[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55737-55739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24433]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for the Permanent PATH Terminal at 
World Trade Center in New York, NY

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

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

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SUMMARY: The FTA, in cooperation with the Port Authority of New York 
and New Jersey (PANYNJ), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on a proposal to create a new Permanent Port Authority 
Trans Hudson (PATH) Terminal at the World Trade Center (WTC) site.
    The proposed project would consist of a track and platform level, 
an associated mezzanine/fare equipment level, and a terminal building 
incorporating sub-grade pedestrian connections in all directions to 
adjacent streets, New York City Transit (NYCT) subways, and on and off-
site developments. The PATH tubes, tracks, platforms, and mezzanine 
would be located on the west portion of the WTC site between Greenwich 
and West Streets as they were prior to the September 11, 2001, attacks 
that destroyed the World Trade Center and the previous World Trade 
Center PATH Terminal. The platform level would contain four platforms 
and five tracks, and fare equipment would be located on the mezzanine 
level. A new terminal building would be constructed with a connection 
to the PATH mezzanine below it. The terminal building would provide 
pedestrian access to PATH from three levels. The lower concourse would 
have connections to the future buildings on the WTC site and off-site 
development across West, Vesey, and Church Streets. The upper concourse 
level would reestablish access to the NYCT stations on the 1/9, N, R, 
and E routes and would provide a possible connection to NYCT's proposed 
Fulton Street Transit Center for access to NYCT stations on the 2, 3, 
4, 5, J, M, Z, A, and C routes. (The Fulton Street Transit Center is 
the subject of a separate environmental review by FTA.) At street-
level, patrons could access via Church Street. The EIS is being 
prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969 and the applicable regulations implementing NEPA, as set 
forth in 23 CFR part 771 and 40 CFR parts 1500-1508.
    The EIS will evaluate a No Action Alternative, a Build Alternative 
and any reasonable alternative generated by the scoping process. 
Scoping will be accomplished through meetings and correspondence with 
interested persons, organizations, and Federal, state, regional and 
local agencies.

DATES: The public is invited to participate in project scoping on 
October 8, 2003, in New Jersey and on October 9, 2003, in New York at 
the locations identified under ADDRESSES below. To ensure that all 
significant issues are identified and considered, two sessions will be 
held at each meeting: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Poster 
boards depicting the project concept will be available for review at 
the meeting location. A formal presentation by the PANYNJ will be made 
at 2:30 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m. followed by the opportunity for the

[[Page 55738]]

public to comment on the scope of the EIS. Representatives of the 
PANYNJ will be available during the poster session for informal 
comments and questions. Those wishing to speak are required to register 
at the meeting location before 2:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Additional 
speakers will be invited until there are no more requesting to be 
heard. Subsequent opportunities will be announced on the Internet, by 
mail, and through other appropriate means, and will be conducted 
throughout the study area. Additional information may be obtained from 
the project's Web site: www.panynj.gov/PATHRestoration. Written 
comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to the PANYNJ Project 
Manager by 5 p.m. eastern daylight time on October 29, 2003, at the 
address given under ADDRESSES below.

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting in New York will be held at 
Alexander Hamilton Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York, New York. 
The New Jersey Scoping Meeting will be held at Hudson County 
Administration Annex Freeholder's Chambers, Jersey City, New Jersey. 
Both locations are accessible by persons with disabilities. If language 
translation or signing is needed, please notify PANYNJ at (212) 435-
5599 at least one week in advance of the meeting. Written comments will 
be accepted at the meeting or may be sent to the following address at 
any time during the scoping period: Mr. Anthony Cracchiolo, PANYNJ 
Priority Capital Programs, 115 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10006. 
The scoping document may also be requested by writing to this address 
or by calling (212) 435-5599. Requests to be placed on the project's 
mailing list may also be made by calling this number or writing to the 
project address above.

