[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31126-31127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10762]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Southwest-to-Northeast Rail Corridor Project in Fort Worth, TX

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

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

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SUMMARY:  The FTA and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) 
issue this notice to advise interested agencies and the public of their 
intent to prepare an EIS in accordance with the regulations 
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for transit 
improvements in Fort Worth, and Tarrant County, Texas. Transit 
improvements from southwest Fort Worth, through downtown Fort Worth, to 
the northern entrance into the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport 
(DFW Airport), are proposed along what is known as the Southwest-to-
Northeast Rail Corridor. The proposed alignment will largely follow the 
Fort Worth & Western Railroad (FWWR), Union Pacific Railroad Company 
(UPRR), Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF), and Dallas Area 
Rapid Transit-owned Cotton Belt rail lines that traverse Tarrant 
County.
    Transportation improvements are needed to meet current and future 
travel demand and to upgrade the transportation facilities in the 
corridor. The EIS will evaluate the future No-Build Alternative, a 
Transportation Systems Management (TSM) alternative, the preliminary 
Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) from the recently completed 
planning Alternatives Analysis (AA), and any additional reasonable 
alternatives that emerge from the scoping process.

DATES: Comment Due Date:
    Written or electronic comments on the scope of the EIS, including 
the purpose and need for transportation action in the corridor, and 
alternatives and impacts to be considered, should be sent to the 
project public involvement team (see ADDRESSES below) by July 31, 2007.
    Scoping Meetings: Public scoping meetings will be held from June 19 
to June 21, 2007, at the following times and locations:

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Texas Department of Transportation--Regional Training 
Center, 2501 SW Loop 820, (I-20 and McCart Avenue), Fort Worth, Texas 
76133.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

12 p.m. (noon)--1:30 p.m., Intermodal Transportation Center, 1001 Jones 
Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Grapevine Community Activities Center, 1175 Municipal 
Way, Grapevine, Texas 76051.
    The meeting locations are accessible by persons with disabilities. 
The public involvement team must be contacted in advance regarding 
special needs such as signing or translation services. The time and 
place of the public scoping meetings will also be provided through 
display advertisements in local newspapers; newsletters that will be 
mailed to persons on the project database who have expressed an 
interest in the project; E-mail notifications; media releases that will 
be distributed to all print and electronic media serving the corridor; 
and posting of information on the project Web site. The scoping 
information packet is available on the internet at www.SW2NERail.com. 
The packet is also available in hardcopy form by contacting the project 
public involvement team as indicated below.

ADDRESSES:  Written or electronic comments on the scope of the EIS 
should be sent to:Southwest-to-Northeast Rail Corridor, 1600 E. 
Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76102; the Southwest-to-Northeast Rail 
Corridor Fax: 214-495-0479; or E-mail: [email protected].
    Additional scoping information may be requested and other requests 
made by contacting the Public Involvement Team at: Southwest-to-
Northeast Rail Corridor Public Involvement Team, 1600 E. Lancaster 
Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76102; the Southwest-to-Northeast Rail Corridor 
Telephone Hotline: 817-215-8785; or E-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Lynn Hayes, Community Planner, 
Federal Transit Administration, Region VI; (817) 978-0550

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Proposed Action

    Following a study of the transportation needs in the corridor and 
an analysis of alternative solutions, The T Executive Committee 
recommended transportation improvements along portions of the FWWR, 
UPRR, BNSF, and DART-owned Cotton Belt railroad lines from southwest 
Fort Worth beginning at approximately Altamesa Boulevard/Dirks Road, 
through Downtown Fort Worth, and continuing through Haltom City, North 
Richland Hills, Watauga, Hurst, Colleyville, and Grapevine, before 
terminating inside the northern entrance of DFW Airport. The planning 
Alternatives Analysis (AA) document that supported The T's decision on 
a preliminary Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) is available for 
public review on the internet at www.SW2NERail.com or by contacting the 
public involvement team at the ADDRESSES above. The AA, which led to 
the project's purpose and need statement and the alternatives 
recommended for further review, will also be available for review at 
the public scoping meetings.
    The FTA and The T will prepare an EIS to evaluate the preliminary 
LPA (i.e., regional or commuter rail on the Southwest-to-Northeast 
alignment), the future No-Build alternative, and a TSM alternative. 
Interested individuals, organizations, businesses, Native American 
tribes, and federal, state and local government agencies are invited to 
participate in determining the scope of the EIS, including the purpose 
and need for transportation action in the corridor, alternative 
alignments, alternative station locations, impacts to be evaluated, and 
environmental or community resources to be protected. Specific 
suggestions on additional alternatives to be examined and issues to be 
addressed are welcome and will be considered in the development in the 
final study scope. Scoping comments may be made orally or in writing no 
later than July 31, 2007. See ADDRESSES above. Additional information 
on the

[[Page 31127]]

EIS process, the purpose and need, alternatives, and anticipated impact 
issues are available from The T. See ADDRESSES above.

