[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53281-53283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18339]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on West 11th 
Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Corridor in the Eugene-Springfield 
Metropolitan Area, OR

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Lane Transit 
District (LTD) intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for potential high-capacity transit improvements, including 
possible bus rapid transit (BRT) improvements, along the West 11th 
Avenue Corridor in the West Eugene area of the Eugene-Springfield 
metropolitan region. The project's purposes are to increase mobility 
and improve safety in the corridor, which runs between Eugene Station 
and Green Hill Road. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and in compliance with section 
6002 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation 
Equity Act: a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This Notice alerts 
interested parties regarding the plan to prepare the EIS, provides 
information on the nature of the proposed transit project, invites 
participation in the EIS process (including comments on the scope of 
the EIS proposed in this notice), and announces upcoming scoping 
meetings.

DATES: Comment due date: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, 
including the purpose and need for transit improvements in the 
corridor, the alternatives to be considered, the environmental and 
community impacts to be evaluated, or any other project-related issues 
should be sent by November 2, 2007 to Lane Transit District at the 
address below.
    Scoping meeting dates: The first public scoping meeting will be 
held on October 8 at 3:00 p.m. at the location described in ADDRESSES 
below. Oral and written comments may be given at the scoping meetings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Tom Schwetz, LTD Director 
of Planning and Development, at PO Box 7070, Eugene, OR 97401 (or by e-
mail: [email protected]; or fax: (541) 682-6111). Comments may also 
be offered at the public scoping meetings. The public scoping meetings 
will be:
    The first public scoping meeting will be: October 8, 2007, 3 to 7 
p.m., Elks Lodge 357, 2740 W. 11th Ave., Eugene, OR.
    There will be at least one additional public meeting, in January 
2008, at a time and place to be announced.
    These meeting places are accessible to persons with disabilities. 
Any individual with a disability who requires special assistance, such 
as a sign language interpreter, should contact LTD at (541) 682-6100 or 
by e-mail to [email protected] at least 48 hours in advance of the 
meeting. A scoping information packet will be available before the 
meeting on the Lane Transit Web site (http://www.ltd.org) or by calling 
Tom Schwetz, LTD, at (541) 682-6100, and copies will be available at 
the public scoping meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Radmilovich, Community Planner, 
Federal Transit Administration, Region 10, (206) 220-4463 or 
[email protected]. The LTD Web site, http://www.ltd.org, also has 
project information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The proposed project: Known as the West Eugene EmX Extension 
(WEEE), this project consists of transit and safety improvements from 
downtown Eugene to about Green Hill Road. The West 11th Avenue 
Corridor, the primary east/west transit travelshed linking West Eugene 
to the Eugene Station, contains several major employment centers, large 
commercial developments, a growing

[[Page 53282]]

