[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65976-65978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21718]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 34658]


The Alaska Railroad Corporation--Petition for Exemption to 
Construct and Operate a Rail Line Between Eielson Air Force Base (North 
Pole) and Fort Greely (Delta Junction), Alaska

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, 
Notice of Availability of Draft Scope of Study for the Environmental 
Impact Statement, Notice of Scoping Meetings, and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Alaska Railroad Corporation plans to file a petition with 
the Surface Transportation Board (Board) pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502 
for authority to construct and operate a new rail line between Eielson 
Air Force Base (located south of Fairbanks) and the Delta Junction/Fort 
Greely area. The project would involve the construction and operation 
of approximately 80 miles of new main line track and could include an 
approximately 15-mile rail spur to the U.S. Air Force's Blair Lakes 
training area. Because the construction and operation of this project 
has the potential to result in significant environmental impacts, the 
Board's Section on Environmental Analysis (SEA) has determined that the 
preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is appropriate. 
The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to notify individuals and 
agencies interested in or affected by the proposed project of the 
decision to require an EIS. SEA is holding public scoping meetings as 
part of the EIS process. Additionally, as part of the scoping process, 
SEA has developed a draft Scope of Study for the EIS.

DATES AND LOCATIONS: Scoping meetings will be held on:
    December 6, 2005, 4-8 pm at the City Council Chambers, 125 Snowman 
Lane, North Pole, Alaska
    December 7, 2005, 4-8 pm at Jarvis West Building, Mile 1420.5 
Alaska Highway, Delta Junction, Alaska
    December 8, 2005, 4-8 pm at Lousaac Library Public Conference Room, 
3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, Alaska
    The public scoping meetings will be informal meetings in a workshop 
format during which interested persons may ask questions about the 
proposal and the Board's environmental review process, and advise the 
Board's representative about potential environmental effects of the 
project. In keeping with the workshop format of the scoping meetings, 
there will no formal presentations made by agency representatives. 
Rather, staff will be available to answer questions and receive 
comments individually. SEA has made available for public comment the 
draft Scope of Study contained in this notice.
    The meeting locations comply with the Americans With Disabilities 
Act. Persons that need special accommodations should telephone SEA's 
toll-free number for the project at 1-800-359-5142.
    SEA will issue a final Scope of Study after the close of the 
scoping comment period. Written comments on the Scope of Study and 
potential environmental effects of the project are due January 13, 
2005.
    Filing Environmental Comments: Interested persons and agencies are 
invited to participate in the EIS scoping process. Comments should be 
submitted to: Surface Transportation Board, Case Control Unit, 1925 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
    To ensure proper handling of your comments, please mark your 
submission: Attention: David Navecky, Environmental Filing.
    Environmental comments may also be filed electronically on the 
Board's Web site, www.stb.dot.gov, by clicking on the ``E-FILING'' 
link. Please refer to STB Finance Docket No. 34658 in all 
correspondence, including e-filings, addressed to the Board.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The proposed Northern Rail 
Extension Project includes construction of approximately 80 miles of 
new rail line connecting the existing rail line near Eielson AFB near 
North Pole, Alaska to a point near Fort Greely and the Donnelly 
Training Area near Delta Junction, Alaska. The proposed project could 
also include the construction of a 15-mile spur line from Flag Hill to 
the Blair Lakes Military Training Area. As a result of this project, 
the U.S. Army would have year round access to the Tanana Flats and 
Donnelly training areas and all the major military installations in 
Alaska would be accessible by rail through Fort Greely. The EIS will 
analyze the potential impacts of the proposed route, the ``no-build'' 
alternative and possible alternative routes.
    Environmental Review Process: The National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) process is intended to assist the Board and the public in 
identifying and assessing the potential environmental consequences of a 
proposed action before a decision on the proposed action is made. SEA 
is responsible for ensuring that the Board complies with NEPA and 
related environmental statutes. The first stage of the EIS process is 
scoping. Scoping is an open process for determining the scope of 
environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS. As part of the scoping 
process, SEA has developed, and is making available in today's notice, 
a draft Scope of Study for the EIS. Concurrently, scoping meetings will 
be held to provide further opportunities for public involvement and 
input during the scoping process. At the conclusion of the scoping and 
comment period, SEA will issue a final Scope of Study for the EIS.
    After issuing the final Scope of Study, SEA will prepare a Draft 
EIS (DEIS) for the project. The DEIS will address those environmental 
issues and concerns identified during the scoping process. It will also 
contain SEA's preliminary recommendations for environmental mitigation 
measures. The DEIS will be made available upon its completion for 
review and comment by the public, government agencies and other 
interested parties. SEA will prepare a Final EIS (FEIS) that considers 
comments on the DEIS. In reaching its decision in this case, the Board 
will take into account the DEIS, the FEIS, and all environmental 
comments that are received.
    SEA has recently invited several other Federal agencies to 
participate in this EIS process as cooperating agencies on the basis 
their special expertise or jurisdiction by law. These agencies include: 
U.S. Department of Defense, Alaskan Command; U.S. Department of 
Defense, U.S. Army Garrison--Alaska; U.S. Department of Defense, 354th 
Fighter Wing Command; U.S. Army Engineers District--Alaska; U.S. 
Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management--Northern Field 
Office; U.S. Coast Guard, Seventeenth Coast Guard District; U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration; and U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration--Region 
10.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Navecky, Section of 
Environmental Analysis, Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001, or call SEA's toll-free number for the 
project at 1-800-359-5142. Assistance