II. Description of the Study Area and Project Purpose and Need

    The study area for the EIS evaluation is the travelshed from 
southwest Fort Worth, through downtown Fort Worth, to DFW Airport, 
which is a distance of approximately 36 miles. The purpose of the 
proposed action is to improve mobility between and among activity 
centers in the corridor, provide multimodal solutions for mobility in 
the corridor that help mitigate congestion and improve air quality, and 
provide a transportation solution that interacts seamlessly and 
efficiently with other transportation systems in the region. FTA and 
The T seek comment on the project's purpose and need. More details are 
available in the scoping information packet. See ADDRESSES above.
    The relationships of concurrent projects, such as the State Highway 
(SH) 121 Southwest Parkway (currently in final design) being conducted 
by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the North Texas 
Tollway Authority (NTTA); the Interstate Highway 35 West (I-35W also 
commonly referred to as IH 35W) Corridor Improvement Study (CIS) by 
TxDOT; the Loop 820 East Corridor Environmental Assessment (EA); the 
SH-121/SH-183 (Airport Freeway) CIS; the SH-114/SH-121 (DFW Connector) 
CIS; the Loop 820 Northeast Corridor CIS; and others, will also be 
considered in the EIS process.

III. Alternatives To Be Considered

    The alternatives evaluated in the EIS will include, but not be 
limited to, the preliminary Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) 
developed in the AA and adopted by The T's Executive Committee in 
November 2006. This alternative consists of regional rail using 
portions of the FWWR, UPRR, BNSF, and DART-owned Cotton Belt rail 
alignments between southwest Fort Worth and the north entrance to DFW 
Airport. Feeder bus improvements are also included as part of the 
recommended LPA. Eleven stations were proposed on the alignment during 
the AA: Altamesa Boulevard/Dirks Road; I-20 and Granbury Road; Berry/
Texas Christian University (TCU); Medical Center; Texas and Pacific 
(T&P) Terminal (existing); the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation 
Center (ITC) (existing); Stockyards/23rd; Beach Street; Grapevine/Main 
Street; DFW Airport--North; and DFW Airport--Terminal A/B.
    The EIS will examine these and other reasonable alternatives that 
emerge from the scoping process. The EIS will also evaluate the 
appropriate end-of-line and associated facilities and connections with 
the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) and a potential future connection 
with the DART light rail system at DFW Airport. As part of the 
evaluation, station locations, rail vehicle storage and maintenance 
facilities, and other ancillary facilities, such as stormwater 
management systems, will be identified and studied as appropriate.
    The EIS will also evaluate the future No-Build Alternative and a 
TSM Alternative. Other alternatives may be added as a result of scoping 
and agency coordination efforts.

IV. Probable Impacts for Analysis

    The EIS evaluation will analyze social, economic, and environmental 
impacts of the alternatives. Major issues to be evaluated include air 
quality, noise and vibration, aesthetics, community cohesion impacts, 
and possible disruption of neighborhoods, businesses and commercial 
activities. The impact areas and level of detail addressed in the EIS 
will be consistent with the requirements of SAFETEA-LU Section 6002 and 
the FTA/Federal Highway Administration environmental regulation 
(Environmental Impact and Related Procedures, 23 CFR 771 and 40 CFR 
1500-1508) and other environmental and related regulations. Among other 
factors, the EIS will evaluate:
     Transportation service including future corridor capacity;
     Transit ridership and costs;
     Traffic movements and changes and associated impacts to 
local facilities;
     Community impacts such as land use, displacements, noise 
and vibration, neighborhood compatibility and aesthetics; and
     Resource impacts including impacts to historic and 
archeological resources, parklands, cultural resource impacts, 
environmental justice, and natural resource impacts including air 
quality, wetlands, water quality, wildlife, and vegetation.
    The proposed impact assessment and evaluation will take into 
account both positive and negative impacts, direct and indirect 
impacts, short-term (during the construction period) and long-term 
impacts, and site-specific as well as corridor-wide and cumulative 
impacts. Mitigation measures will be considered for any adverse 
environmental impacts identified. Other potential impacts may be added 
as a result of scoping and agency coordination efforts.

V. Anticipated Federal Approvals

    In accordance with FTA policy, FTA and The T will coordinate 
compliance with all applicable Federal environmental laws, regulations, 
and executive orders during the NEPA process. Federal approvals 
anticipated to be required for implementing the recommended preliminary 
Locally Preferred Alternative include:
     U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Section 404 Permit in 
accordance with the Clean Water Act;
     Trinity Corridor Development Certificate Permit in 
accordance with North Central Texas Council of Governments' (NCTCOG's) 
Trinity River Common Vision Program;
     Section 4(f) evaluation in accordance with 49 USC 303; and
     Section 106 review in accordance with the National 
Historic Preservation Act.

    Issued on: May 30, 2007.
Robert C. Patrick,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Fort Worth, 
Texas.
 [FR Doc. E7-10762 Filed 6-4-07; 8:45 am]
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