[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38546-38547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-13971]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Union 
Station Master Plan and vicinity in downtown Denver, CO

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), U.S. Department of 
Transportation (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 agencies and the public that, in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), FTA as lead agency, the 
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) as cooperating agencies, the Regional 
Transportation District (RTD), in conjunction with the City and County 
of Denver (CCD), the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), 
and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), intend to prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the development 
alternatives and operation of a Master Plan for a mixed-use, intermodal 
transportation center that encompasses the Union Station property and 
adjacent vicinity in downtown Denver, Colorado. The project study area 
encompasses approximately 20-acres of land in the lower downtown area 
of Denver.
    Additionally as part of the EIS, an assessment of the effects on 
historic properties within the study area, including the Denver Union 
Station, will be conducted in accordance with Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

DATES: One scoping meeting will be held on the date and location shown 
below:

Date: June 20, 2002
Time: 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Ball Room 4
Address: 700 14th Street, Denver, Co. 80202
    People with special needs may contact the project Hot Line at (303) 
322-3320, 24-hours prior to the date of the scoping meeting for further 
assistance.
    An informational brochure describing the purpose of the Master Plan 
and EIS, the project location, proposed alternatives, and the impact 
area to be evaluated, will be mailed to affected federal, state, and 
local agencies and made available to those people attending the scoping 
meeting. Others may request scoping materials by accessing the project 
website at www.DenverUnionStation.org, by calling the Hot Line at (303) 
322-3320, or by contacting Mr. Dave Shelley, Project Manager, Regional 
Transportation District, at the address listed below.
    Written comments on the scope of the EIS, including the 
alternatives to be considered and the impacts to be studied, should be 
sent to Dave Shelley, Project Manager, Regional Transportation District 
by July 5, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Please forward your comments to Mr. Dave Shelley, Project 
Manager, Regional Transportation District, 1600 Blake Street, Denver, 
Colorado 80202-1399. Telephone: (303) 299-2408, or denver.com">dave.shelley@rtd-denver.com

[[Page 38547]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Contact: Mr. David Beckhouse, Community 
Planner, Federal Transit Administration, (303) 844-3242.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scoping Process:

    Project scoping will be accomplished through a public scoping 
meeting and correspondence with interested people, organizations, and 
local, regional, state and federal agencies. Public scoping meetings 
will be advertised in local newspapers and through other media. The 
purpose of the scoping process is to determine the scope of issues to 
be addressed and for identifying significant issues related to the 
proposed action. The development of the Master Plan and EIS will 
include opportunities for public participation and comment throughout 
the study process, so that interested individuals may contribute to the 
decision-making process.

Description of Master Plan and Transportation Needs

    A Master Plan will be developed to address what role the Union 
Station can play as an extremely efficient center for interconnecting 
various modes of transportation (cross-country, regional, and local bus 
and rail transit), and influencing land use by both the private and 
public sectors. All the activities, existing and proposed developments, 
and potential transportation terminals and modes, which are envisioned 
for the Union Station area, must co-exist efficiently and effectively. 
Therefore, a Master Plan must be created to identify and evaluate all 
the proposals and plans for the Union Station area. This evaluation 
will include, in terms of their impacts on each other within the 
context of the Union Station and its environs, the full build-out of 
the area, and how the alternatives will blend into the overall 
development of Union Station and its environs. Components of the plan 
include: the mixture of land uses, the magnitude of development, and 
the incorporation of new development into what has been built and 
planned for the Union Station environs. Special emphasis will be placed 
on transportation issues such as access, circulation, and parking. It 
is the intent of this project to use the Master Plan as the basis for 
any necessary rezoning of the study area to allow the build out of the 
plan.

Proposed Action

    The EIS scoping process will include an evaluation of alternatives 
relative to the development of the Master Plan in order to derive a 
proposed action.

Public Involvement

    A comprehensive public involvement program has been developed. The 
program includes a project web site (www.DenverUnionStation.org); a 24-
hour Hot Line (303) 322-3320, outreach to local and county officials 
and community and civic groups; a public scoping process to define the 
issues of concern among all parties interested in the project; a public 
hearing upon release of the draft environmental impact statement 
(DEIS); and development and distribution of a project newsletters.

Alternatives

    FTA and RTD propose to evaluate the no-action alternative and other 
reasonable alternatives identified during the public scoping and master 
planning processes that provide transportation benefits while reducing 
or avoiding adverse impacts. Interested individuals, organizations, and 
agencies are invited and encouraged to participate in defining the 
alternatives to be evaluated and related issues of concern.

Probable Effects and Potential Impacts for Analysis

    The FTA and RTD will evaluate all environmental, social and 
economic impacts of the alternatives analyzed in the EIS. The impact 
areas to be addressed include land use, visual/aesthetic values, 
ecosystems, mineral resources, cultural and historical resources, water 
quality, floodplains and drainage; air quality; noise and vibration, 
traffic and parking, hazardous materials, utilities, energy use and 
conservation, public safety and security; and community and economic 
impacts. The EIS will evaluate potential environmental justice issues 
as well as secondary, cumulative, and construction-related impacts. The 
need for right-of-way acquisitions and relocations will also be 
evaluated. Alternative alignments, designs, station locations, and 
other measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts will be 
developed and evaluated.

FTA Procedures

    In accordance with FTA policy, all Federal laws, regulations, and 
executive orders affecting project development, including but not 
limited to the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality and 
FTA implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and 23 CFR part 771), 
the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 
Executive Order 12898 regarding environmental justice, the National 
Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and section 4(f) 
of the DOT Act, will be addressed to the maximum extent practicable 
during the NEPA process. In addition, RTD may seek Sec. 5309 New Starts 
funding for the project or related projects that may terminate within 
the project area and will therefore be subject to the FTA New Starts 
regulations (49 CFR part 611). This New Starts regulation requires 
submission of certain specified information to FTA to support an RTD 
request to initiate preliminary engineering, which is normally done in 
conjunction with the NEPA process.

    Issued on: May 29, 2002.
Lee O. Waddleton,
FTA Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 02-13971 Filed 6-3-02; 8:45 am]
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