FOR FURTHER INORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Susan E. Schruth, Director, Lower 
Manhattan Recovery Office, Federal Transit Administration, One Bowling 
Green, Room 436, New York, NY 10004; Telephone: (212) 668-1770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    FTA and PANYNJ invite interested individuals, organizations, 
Federal, State, and local agencies to provide comments on the scope of 
the Permanent WTC PATH Terminal EIS. During the scoping process, 
comments should focus on specific social, economic, and/or 
environmental issues to be evaluated, and on suggesting reasonable 
alternatives that may be less costly or have fewer environmental 
impacts while addressing the purpose and need for the project. To 
assist interested parties in formulating their comments, a scoping 
document has been prepared and is available on the PANYNJ Web site 
address noted above, or upon request from the PANYNJ representative 
identified above. The scoping information document includes the 
project's purpose and need, goals and objectives, a preliminary list of 
alternatives and a description of each, and environmental areas that 
will be addressed during the course of the study. An outline of the 
ongoing public participation effort is also contained in the 
information document and on the Internet site given above.

II. Description of the Project Area

    PATH is a heavy-rail system that serves a total of 13 stations in 
New York and New Jersey. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 
(9/11), resulted in the destruction of the PATH Terminal at the World 
Trade Center. Prior to 9/11, PATH operated four routes, two of which 
terminated at the World Trade Center (WTC): Newark-WTC and Hoboken-WTC. 
In addition to providing direct service to Lower Manhattan from Newark, 
Jersey City, and Hoboken, intermodal connections along these routes 
allowed for transfers between PATH and New Jersey Transit (NJT) 
commuter rail, Newark city subway, New York City subways, trans-Hudson 
ferries, and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. Prior to 9/11, Lower 
Manhattan was the nation's third largest Central Business District with 
approximately 120 million square feet of office space. More than 
388,000 employees worked in Lower Manhattan, 16 percent of whom 
commuted from New Jersey and other points west of the Hudson River. 
PATH served as the principal mode of travel for New Jersey's commuters 
to Lower Manhattan.
    The WTC PATH Terminal was located within and beneath the WTC retail 
concourse on the western portion of the site. It provided a 
weatherproof connection to the WTC office towers and the World 
Financial Center. Street-level access served commuters traveling north, 
east, and south of the WTC site. Within the retail concourse, WTC PATH 
patrons could connect with subway stations on NYCT's 1/9, E, and N/R 
routes.
    The WTC and its PATH Terminal were a major downtown destination for 
commuters and visitors. Patrons of the PATH system could easily access 
the WTC, World Financial Center, the Financial District, and the Civic 
Center. PATH served not only as the principal connection to Lower 
Manhattan for New Jersey's commuters but also as an important link 
between Lower Manhattan and office centers in Jersey City, Newark, and 
Hoboken.

III. Problem Identification

    Prior to 9/11, the WTC PATH Terminal provided the primary transit 
link to Lower Manhattan from New Jersey, serving local markets in 
Hudson and Essex counties and providing a key linkage for New Jersey 
Transit rail commuters on routes at major transit hubs at Penn Station 
Newark and Hoboken Terminal. The WTC PATH Terminal served over 67,000 
PATH passengers daily and was operating near capacity during peak 
hours. This Terminal was destroyed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
    Since 9/11, PANYNJ has undertaken projects to temporarily restore 
PATH service to Lower Manhattan and to stabilize below-grade portions 
of the WTC site. PANYNJ is currently constructing a temporary PATH 
station with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding. 
Scheduled to open in November 2003, the temporary station is located in 
the southeast portion of the WTC site and will provide four tracks and 
three platforms in a configuration to accommodate 8-car PATH trains. 
The station will provide pedestrian access through the eastern portion 
of the WTC site to Church Street. Although the temporary WTC PATH 
station will allow restoration of service, it will not fully restore 
the pedestrian connections or the capacity that previously existed at 
the WTC PATH Terminal. Moreover, the temporary station was designed and 
constructed to have only a short-term service life to serve the 
transportation need while more lasting decisions about the WTC site are 
being made. Without a permanent Terminal, there will not be an adequate 
transit link between Lower Manhattan and New Jersey when the temporary 
PATH station must be retired in several years.

IV. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The Permanent WTC PATH Terminal is proposed to be a full service, 
regional transportation hub that will be integrated with the existing 
and future transportation infrastructure, WTC site development, and the 
surrounding area. The project is needed to reestablish and enhance 
transportation facilities and infrastructure that existed at the WTC 
complex prior to September 11, 2001, and to ensure the long-term 
accessibility and economic vitality of Lower Manhattan.

