[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 28 (Monday, February 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6659-6660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2246]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Berkeley/Albany Ferry Terminal Project in the Cities of Berkeley and 
Albany, California

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

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

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration and the San Francisco Bay 
Water Transit Authority (WTA) are planning to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed construction of a ferry 
terminal along the Berkeley/Albany waterfront that would link the San 
Francisco Ferry Terminal with communities in the East Bay. The project 
would serve commuters, visitors, and recreational users who desire an 
alternative way to cross San Francisco Bay to access nearby employment, 
entertainment, and recreational destinations. The EIS will be prepared 
in accordance with section 102(2)C of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA) and pursuant to the Council on the Environmental 
Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-08) as well as provisions of 
the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. (SAFETEA-LU). The 
purpose of this Notice of Intent (NOI) is to alert interested parties 
regarding the plan to prepare an 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 public scoping meetings will be conducted.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to John 
Sindzinski, WTA Project Manager, by March 30, 2007. Public scoping 
meetings will be held on March 8, 2007, and March 15, 2007, from 6:30 
pm to 8:30 pm at locations indicated under the heading ADDRESSES below. 
An interagency scoping meeting for agencies with interest in the 
project will be held on March 7 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm at the South 
Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis Street, Berkeley, California.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to 
John Sindzinski, Project Manager, San Francisco Bay Water Transit 
Authority, Pier 9, Suite 111, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111. 
Comments may also be offered at the public scoping meetings. The 
addresses for the public scoping meetings are as follows:

Albany Location (March 15)

Albany City Hall, 1000 San Pablo Avenue, Albany, California.

Berkeley Location (March 8)

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Avenue, Berkeley, California.

    The meeting will be accessible to persons with disabilities. If 
special translation or signing services or other special accommodations 
are needed, please contact Delphine Henri at (415) 274-1821 at least 48 
hours before the meeting. A scoping information packet is available on 
the Water Transit Authority Web site at http://www.watertransit.org or 
by calling Delphine Henri (415) 274-1821. Copies will also be available 
at the scoping meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alex Smith, Community Planner, Federal 
Transit Administration, San Francisco Regional Office at (415) 744-
2599.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Project: The project would 
initiate ferry service between the East Bay communities of Berkeley/
Albany and the San Francisco Ferry Terminal administered by the WTA. 
Service would operate during the day and evenings, including Saturdays 
and Sundays, at headways that would reflect the travel demand for 
commute and non-commute periods. Depending on the Berkeley/Albany 
terminal site selected, one-way travel times would range from 
approximately 30 and 45 minutes. The project would involve constructing 
a new ferry docking facility; passenger ticketing and sheltered waiting 
area on the pier; car and bike parking; bus boarding; and provision for 
pedestrian, bicycle and traffic circulation at a location along the 
Berkeley/Albany waterfront. Dredging would be conducted to allow ferry 
vessels access to the terminal site. In San Francisco, existing San 
Francisco Ferry Terminal facilities would be utilized for this new 
service and would not require modification.
    Purpose and Need for the Proposed Project: In July 2003, the WTA 
finalized the Implementation and Operations Plan (IOP) to expand ferry 
service throughout San Francisco Bay. The IOP included ferry service 
between San Francisco and Berkeley/Albany as an element of a regional 
ferry network. Regional Measure 2, approved by local voters in March 2, 
2004, earmarked funds for developing a comprehensive strategy to 
address congestion on Transbay corridors. The San Francisco to 
Berkeley/Albany ferry service was designated as a priority 
transportation project in carrying out this strategy. The project 
would:
     Provide an alternative mode of transportation that would 
encourage automobile users to forego traveling by car across the Bay 
Bridge, thus reducing congestion on the Bay Bridge
     Provide additional Transbay capacity to existing BART and 
AC Transit services
     Provide an alternative way of crossing the Bay during 
regional emergencies
     Provide direct access for San Francisco residents to the 
Eastshore State Park and other activity centers in the Berkeley/Albany 
area
     Provide direct access for East Bay residents to employment 
and activity centers along and near the San Francisco waterfront
    Alternatives: A study of potential ferry terminal sites in the 
Berkeley/Albany area was completed by the WTA in July 2006. The 
Berkeley/Albany Ferry Terminal Study is available on the Water Transit 
Authority Web site at http://www.watertransit.org. On July 27, 2006, 
four sites were approved by the WTA Board to be carried forward as 
alternatives for further review and environmental analysis in the EIS. 
In addition to the No Build alternative, four Build alternatives are 
being considered in the EIS as described below.
    1. No Build Alternative: This alternative would continue the 
existing transit services connecting the East Bay communities of 
Berkeley/Albany with San Francisco without implementing ferry service. 
Programmed bus and rail transit improvements between the East Bay and 
San Francisco identified in the Regional Transportation Plan would be 
implemented as part of the No Build alternative. This alternative 
serves as the baseline against which the environmental effects of the 
other alternatives are measured.
    2. Alternative A--Berkeley Marina Site. This alternative would 
include a new terminal and docking facilities at the Doubletree Hotel 
along the eastern end of the Berkeley Marina for a WTA ferry terminal 
site. Hornblower

[[Page 6660]]

operation, currently using the existing dock, also would be 
accommodated in the design. Access to the site would be provided via 
the western extension of University Avenue and Marina Boulevard. 
Parking, passenger drop-off and bus boarding would be accommodated in 
the existing parking areas surrounding the Doubletree Hotel.
    3. Alternative B--Berkeley Fishing Pier Site. This alternative 
would include a new ferry terminal located south of the existing 
fishing pier near Hs Lordships restaurant. Access to the site would be 
provided via the western extension of University Avenue. The existing 
parking areas in the vicinity of Hs Lordships and Skates would be 
designed to accommodate ferry parking, passenger drop-off, and bus 
boarding.
    4. Alternative C--Gilman Street Site. This alternative would locate 
a new ferry terminal in the general vicinity of the western end of 
Gilman Street adjacent to the existing Golden Gate horse facilities, 
which would need to be relocated to accommodate ferry parking, 
passenger drop-off and bus boarding. Access to the site would be 
provided via Gilman Street and would avoid conflicting with the City of 
Berkeley's Gilman Street Recreation facilities, currently under 
construction immediately west of I-80.
    5. Alternative D--Buchanan Street site. This alternative would 
locate a new ferry terminal south of the Albany Bulb and at the 
northern end of Golden Gate Field near the old pier. Access to the site 
would be provided via Buchanan Street. A portion of the existing Golden 
Gate Field parking area would be used for ferry parking, passenger 
drop-off and bus boarding.
    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 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. Measures to avoid, minimize, or 
mitigate any significant adverse impacts will be identified. 
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. The program 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 (http://www.watertransit.org). 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, and the public is welcome to 
use the public scoping process to further define the issues of concern 
among all parties interested in the project. 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. The purposes of and need for the 
proposed project have been preliminarily identified in this notice. 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. Suggestions for 
modifications to the statement of purposes of and need for the proposed 
project and any other alternatives that meet the purposes of and need 
for the proposed project are welcomed and will be given serious 
consideration. Comments on potentially significant environmental 
impacts that may be associated with the proposed project and 
alternatives are also welcomed. There will be additional opportunities 
to participate in the scoping process at the public meetings announced 
in this notice.
    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: February 5, 2007.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, FTA, Region 9.
 [FR Doc. E7-2246 Filed 2-9-07; 8:45 am]
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