky (TANK), Hamilton County, Kenton County, and the 
cities of Cincinnati, Covington, Blue Ash, and Montgomery.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives 
and impacts to be considered must be postmarked by June 15, 1999. 
Scoping Meetings: Public Scoping Meetings will be held on: May 10th--
Monday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Evanston Recreation Center, 3204 Wooburn 
Avenue, Cincinnati, OH; May 11th--Tuesday 11

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a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Christ Church Undercroft, 318 East Fourth 
Street, Cincinnati, OH; May 12th--Wednesday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Blue 
Ash City Council Chambers, 4343 Cooper Road, Blue Ash, OH; and on May 
18th--Tuesday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the City of Covington, City 
Commission Chambers, 638 Madison Avenue, Covington, KY.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. Warner Moore, Project 
Manager, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, 801-B 
West Eighth Street, Suite 400, Cincinnati, OH 45203-1607.

SCOPING PROCESS: The purposes of the Public Scoping Meetings are to: 
Provide interested individuals with an introduction to and an overview 
of the EIS process, and provide the opportunity for comments on the 
alternatives being considered and significant issues or impacts to be 
addressed in the EIS. Four Public Scoping Meetings will be held in the 
study area. Comments may be submitted orally at any of the Scoping 
Meetings or in writing during the Scoping comment period for the 
preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) which 
ends on June 15, 1999. The Scoping Meetings will begin at 11 a.m. for 
the lunch-time meeting in the downtown Cincinnati and at 5 p.m. for 
evening meetings. Each meeting will include an open house where 
attendees will be able to view graphics and discuss the project with 
project representatives. A presentation on the project will be given at 
12 p.m. for lunch-time meeting and at 6 p.m. for the evening meetings, 
followed by an additional opportunity for questions and answers during 
both the lunch-time and evening meetings. Scoping material will be 
available at the meeting or in advance of the meeting by contacting Mr. 
Jeff Walker, Planner II, at (513) 621-6300 or the TDD number at (513) 
621-7063. A sign language interpreter will be available for the hearing 
impaired. The buildings are accessible to people with disabilities and 
are open to all members of the community.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Mr. Paul Fish, Federal Transit Administration, Region V, (312) 353-
2865.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    The FTA and OKI invite interested individuals, organizations, and 
federal, state and local agencies to participate in defining the 
alternatives to be evaluated in the EIS; identifying any significant 
social, economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated; and 
suggesting alternatives that are less costly or have less environmental 
impacts while achieving similar transportation objectives. An 
information packet, referred to as the Scoping Booklet, will be 
circulated to all federal, state or local agencies having jurisdiction 
in the project, and all interested parties currently on the OKI mailing 
list. Others may request this Scoping Booklet by contacting Mr. Jeff 
Walker, Planner II, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of 
Governments, 801-B West Eighth Street, Suite 400, Cincinnati, OH 45203-
1607, or by phone at (513) 621-6300 or TDD at (513) 621-7063.
    During Scoping, comments should focus on identifying the range of 
alternatives that should be considered and not stating a preference for 
a particular alternative. Scoping comments may be made at the Public 
Scoping Meeting or in writing within 45 days after publication of this 
notice. See the DATES section above for the locations and times of the 
Scoping Meetings and the ADDRESSES section above for the contact person 
for sending in written comments.