residential population, and valuable natural resources.
    The proposed project derives from a Regional Transportation Plan 
(RTP) (2001, updated 2004) which selected BRT as the preferred transit 
strategy for the twenty-year plan horizon. The RTP generally identified 
a comprehensive 61-mile system of several BRT corridors. The Franklin 
Corridor, already in service, connects downtown Eugene with the 
University of Oregon and downtown Springfield. The Pioneer Parkway 
Corridor, now in advanced design, should be in service by 2010. In 
January 2007, the Eugene City Council and the LTD Board of Directors 
selected the roughly six-mile-long West 11th Avenue Corridor as the 
next BRT priority corridor to pursue in Eugene.
    Purposes of and need for the proposed project: Recent studies show 
the need to make improvements in the West 11th Avenue Corridor. Its 
traffic congestion and safety issues adversely affect general purpose 
traffic as well as transit. Recent and projected residential, retail, 
and commercial growth in the corridor make continued degradation 
probable, although they also have made the area a focus for local and 
regional land use plans that emphasize nodal and mixed-use development, 
all aimed at maintaining and improving the area's livability.
    The proposed project would: optimize transit service in the West 
11th Avenue Corridor; help fulfill the regional mandate for a 
comprehensive high-capacity transit system; support local and regional 
land use planning goals encouraging more efficient use of urban land; 
and support economic development opportunities in the corridor. The 
project's purpose and need statement will be finalized, using agency 
and public review and comment, through the scoping process described 
below.
    Environmental process: In accordance with NEPA, SAFETEA-LU section 
6002, and FTA's section 5309 New Starts requirements, the project's 
environmental process has been divided into three general phases: 
Scoping; Alternatives Analysis/Draft EIS and selection of the Locally 
Preferred Alternative (LPA); and Final EIS.
    (1) Scoping: LTD and FTA will use the scoping process to identify 
participating agencies, and to develop, with the review and comment of 
participating agencies and the public: (a) The project's purpose and 
need, (b) the range of alternatives to be studied in the Alternatives 
Analysis/Draft EIS, and (c) the evaluation methodology, including a 
determination of the scope of the environmental analysis to be 
conducted for the EIS. The scoping process will include a variety of 
public and agency meetings, workshops, open houses, and comment 
opportunities as presented above under ADDRESSES.
    Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires that FTA and LTD 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 EIS; and (3) establish a 
plan for coordinating public and agency participation in and comment on 
the environmental review process. These section 6002 requirements will 
be wholly or partially satisfied during the scoping process as follows. 
Invitations to become a participating agency will be sent to agencies 
after the first Resource Agency Coordination Meeting and Field Tour, 
planned to occur during late September, where agencies will receive 
project information and have a chance to determine their level of 
interest in the project. LTD will create a comprehensive public 
involvement program and a public and agency involvement Coordination 
and Communication Plan. The coordination plan will be posted on the 
project Web site at the end of the scoping process. The public 
involvement program will include, in addition to the scoping process 
described above: outreach to local and county officials and community 
and civic groups; periodic meetings with various local agencies, 
organizations, and committees; a public hearing after release of the 
Draft EIS; and distribution of project newsletters and other 
information pieces.
    (2) Alternatives Analysis/Draft EIS: During this phase, LTD and FTA 
will analyze and document the environmental benefits, costs, and 
impacts of the alternatives that were selected for further study as a 
result of the scoping process. Also, the Alternatives Analysis required 
for New Starts and Small Starts projects will be performed. A combined 
Alternatives Analysis/Draft EIS documenting the evaluation of 
alternatives and the environmental evaluations required by NEPA will be 
published during this phase. Following a formal public hearing on the 
Alternatives Analysis/Draft EIS and consideration of the comments 
received, this phase will conclude with selection of the locally 
preferred alternative, with public and participating agency input, by 
the Metropolitan Policy Committee, the Eugene City Council, and the LTD 
Board of Directors.
    (3) Final EIS: In preparing the Final EIS, further study necessary 
to respond to comments on the Draft EIS will be conducted, responses to 
all comments received will be prepared, and feasible and prudent 
mitigation identified in the Draft EIS for all adverse environmental 
and community impacts will be further designed and committed to.
    Alternatives: LTD expects to analyze at least three alternatives 
for the West 11th Avenue improvements. In developing any potential 
alternative, LTD would seek to enhance ridership potential, reduce 
costs where feasible, and avoid, minimize and mitigate adverse 
environmental impacts. The exact alignment of alternatives to be 
studied will be determined as part of the scoping process, but at a 
minimum will include a bus-only alternative, an alternative that would 
extend existing BRT service from Eugene Station to West Eugene, and a 
Future No-Build Alternative. The alternatives could include a variety 
of service configurations, design options, and infrastructure 
improvements. The Future No-Build Alternative would consist of the 
existing transportation system plus non-BRT improvements to the fixed-
route transit system that are planned for and programmed to be 
implemented by 2030 (in other words, included in the RTP Financially 
Constrained Transportation Network). The Future No-Build Alternative 
serves as the NEPA baseline against which the environmental effects of 
other alternatives will be measured.
    Probable effects: NEPA requires LTD and FTA to evaluate the 
significant impacts of the alternatives selected for study in the Draft 
EIS. Primary issues identified thus far include support of state, 
regional and local land use and transportation plans and policies, 
neighborhood impacts, and environmental sensitivity. The impacts will 
be evaluated for both the construction period and for the long-term 
period of operation. Measures to mitigate adverse impacts will be 
developed.
    In accordance with FTA policy and regulations, LTD and 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 and FTA

[[Page 53283]]

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), the section 
404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part 230), the regulation 
implementing section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 
CFR Part 800), the regulation implementing section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act (50 CFR part 402), section 4(f) of the DOT Act (23 CFR 
771.135), and Executive Orders 12898 on environmental justice, 11988 on 
floodplain management, and 11990 on wetlands.

    Issued on: September 12, 2007.
R.F. Krochalis,
Regional Administrator, Region 10, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-18339 Filed 9-17-07; 8:45 am]
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