[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 123 (Monday, June 28, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36158-36159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14637]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the 
Silver Line Phase III, Boston, MA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (SEIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Massachusetts 
Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intend to prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Report (SEIR) in accordance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy 
Act (MEPA) for Phase III of the Silver Line. The Silver Line is 
comprised of two formerly separate MBTA bus rapid transit (BRT) 
projects: the South Boston Piers Transitway (now Silver Line Phase II), 
providing service from downtown Boston to the South Boston Waterfront 
area and Logan International Airport, and the Washington Street 
Replacement Transit Service (now Silver Line Phase I), extending from 
Dudley Square to downtown Boston. Phase III will connect Silver Line 
Phases I and II and will run from South Station to Washington Street 
along Essex and Boylston Streets. Two new Silver Line Stations are 
proposed: at Boylston Station (connecting to the MBTA Green Line) and 
Chinatown Station (connecting to the MBTA Orange Line). Alternative 
alignments for the tunnel extension to the portal connection to 
Washington Street will be evaluated in the SEIS.
    Phase III of the Silver Line incorporates what had originally been 
the second phase of the South Boston Piers Transitway, a tunnel 
connection between South Station and Boylston Station. An alignment for 
this phase, extending from South Station along Essex Street, Avenue de 
Lafayette, and Avery/Tremont Streets to Boylston Station terminating in 
a loop underneath the Boston Common Central Burying Ground, was 
reviewed and approved as part of the 1993 South Boston Piers/Fort Point 
Channel Transit Project Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final 
Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/FEIR). The FTA issued its Record of 
Decision (ROD) for the Full Build Alternative of the South Boston Piers 
Transitway Project (which was intended to be built in two phases) on 
May 12, 1994. The initial phase of the Transitway project (now Phase II 
of the Silver Line) is currently under construction between South 
Station and the South Boston waterfront. This SEIS will evaluate the 
alignment modifications from South Station (where it will connect to 
the Phase II tunnel) to Boylston Station and the alternative tunnel 
alignment and portal locations for the connection to Phase I of the 
Silver Line, which is currently providing service on Washington Street.

DATES: A Public Hearing will be held Wednesday, July 14, 2004 at 7 p.m. 
at the Renaissance School at 250 Stuart Street, Boston, Massachusetts. 
Written Comments on the scope of the SEIS should be sent to Mr. Andrew 
Brennan no later than Friday, July 30, 2004. See ADDRESSES below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. Andrew Brennan, 
Director of Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Bay Transportation 
Authority, 10 Park Plaza, Room 6720, Boston, MA 02116. Phone No. 617-
222-3126.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Laidley, Federal Transit 
Administration, Region 1, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 
02142, Phone No. 617-494-2484. Project Information can also be found on 
the MBTA's Web site at www.allaboutsilverline.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Comment

    FTA and MBTA will establish the scope of the SEIS for Silver Line 
Phase III after consulting with Federal, State, and local resource and 
regulatory agencies through meetings and correspondence, and after 
hearing from the general public. Interested individuals, organizations, 
and agencies are invited to comment on the alternatives to be evaluated 
and related issues of concern. Written comments on the alternatives and 
potential impacts to be considered should be sent to Andrew Brennan at 
the MBTA.

II. Alternatives

    A preferred alternative for the core tunnel segment has been 
selected. This core tunnel segment connects to the existing Silver Line 
Phase II tunnel in Atlantic Avenue, near South Station. The tunnel 
extends down Essex and Boylston Street to a turnaround loop under the 
intersection of Charles and Boylston Streets. Two new underground 
Silver Line stations at Chinatown and Boylston Street will be provided. 
The core tunnel segment is substantially similar to the project that 
was reviewed in the prior 1993 FEIS/FEIR, for which the FTA issued a 
ROD, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs 
(EOEA) issued a Certificate of Adequacy.
    The preferred portal location and tunnel alignment connecting the 
core tunnel segment to the portal have not been selected at this point. 
The public comment process will provide input into the analysis of 
alternatives, following which a preferred portal location and tunnel 
alignment alternative will be selected through the SEIS process. The 
FTA and the MBTA propose that the following alternatives be considered 
in the SEIS:

Alternative 1: No-Action

    This Alternative assumes existing conditions within the Silver Line 
Phase III corridor, and that Silver Line Phase I and Phase II would 
operate as independent services. This alternative further assumes no 
transit investment in the corridor, and therefore avoids any impacts or 
benefits associated with the Build Alternatives. It serves as the NEPA 
baseline against which the transportation, environmental and community 
impacts of the other alternatives are compared. The No Action 
Alternative further consists of the transportation network contained in 
the Regional Transportation Plan for the year 2025.

