[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64332-64334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18393]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project in the Southern Portion of the San 
Francisco Bay Area, CA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration and the Peninsula Corridor 
Joint Powers Board (PCJPB) are planning to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Dumbarton Rail 
Corridor (DRC) Project, an approximately 21-mile commuter rail 
extension on existing rail alignment to provide commuter rail service 
between the Peninsula and the East Bay across the southern part of the 
San Francisco Bay. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with 
regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
as well as provisions of the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. The 
purpose of this Notice of Intent is to alert interested parties 
regarding the plan to prepare the EIS, to provide information on the 
proposed transit project, to invite participation in the EIS process, 
including comments on the scope of the EIS proposed in this notice, and 
to announce that public scoping meetings will be conducted.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to Marie 
Pang,

[[Page 64333]]

PCJPB Environmental Manager, by November 30, 2006. Public scoping 
meetings will be held on November 15, 2006 and November 16, 2006 from 
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at locations indicated under ADDRESSES below. An 
interagency scoping meeting for agencies with an interest in the 
proposed project will be held on November 16, 2006 from 3 p.m. to 5 
p.m. at the West Bay location listed below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to 
Marie Pang, Environmental Manager, Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers 
Board, P.O. Box 3006, San Carlos, CA 94070-1306. Comments may also be 
offered at the public scoping meetings. The addresses for the public 
scoping meetings are as follows:
East Bay Location: Wednesday, November 15, 2006, Newark Community 
Center, 35501 Cedar Blvd, Newark, CA 94560.
West Bay Location: Thursday, November 16, 2006, City of Menlo Park 
Senior Center, 110 Terminal Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025.

    The meeting facilities will be accessible to persons with 
disabilities. If special translation or signing services or other 
special accommodations are needed, please contact Beth Altshuler at 
510-845-7549, ext. 165 at least 48 hours before the scoping meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerome Wiggins, Transportation Program 
Specialist, of the Federal Transit Administration's San Francisco 
Regional Office at (415) 744-3115.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Proposed Project: The Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project proposes 
to provide east-west commuter rail service across the southern section 
of the S.F. Bay. This would be accomplished by primarily rehabilitating 
and reconstructing rail facilities on existing alignment and right-of-
way. The alignment consists of two parts. The first part is an existing 
11-mile rail corridor extending east along the former Southern Pacific 
Centerville line from Redwood Junction in San Mateo County across the 
Dumbarton and Newark Slough Railroad Bridges to the Newark Junction in 
Alameda County. It is owned by the San Mateo County Transit District 
(Samtrans). The second part is an existing 10-mile rail corridor owned 
by the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), extending from Newark Junction 
east along the Niles subdivision through Union City to the UPRR Oakland 
subdivision rail corridor at Industrial Parkway. The project also 
includes the construction of a train layover yard on the east side and 
three new stations: Willow Road Station (Menlo Park/East Palo Alto), 
Newark Station, and the Union City Intermodal Station.
    Service will consist of six daily trains originating from Union 
City in the morning peak period and traveling westward across the 
Dumbarton Rail Corridor, The trains converge with the existing Caltrain 
line in the West Bay. From the Caltrain line, three of the trains will 
travel north to San Francisco while the other three trains will travel 
south to San Jose. During the afternoon peak period, all trains will 
travel eastbound back to Union City. The three new stations plus the 
Centerville Station in Fremont would be directly served by DRC trains. 
The Capitol Corridor trains would also be served by the Union City 
Intermodal, Newark and Centerville stations. The ACE trains would be 
served by the Newark and Centerville stations.
    Purpose and Need for the Proposed Project: In March 2004, the 
voters of the Bay Area counties passed the Regional Traffic Relief 
Plan, also known as Regional Measure 2 (RM2) to fund a variety of 
transportation improvements to help relieve traffic congestion and 
enhance the convenience and reliability of the region's public transit 
system by raising bridge tolls. RM2 includes funding for the proposed 
DRC Project. This project is included in the 2007 Transportation 
Improvement Program (TIP) adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation 
Commission (MTC) on October 2, 2006.
    A connection is needed to address transportation issues and 
deficiencies related to highway congestion, transit, population and 
employment, and air quality in the corridor. The purpose of the 
proposed Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project is to use existing rail 
infrastructure to provide an east-west rail connection in the southern 
portion of the San Francisco Bay, connecting the communities of the 
East Bay and the West Bay.
    Alternatives: In addition to the No Action Alternative, two rail 
alternatives and one bus alternative are proposed to be evaluated in 
the EIS. An Alternatives Analysis was conducted to identify the most 
feasible rail and bus alternatives to be carried forward into detailed 
environmental studies. The Alternatives Analysis study process was 
directed and guided by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and a 
Policy Advisory Committee (PAC). These committees consisted of 
representatives from state, regional and county transportation/transit 
agencies, as well as the affected cities on both sides of the Bay. The 
Alternatives Analysis report was approved by the Policy Advisory 
Committee on June 20, 2006. The final report is available on the 
official Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project Web site at www.caltrain.com/dumbartonrail.
    The alternatives under consideration are:
    (1) No Action--The Dumbarton Express bus service will continue to 
be the only commuter transit between the East Bay and the Peninsula 
that crosses the southern portion of the Bay.
    (2) Alternative A--DRC trackage, connecting to the existing 
Caltrain Corridor on the Peninsula at Redwood Junction, will cross the 
San Francisco Bay via the Dumbarton Railroad Bridge, run through Newark 
and connect to existing tracks that run north to Union City. The track 
improvements will include the Shinn Connection and the Industrial 
Parkway Connection, which will connect the DRC with ACE and Capitol 
Corridor trains in Fremont and Union City in the East Bay. A train 
storage and layover yard will be constructed. Two locations are under 
consideration. Three new stations will be constructed at Union City, 
Newark and Menlo Park. The Centerville Station in Fremont would be 
upgraded. Reconstruction of the marine bridges crossing the San 
Francisco Bay includes replacement of the Dumbarton and the Newark 
Slough moveable bridges and the modification of the Henderson 
Underpass. New railroad signals and a Centralized Traffic Control 
system will be provided to control movements onto and through the 
Dumbarton Rail Corridor.
    (3) Alternative B--The same as Alternative A, with the addition of 
the Niles Junction Connection. The freight traffic through the Fremont 
Centerville station will be decreased by re-routing freight trains 
between the Oakland Subdivision and the Niles Subdivision over the new 
Niles Junction Connection.
    (4) Bus Alternative--This alternative proposes a new bus route that 
originates in Union City, crosses the Dumbarton Highway Bridge (Route 
84), and travels to Redwood Shores.
    This alternative could serve as the initial start-up phase of an 
expanded bus service across the Dumbarton Highway Bridge. The expanded 
service would extend northward to Foster City, Millbrae, Oyster Point 
and Brisbane on the Peninsula.
    The EIS Process and the Role of Participating Agencies and the 
Public: The purpose of the EIS process is to explore in a public 
setting potentially significant effects of implementing the proposed 
action and alternatives on the physical, human, and natural 
environment. Areas of investigation

