[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 98 (Thursday, May 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29161-29162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-11397]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement: High Speed Rail 
Corridor Las Vegas, NV to Anaheim, CA

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that FRA 
will prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for 
the California-Nevada Interstate Maglev Project in cooperation with the 
Nevada Department of Transportation. FRA is also issuing this notice to 
solicit public and agency input into the development of the scope of 
the PEIS and to advise the public that outreach activities conducted by 
the program participants will be considered in the preparation of the 
PEIS.
    The FRA will establish the purpose and need, examine the regional 
implications, present site-specific aspects of the project that can 
proceed to construction, and determine the feasible study areas to be 
carried forward for second tier assessments of site-specific 
environmental impacts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
programmatic environmental review, please contact:
    Mr. Christopher Bonanti, Environmental Program Manager, Office of 
Railroad Development, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont 
Avenue (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 20590; Telephone (202) 493-6383; 
e-mail: [email protected].
    Mr. Jeffrey Fontaine, P.E., Director, Telephone (775) 888-7440, e-
mail: [email protected]; or Mr. James Mallery, Planning 
Manager, Telephone (775) 888-7464, e-mail: [email protected]; 
Nevada Department of Transportation, 1263 South Stewart Street, Carson 
City, NV 89712.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    For over twenty years, the California Nevada Super Speed Train 
Commission (CNSSTC), a public agency chartered within the State of 
Nevada, has sponsored studies to examine the feasibility and the 
environmental impacts of linking the Las Vegas area with various points 
in the Los Angeles region using a high-speed ground transportation 
system. Most of these studies have focused on the use of magnetic 
levitation technology. More recently, the CNSSTC sponsored the first 
leg of such a project, linking a point on the outskirts of Las Vegas 
with the city of Primm, on the California-Nevada border, as one of the 
entries competing in the FRA's Maglev Deployment Program authorized in 
Section 1218 (23 U.S.C. 322) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 
21st Century (TEA21).
    The FRA prepared a programmatic EIS (PEIS) to address the potential 
for significant environmental impact from the Maglev Deployment Program 
that included the Las Vegas-Primm project as one of seven projects 
analyzed in the PEIS. The notice of availability of the final PEIS was 
published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2001. CNSSTC had prepared 
an environmental assessment for the Las Vegas-Primm project in February 
2000, which was used by the FRA to assist the agency in preparing the 
PEIS. The PEIS for the Maglev Deployment Program is available on the 
FRA Web site at: http://www.dot.fra.gov/s/env/maglev/MagPEIS.htm and 
the environmental assessment is available from Mr. Bruce Aguilera, 
Chairman, California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission, 400 Las Vegas 
Blvd. South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101, Telephone (702) 229-4949.
    Other recent documents related to the Las Vegas-Anaheim project 
include the preparation by the CNSSTC of Project Descriptions 
describing the 169-mile Las Vegas-Barstow component as a stand-alone 
project, which were submitted to the FRA in June 2002; and the Ontario-
Anaheim segment, which was submitted to the FRA in June 2003.
    The Department of Transportation and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2003 (Pub. L. 108-7), which provides appropriations 
for the FRA and other agencies, included funds specifically to conduct 
additional design, engineering and environmental studies concerning the 
California-Nevada Interstate Maglev Project under the FRA's Next 
Generation High Speed Rail Technology Demonstration Program. Some of 
these funds will be used to conduct the system-wide Programmatic EIS.
    The FRA has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the 
CNSSTC, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the 
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) governing the 
conduct of this Programmatic EIS. FRA is serving as the lead federal 
agency, NDOT is the lead state agency, and the California Department of 
Transportation (Caltrans) and CNSSTC are cooperating agencies. Through 
this PEIS, the FRA, NDOT and the cooperating agencies will examine 
alternative routes, viable transportation alternatives, and system-wide 
environmental issues, and identify site-specific problem areas 
deserving of more detailed analysis. In particular, in light of 
environmental assessment work previously completed and the likely 
construction sequencing should a decision be made to proceed with the 
project following completion of the programmatic environmental review, 
the PEIS will address the Las Vegas to Primm segment in greater detail 
that might allow this particular segment to proceed into final design 
and construction once the PEIS is complete.

[[Page 29162]]

Environmental Issues

    Possible environmental impacts include displacement of commercial 
and residential properties, disproportionate impacts to minority and 
low-income populations, community and neighborhood disruption, 
increased noise and electromagnetic interference along rail corridors 
including startle effects on highway vehicles, traffic impacts 
associated with stations, effects to historic properties or 
archaeological sites, impacts to parks and recreational resources, 
visual quality effects, impacts to water resources, wetlands, and 
sensitive biological species and habitat, land use compatibility 
impacts, energy use, and impacts to agricultural lands.

Alternatives

    The PEIS will consider alternatives including: (1) Taking no 
action, (2) various alignment options and station locations for the 
entire length of the project and (3) other viable transportation 
alternatives. The degree of detail in the analysis may vary at 
different locations. In particular, at the Nevada end, it may be 
sufficiently detailed to support a site-specific EIS, while in the much 
longer California segment, it may be of a broader programmatic scale, 
sufficient to support a decision to go ahead with the entire project, 
but requiring further analysis to resolve specific detailed routing and 
design issues.

Scoping and Comment

    FRA encourages broad participation in the PEIS process and review 
of the resulting environmental documents. Comments and suggestions 
related to the project and potential environmental concerns are invited 
from all interested agencies and the public at large to ensure that the 
full range of issues related to the proposed action and all reasonable 
alternatives are addressed and all significant issues are identified. 
The public is invited to participate in the scoping process, to review 
the Draft PEIS when published, and to provide input at public meetings. 
Letters describing the proposed scope of the PEIS and soliciting 
comments will be sent to appropriate Federal, State and local agencies, 
elected officials, community organizations, and to private 
organizations and citizens who have previously expressed interest in 
this proposal. Several public meetings to be advertised in the local 
media will be held in the project area regarding this proposal. Release 
of the Draft PEIS for public comment and public meetings and hearings 
related to that document will be announced as those dates are 
established.
    Persons interested in providing comments on the scope of the 
programmatic EIS should do so within thirty days of the publication of 
this Notice of Intent. Comments can be sent in writing to FRA or NDOT 
representatives at the addresses listed above.
    Public Scoping Meetings will be held at the following respective 
locations and dates:

Las Vegas, Nevada

    Date: June 21, 2004.
    Time: 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Location: City of Las Vegas, City Council Chambers, 400 Stewart 
Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89101.

Ontario, California

    Date: June 22, 2004.
    Time: 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Location: Ontario Convention Center, 2000 Convention Center Way, 
Ontario, CA 91764.

Victorville, California

    Date: June 23, 2004.
    Time: 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Location: Victorville Activity Center, 15075 Hesperia Rd., 
Victorville, CA 92392.

Barstow, California

    Date: June 24, 2004.
    Time: 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Location: Barstow College, Norman Smith Center, 2700 Barstow Rd., 
Barstow, CA 92311.

Anaheim, California

    Date: June 28, 2004.
    Time: 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Location: City Hall West, 2nd Floor, Gordon Hoyt Conference Room, 
201 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92805.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 14, 2004.
Jo Strang,
Deputy Associate Administrator of Railroad Development.
[FR Doc. 04-11397 Filed 5-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P