[[Page 55739]]

V. Alternatives

    Once the WTC site was stabilized after the destruction of 9/11, a 
review was undertaken by the PANYNJ to examine feasible alternatives 
for the reconstruction of a PATH Terminal. In developing these 
alternatives, PANYNJ considered the limitations of the previous WTC 
PATH Terminal and compatibility with other improvements proposed for 
downtown including the potential future Fulton Street Transit Center, 
reconstruction on the WTC site, and alternatives for Highway Route 9A. 
Four alternative locations were developed and evaluated: Reconstruction 
of PATH in the pre-9/11 location; new Church Street Terminal; new Vesey 
Street Terminal; and stub-end Broadway-Nassau Terminal. Preliminary 
analysis showed that both the Vesey and Broadway-Nassau Street options 
would not provide for significant improvements in service as compared 
to the pre-9/11 condition and would result in suspension of temporary 
PATH service during construction. While the Church Street option would 
provide for similar service and local transit connections as the pre-9/
11 location, it would be more costly, would result in a longer 
connection to the World Financial Center, and would limit the 
development potential for the WTC site. After careful consideration of 
these design options, PANYNJ has opted to carry forward the pre-9/11 
location for further study. Alternatives proposed for further study 
are:
    [sbull] No Action Alternative: The No Action alternative consists 
of the transportation facilities and real estate development most 
likely to be in place in the design year if the proposed project is not 
built. The future No Action Alternative reflects the assumption that 
Lower Manhattan development is expected to return to pre-9/11 densities 
in the vicinity of the project. The No Action Alternative will serve as 
the baseline against which the operational impacts of the proposed 
project are compared. The baseline for measuring the construction 
impacts of the project will be the conditions at the time of 
construction if the project were not built. Today's traffic, noise, air 
quality, and other conditions provide the best available estimate of 
the construction period conditions without the project.
    [sbull] Proposed Action Alternative: The proposed action would be 
to reconstruct the temporary WTC PATH station as a permanent terminal 
and to build a station house with above-grade connections to the street 
and below-grade pedestrian connections to the buildings on the WTC 
site, NYCT subways, and off-site developments across Church, Vesey, and 
West Streets. Since the reestablishment of the WTC PATH Terminal will 
support the larger redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, design 
alternatives for other projects may require modifications to the design 
of the Permanent WTC PATH Terminal. These station design options will 
be considered in the EIS.

VI. Potential Adverse Effects

    Upon its completion, the proposed Permanent WTC PATH Terminal is 
expected to restore and enhance the transit service to Lower Manhattan 
with few, if any, long-term adverse operational effects. In light of 
this, and in consideration of other new construction activity that is 
expected to occur in Lower Manhattan over the next decade, it is 
anticipated that construction-related impacts from the proposed project 
may be the most important aspect of the environmental evaluation under 
NEPA. Potential effects associated with the construction phase include 
impacts to: Vehicular and pedestrian access and circulation; noise and 
vibration; air quality; architectural and archeological resources; 
water quality; potential disturbance to contaminated and/or hazardous 
materials, which may be present in the area; economic conditions; and 
neighborhood character. The short-term cumulative effects of 
construction of this project and other Lower Manhattan recovery 
projects will be a major focus of the impact assessment. The long-term 
operational issues and impacts of the alternatives to be considered in 
the EIS include economic development; neighborhood character; cultural 
resources; transit operations; and pedestrian circulation to, from, and 
within the Terminal. In addition, the EIS will describe the methodology 
used to assess impacts; identify the affected environment; and identify 
opportunities and measures for mitigating adverse impacts that are 
unavoidable.

VII. FTA Procedures

    During the NEPA process, FTA also will comply with the requirements 
of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C., 469-470), Section 
4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 303), and other 
applicable environmental statutes, rules, and regulations, in 
accordance with FTA policy.
    After the scoping process, a Draft EIS will be prepared and made 
available for public and agency review and comment. One or more public 
hearings will be held on the Draft EIS. On the basis of the Draft EIS 
and the public and agency comments thereon, a preferred alternative 
will be selected and will be fully described and further developed in 
the Final EIS.

    Issued on: September 17, 2003.
Susan E. Schruth,
Director, Lower Manhattan Recovery Office.
[FR Doc. 03-24433 Filed 9-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P