[[Page 64334]]

include, but are not limited to, land use, environmental justice, 
historic resources, visual and aesthetic qualities, air quality, noise 
and vibration, energy use, traffic, safety and security, wetlands, 
threatened and endangered species, and hazardous materials. Regulations 
implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of the recently enacted Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users (SAFETEA-LU), call for public involvement in the EIS process. 
Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires that FTA and PCJPB do the 
following: (1) Extend an invitation to other Federal and non-Federal 
agencies and Indian tribes that may have an interest in the proposed 
project to become ``participating agencies'', (2) provide an 
opportunity for involvement by participating agencies and the public in 
helping to define the purpose and need for a proposed project, as well 
as the range of alternatives for consideration in the impact statement, 
and (3) establish a plan for coordinating public and agency 
participation in and comment on the environmental review process. An 
invitation to become a participating agency, with the scoping 
information packet appended, will be extended to other Federal and non-
Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have an interest in the 
proposed project. It is possible that we may not be able to identify 
all Federal and non-Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have 
such an interest. Any Federal or non-Federal agency or Indian tribe 
interested in the proposed project that does not receive an invitation 
to become a participating agency should notify, at the earliest 
opportunity, the Environmental Manager identified above under 
ADDRESSES.
    A comprehensive public involvement program has been developed. A 
Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) consisting of local and county 
officials and a Project Development Team consisting of representatives 
of state, regional and local agencies are already in place. A Community 
Advisory Committee will be established. The program also includes a 
public scoping process, public hearings on release of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), development of project 
newsletters and their distribution and posting on the project Web site.
    We invite the public and participating agencies to consider the 
preliminary statement of purposes of and need for the proposed project, 
as well as the alternatives proposed for consideration. Comments on 
potential significant environmental impacts that may be associated with 
the proposed project are also welcomed. All comments and suggestions 
will be given serious consideration.
    In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a) and 771.133, FTA will comply 
with all Federal environmental laws, regulations and executive orders 
applicable to the proposed project during the environmental review 
process to the maximum extent practicable. These requirements include, 
but are not limited to, the regulations of the Council on Environmental 
Quality implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and 23 CFR part 771), 
the project-level air quality conformity regulation of the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (40 CFR part 93), section 
404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part 230), Executive Orders 11988, 
11990 and 12898 regarding floodplains, wetlands, and environmental 
justice, respectively, Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (36 CFR Part 800), Section 7 of the Endangered Species 
Act (50 CFR part 402), and section 4(f) of the Department of 
Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135).

    Issued on: October 26, 2006.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, FTA, Region 9.
[FR Doc. E6-18393 Filed 10-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P