II. Description of the Study Area and Project

    The study area is a north-south corridor which is approximately 18 
miles long and generally parallels Interstate-71 (I-71). The LRT 
Alternative would extend from the south side of downtown Covington, 
Kentucky, through the downtown area of Covington, across the Ohio River 
into downtown Cincinnati, through a tunnel under Mount Auburn, through 
the Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati area, north to the 
City of Norwood where it will meet the SORTA right-of-way (on which the 
Indiana-Ohio Railroad previously owned and currently operates), and 
north to serve Silverton, Kenwood, Deer Park, Montgomery and Blue Ash. 
A yard and shop facility will be located somewhere along the length of 
the alignment.
    Double-track light rail transit construction is being studied with 
in-street running in downtown areas and ballast tracks within the 
exclusive railroad right-of-way north of Cincinnati. The Clay Wade 
Bailey Bridge corridor will be examined during the Scoping Process to 
determine its potential for the Ohio River crossing. The study includes 
a proposal for approximately 20 stations to be designed for pedestrians 
as well as both bus and park-and-ride access. The LRT project is 
intended to provide fixed rail service between key activity centers in 
Cincinnati and Covington, including both cities' downtown districts, 
the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, the Aranoff Theatre District, 
the Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, the 
Cincinnati Bengal's Paul Brown Stadium, the new Cincinnati Reds 
Baseball Stadium, the Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the 
Cincinnati Convention Center. Key employers along the proposed 
alignment include the IRS Regional Center, Procter & Gamble World 
Headquarters, Proctor & Gamble Sharon Woods Technical Center, Chiquita 
Brands International, Cinergy Corporation/Cincinnati Gas & Electric 
Company, the Kroger Company, the American Financial Group, Inc., 
Cincinnati Bell, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Hamilton County, Kenton County, 
and the Cities of Covington and Cincinnati Administrative Offices and 
City/County Court systems.
    The I-71 Corridor has been and continues to be an area of 
significant growth for the region. Traffic congestion on many of the 
corridor's roadways is currently at unacceptable levels and is expected 
to worsen with the projected employment and population growth. Low-
income, transit-dependent populations are increasing in the region, 
along with the need for improved access to jobs. Both riverfront areas 
of Covington and Cincinnati are experiencing tremendous public and 
private sector investment in the economic development and 
revitalization of the central cities. These redevelopment efforts, 
which will focus employment, entertainment, recreation and tourism on 
the riverfront area, will place a greater demand on existing roadways 
and transit service.
    In response to this need, OKI conducted an MIS for the I-71 
corridor. The results of the MIS study included the selection of a 
locally preferred strategy of a light rail transit system with downtown 
and suburban stops along the alignment, including stations, park-and-
ride lots and transit centers. Transit improvements are intended to 
alleviate traffic congestion in the I-71 corridor by offering an 
alternative to single-occupancy vehicle travel, and assisting in the 
achievement of regional air quality goals.

III. Alternatives

    The transportation alternatives proposed for consideration in this 
I-71 Light Rail Transit Project Draft EIS include:
    (1) No-Build Alternative, which involves no change to 
transportation services or facilities in the corridor beyond already 
committed projects;
    (2) Transportation System Management (TSM) Alternative which

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consists of low to medium cost improvements to the facilities and 
operation of the METRO and TANK bus systems in addition to the 
currently planned transit improvements in the corridor; and
    (3) Light Rail Alternative, including stations and support 
facilities, generally located parallel to the I-71 corridor and on 
surface streets in downtown Covington and Cincinnati combined with a 
modified bus service component. Stations would be located to serve 
potentially significant trip generators and in areas where economic 
development efforts are planned or underway in order to maximize 
potential joint development opportunities.

IV. Probable Effects

    The FTA and OKI will evaluate significant environmental, social, 
and economic impacts of the alternatives analyzed in the EIS. Primary 
environmental issues include: land-use, historic and archeological 
resources, traffic and parking, noise and vibration, neighborhoods and 
environmental justice, floodplain encroachment, coordination with 
ongoing related transportation and economic development projects, and 
construction impacts. Other issues the EIS will address include natural 
areas, rare and endangered species, air and water quality, groundwater, 
energy, potentially contaminated sites, displacements and relocations, 
ecosystems, water resources, hazardous waste, parklands, and energy 
impacts. The impacts will be evaluated both for the construction period 
and for the long-term period of operation of each alternative. In 
addition, the cumulative effects of the proposed project and any 
irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources will be 
identified. Measures to avoid or mitigate any significant adverse 
impacts will be developed.

V. FTA Procedures

    In accordance with the federal transportation planning regulations 
(23 CFR part 450) and the federal environmental impact regulations and 
related procedures (23 CFR part 771), the DEIS will be prepared to 
include an evaluation of the social, economic, and environmental 
impacts of the alternatives. The LRT Alternative was chosen as the 
Locally Preferred Strategy of the Major Investment Study completed in 
March of 1998. The project is included in the OKI Metropolitan Area 
Transportation Plan and conforming Transportation Improvement Program. 
The EIS and the Preliminary Engineering (PE) for the I-71 LRT PE/EIS 
will be prepared simultaneously and documented in the DEIS. The Final 
EIS will consider the public and agency comments received during the 
public and agency circulation of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement, and OKI will select the Preferred Alternative. Then OKI, 
with FTA as lead agency, will continue with the preparation of the 
Final EIS. Opportunity for additional public comment will be provided 
throughout all phases of project development.

    Issued on: April 1, 1999.
Joel P. Ettinger,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-8478 Filed 4-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P