[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]
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