[[Page 36159]]

Alternative 2: Transportation System Management (TSM)

    This alternative includes increased Frequency of Existing Service. 
Under this option revenue service on Phases I and II would be increased 
to a level consistent with that proposed for Phase III operation. 
Headways for both Phases would be decreased and connections between 
Phases I and II would be made via transfer to and from the Red Line at 
Downtown Crossing Station (to access the waterfront and Logan Airport) 
or South Station (to access destinations along Washington Street). For 
the purpose of the FTA's Section 5309 New Starts evaluation process, 
this TSM alternative serves as the baseline for quantifying the 
transportation benefits of the build alternatives.

Alternatives 3 Through 5

    The MBTA has developed a set of portal location and portal route 
alignment alternatives that respond both to the concerns of various 
stakeholders within the project area and to engineering and operational 
criteria. Each of these alternatives has in common the core tunnel 
segment from South Station to the turnaround loop at Charles Street 
that follows an alignment on Essex and Boylston Streets. This core 
tunnel segment configuration provides the option of the following 
alternative alignments to a portal.

Alternative 3: Tremont Street/NEMC Portal

    This Alternative consists of a tunnel extending from the core 
tunnel segment on a Tremont Street alignment to a portal located 
between the New England Medical Center (NEMC) garage and the Doubletree 
Hotel (the NEMC Portal)with a ramp providing access to Washington 
Street.

Alternative 4: Charles Street/NEMC Portal

    This Alternative consists of a tunnel extending south from the core 
tunnel segment along a Charles Street alignment, and turning east 
crossing under Elliot Norton Park and Tremont Street to the NEMC Portal 
and ramp to Washington Street.

Alternative 5: Charles Street/Elliot Norton Park Portal

    This Alternative consists of a tunnel extending south from the core 
tunnel segment along a Charles Street alignment to a portal located 
within Elliot Norton Park, with a ramp to Tremont Street.

Other Alternatives

    The Silver Line Phase III project will serve the Washington Street 
corridor as far as Dudley Station, and will also provide parallel 
service to the Back Bay, providing a connection from both areas to the 
South Boston waterfront and Logan Airport. Throughout the development 
of the project, individuals and stakeholders have raised the concept of 
shifting the portal to a location closer to the Back Bay, making this 
connection more direct. Under such an alignment, the MBTA would still 
connect to Phase I service in Washington Street, but via a portal in 
the Columbus Avenue area, as opposed to a portal on Washington Street. 
The FTA and MBTA are interested in receiving public comment on the 
viability and feasibility of such an alternative, and whether it would 
be appropriate for detailed impact analysis in the SEIS.

III. Public Involvement

    A comprehensive public involvement program has been developed. The 
program includes: Outreach to local officials and community and civic 
groups, a public hearing to identify issues of concern among all 
interested parties, and development of a project Web site 
www.allaboutsilverline.com.

IV. Probable Effects and Potential Impacts for Analysis

    The FTA and MBTA will evaluate environmental, social, and economic 
impacts of alternatives analyzed in the SEIS. The likely impact areas 
to be addressed include: Noise and vibration; land use; visual/
aesthetic values; cultural and historical resources; water quality, 
natural resources, air quality; traffic and parking; hazardous 
materials; utilities; energy use and conservation; public safety and 
security; and community impacts. The SEIS will evaluate 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. Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate 
adverse impacts will be developed and evaluated.

V. 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's regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and 23 CFR 
part 771) will be addressed to the maximum extent practicable during 
the NEPA process. In addition, the MBTA seeks 5309 New Starts funding 
for the project and will therefore be subject all the requirements 
contained in the FTA New Starts regulation (49 CFR part 611).

    Issued on: June 21, 2004.
Richard H. Doyle,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-14637 Filed 6-25-04; 8:45 am]
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