[[Page 65977]]

for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information 
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. The website for the Surface 
Transportation Board is www.stb.dot.gov.

Draft Scope of Study for the EIS

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The proposed Northern Rail Extension Project includes construction 
of approximately 80 miles of new rail line connecting the existing rail 
line near Eielson AFB near North Pole, Alaska to a point near Fort 
Greely and the Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction, Alaska. The 
proposed project could also include the construction of a 15-mile spur 
line from Flag Hill to the Blair Lakes Military Training Area. The 
proposed line would provide freight and passenger rail services for 
defense facilities, commercial interests, and communities in or near 
the project corridor. The proposed rail line would also provide the 
U.S. Army with year round access to the Tanana Flats and Donnelly 
training areas and all the major military installations in Alaska would 
be accessible by rail.
    The reasonable and feasible alternatives that will be evaluated in 
the EIS are (1) construction and operation of the proposed project 
along the proposed alignments, (2) other alternatives that might be 
identified during the scoping process, and (3) the no-action 
alternative.

Environmental Impact Analysis

Proposed New Construction

    Analysis in the EIS will address the proposed activities associated 
with the construction and operation of new rail facilities and their 
potential environmental impacts, as appropriate.

Impact Categories

    The EIS will address potential impacts from the proposed 
construction and operation of new rail facilities on the human and 
natural environment. Impact areas addressed will include the categories 
of land use, biological resources, water resources, geology and soils, 
air quality, noise, energy resources, socioeconomics as they relate to 
physical changes in the environment, safety, transportation systems, 
cultural and historic resources, subsistence, recreation, aesthetics, 
and environmental justice. The EIS will include a discussion of each of 
these categories as they currently exist in the project area and will 
address the potential impacts from the proposed project on each 
category as described below:
1. Land Use
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe existing land use patterns within the project area and 
identify those land uses that would be potentially impacted by new rail 
line construction.
    b. Describe the potential impacts associated with the proposed new 
rail line construction to land uses identified within the project area. 
Such potential impacts may include incompatibility with existing land 
uses, and conversion of land to railroad uses.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to land use, as appropriate.
2. Biological Resources
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the existing biological resources within the project 
area, including vegetative communities, wildlife and fisheries, 
wetlands, and Federal and state threatened or endangered species and 
the potential impacts to these resources resulting from construction 
and operation of new rail facilities.
    b. Describe any wildlife sanctuaries, refuges, and national or 
state parks, forests, or grasslands within the project area and the 
potential impacts to these resources resulting from construction and 
operation of new rail line.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to biological resources, as appropriate.
3. Water Resources
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the existing surface water and groundwater resources 
within the project area, including lakes, rivers, streams, stock ponds, 
wetlands, and floodplains and the potential impacts on these resources 
resulting from construction and operation of new rail line.
    b. Describe the permitting requirements for the proposed new rail 
line construction regarding wetlands, stream and river crossings, water 
quality, and erosion control.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to water resources, as appropriate.
4. Geology and Soils
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the geology, soils, and permafrost found within the 
project area, including unique or problematic geologic formations or 
soils and prime farmland and hydric soils and the potential impacts on 
these resources resulting from the construction and operation of new 
rail line.
    b. Describe measures employed to avoid or construct through unique 
or problematic geologic formations, soils, or permafrost.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to geology and soils, as appropriate.
5. Air Quality
    The EIS will:
    a. Evaluate rail-related air emissions, if the proposed project 
affects a Class I or non-attainment area as designated under the Clean 
Air Act.
    b. Discuss and evaluate the potential air emissions increases from 
vehicle delays at new at-grade road/rail crossings. Emissions from 
vehicle delays will be factored into the emissions estimates for the 
affected area, as appropriate.
    c. Describe the potential air quality impact resulting from new 
rail line construction activities.
    d. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to air quality, as appropriate.
6. Noise
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the potential noise impacts during new rail line 
construction.
    b. Describe the potential noise impacts of new rail line operation.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to sensitive noise receptors, as appropriate.
7. Energy Resources
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the potential impact of the new rail line on the 
distribution of energy resources in the project area, including 
petroleum and gas pipelines and overhead electric transmission lines.
    b. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to energy resources, as appropriate.
8. Socioeconomics
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the effects of a potential influx of construction 
workers and the potential increase in demand for local services 
interrelated with natural or physical environmental effects.
    b. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project adverse impacts to social and economic resources, as 
appropriate.
9. Safety
    The EIS will:

[[Page 65978]]

    a. Describe existing road/rail grade crossing safety and the 
potential for an increase in accidents related to the new rail 
operations, as appropriate.
    b. Describe existing rail operations and the potential for 
increased probability of train accidents, as appropriate.
    c. Describe hazardous materials safety factors for the 
transportation of hazardous materials and the potential for a release 
of those materials, as appropriate.
    d. Describe the potential for disruption and delays to the movement 
of emergency vehicles due to new rail line construction and operation.
    e. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to safety, as appropriate.
10. Transportation Systems
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the potential impacts of new rail line construction and 
operation on the existing transportation network in the project area, 
including vehicular delays at grade crossings.
    b. Describe potential impacts to navigation associated with new 
bridges.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to transportation systems, as appropriate.
11. Cultural and Historic Resources
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the potential impacts to historic structures or 
districts previously recorded and determined potentially eligible, 
eligible, or listed on the National Register of Historic Places within 
or immediately adjacent to the right-of-way for the proposed rail 
alignments.
    b. Describe the potential impacts to archaeological sites 
previously recorded and either listed as unevaluated or determined 
potentially eligible, eligible, or listed on the National Register of 
Historic Places within the right-of-way for the proposed rail 
alignments.
    c. Describe the potential impacts to historic structures or 
districts identified by ground survey and determined potentially 
eligible, eligible, or listed on the National Register of Historic 
Places within or immediately adjacent to the right-of-way for the 
proposed rail alignments.
    d. Describe the potential impacts to archaeological sites 
identified by ground survey and determined potentially eligible, 
eligible, or listed on the National Register of Historic Places within 
the right-of-way for the proposed rail alignments.
    e. Describe the potential general impacts to paleontological 
resources in the project area due to project construction, if necessary 
and required.
    f. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts to cultural and historic resources, as appropriate.
12. Subsistence
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the potential impacts of the proposed new rail line 
construction and operation on subsistence activities in the project 
area.
    b. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts on subsistence activities, as appropriate.
13. Recreation
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the potential impacts of the proposed new rail line 
construction and operation on recreational opportunities provided in 
the project area.
    b. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts on recreational opportunities, as appropriate.
14. Aesthetics
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the potential impacts of the proposed new rail line 
construction on any areas identified or determined to be of high visual 
quality.
    b. Describe the potential impacts of the proposed new rail line 
construction on any waterways considered for or designated as wild and 
scenic.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts on aesthetics, as appropriate.
15. Environmental Justice
    The EIS will:
    a. Describe the demographics in the project area and the immediate 
vicinity of the proposed new construction, including communities 
potentially impacted by the construction and operation of the proposed 
new rail line.
    b. Evaluate whether new rail line construction or operation would 
have a disproportionately high and adverse impact on any minority or 
low-income groups.
    c. Propose mitigative measures to minimize or eliminate potential 
project impacts on environmental justice populations, as appropriate.
16. Cumulative Impacts
    The EIS will address the impact on the environment which results 
from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, 
present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what 
agency (Federal or non-federal) or person undertakes such actions.

    Decided: October 26, 2005.
    By the Board, Victoria Rutson, Chief, Section of Environmental 
Analysis.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-21718 Filed 10-31-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P