[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72813-72815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24861]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact Statement for Rapid 
Transit in Utah County, UT

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Alternatives Analysis/
Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Utah Transit 
Authority (UTA), and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) 
intend to prepare an Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact 
Statement (AA/EIS) for potential high-capacity fixed-guideway transit 
improvements and roadway infrastructure improvements in Utah County, 
Utah. The project's purposes are to serve transit markets along the 
corridor including two universities (Brigham Young University and Utah 
Valley State College), existing and planned student housing, retail 
malls, several employment centers, historic downtown Provo, and two 
major regional intermodal centers; provide circulation and distribution 
for future transit projects including commuter rail; and to accommodate 
future travel demand while maintaining efficient traffic flow. The 
project termini are the planned Orem intermodal center near Utah Valley 
State College (UVSC) on the north and a location near the Provo Towne 
Center Mall and East Bay Business Complex (Novell Campus) on the south. 
The general location of the corridor is on or near University Parkway 
and University Avenue in Utah County and length of the project is 
approximately 9 miles. The timeframe for the environmental review 
process is from January 2008 to January 2010.
    The AA/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 
1500-1508), FTA/FHWA joint regulations (23 CFR 771) as well as 
provisions of the Safe,

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Accountable, Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 
Users (SAFETEA-LU). The purpose of this notice is to alert interested 
parties regarding the intent to prepare the AA/EIS, to provide 
information on the nature of the proposed project and possible 
alternatives, to invite public participation in the NEPA process 
(including providing comments on the scope of the AA/EIS), and to 
announce that a public scoping meeting will be conducted.
    The AA/EIS will examine and evaluate a number of transit 
alternatives in the corridor. Any additional alternatives generated by 
the scoping process as well as the proposed station locations for the 
Build alternatives will also be considered. The alternatives will be 
compared to a No-Action Alternative for evaluation purposes.
    Scoping for the AA/EIS will be accomplished through a public 
meeting; e-mail and hard copy correspondence with interested 
individuals and organizations, Federal, State, and local agencies, and 
Native American Tribes; and through a meeting with cooperating and 
participating public agencies. Interested parties may comment by: (1) 
E-mailing [email protected]; (2) visiting the 
project Web site at http://www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info; (3) mailing 
written comments to the address below, or (4) attending the public 
scoping meeting, described below under Meeting Dates. A scoping 
information packet will be posted on the project Web site at http://www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info and hard copies of the packet will be 
distributed on request.

Meeting Dates

    Public Scoping Meeting: A public scoping meeting will be held 
Thursday, January 24, 2008 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Provo City 
Library (550 N University Ave, Provo).
    The project's purpose and need, and the initial set of alternatives 
proposed for study will be presented at this meeting. Comments may be 
given verbally or in writing at the scoping meeting. Every reasonable 
effort will be made to meet special needs. The meeting location will be 
accessible to persons with disabilities. Individuals who require 
special accommodations, such as sign language interpreter, to 
participate in the meeting should contact Ms. Sherry L. Repscher, ADA 
Compliance Officer, Utah Transit Authority, 3600 South 700 West, Salt 
Lake City, UT 84119-0810 or by telephone at (801) 262-5626 or TDD at 
(801) 287-4657.
    Agency Scoping Meeting: An agency scoping meeting will be held on 
Wednesday, January 23, 2008, from 9:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Provo 
City Library (Bullock Room 309), 550 North University Ave, Provo, Utah. 
The purpose of the meeting is to provide an overview of the project, to 
allow agencies to determine their level of interest in the project, and 
to allow agencies to help identify the proposed project's level of 
impact on environmental, social, and economic resources. The scoping 
meeting will include a bus tour of the project study area. The bus tour 
will depart at 9:30 a.m. from the Provo City Library parking lot.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the following address by 
February 28, 2008: Laynee Jones, HW Lochner, 310 East 4500 South, 
Murray, Utah 84107 or [email protected]. The 
location of the public scoping meeting is given above under Meeting 
Dates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charmaine Knighton, Deputy Regional 
Administrator, Region VIII, Federal Transit Administration, 12300 West 
Dakota Avenue, Suite 310, Denver, CO 80228. Telephone: 720-963-3327.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Scoping

    The FTA, UTA, and MAG invite all interested individuals and 
organizations, public agencies, and Native American Tribes to comment 
on the scope of the AA/EIS including the project's purpose and need, 
alternatives, impacts to be evaluated, and evaluation methods to be 
used. Comments should focus on refining the purpose and need statement, 
developing alternatives to meet the purpose and need, and on 
identifying specific social, economic, or environmental impacts to be 
evaluated. The scoping period will end February 28, 2008. A scoping 
information packet will be posted on the project Web site at http://www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info and hard copies of the packet will be 
distributed on request.

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

    Known as the Provo-Orem Rapid Transit AA/EIS, this project consists 
of increasing transit opportunities and maintaining efficient traffic 
flow in an area that contains two universities, retail malls, 
employment centers, a historic downtown, and two major regional 
intermodal centers. The proposed project originated from the Inter-
Regional Corridor Alternatives Analysis (IRCAA) completed in 2002 and 
the Provo/Orem Rapid Transit Corridor Feasibility Study (Feasibility 
Study) completed in 2005. The Feasibility Study selected Bus Rapid 
Transit (BRT) as the solution for the increasing transportation demand 
in Utah County. The BRT project is included in the Mountainland 
Association of Government's fiscally constrained Long Range 
Transportation Plan.
    Preliminary statement of purpose of and need for the proposed 
project: The purpose of the project is to serve transit markets along 
the corridor; provide circulation and distribution for future transit 
projects including commuter rail; and to accommodate future travel 
demand while maintaining efficient traffic flow. The needs identified 
in the previous studies include: enhancing community character, 
accommodating the ultimate cross-section of the road, meeting traffic 
demand on the travel lanes, encouraging economic development, and 
providing a system that is safe, easy, and convenient to use. The 
public and participating and cooperating agencies are invited to 
consider and comment on this preliminary statement of the purpose and 
need for the proposed project.
    Projected Ridership. According to preliminary estimates in the 
Feasibility Study, the project is anticipated to serve 17,000 boardings 
per day. Brigham Young University is located near the center of the 
study area and has an enrollment of over 35,000. Most of its students 
live within 3.5 miles of campus and the feasibility study indicates 
that 67 percent of students walk to campus. The project area has a 
strong local ridership base; an on-board survey of UTA bus routes 
serving Utah County concluded that approximately 52 percent of riders 
live in Provo and 19 percent live in Orem. Approximately 35 percent of 
riders were students.
    Local Land Use and Economic Development. Provo and Orem are the two 
largest cities in Utah County. Based on a comparison of Census data 
from 1990 to 2000, Provo was shown to be the fourth fastest-growing 
metropolitan area for job creation and the tenth fastest-growing for 
population. By 2030, Provo is expected to grow to a population of 
almost 137,000 and Orem is expected to grow to a population of over 
107,000. Although the entire study area is growing, population and 
employment growth are dispersed in different densities along the 
project corridor. Employment density is projected to increase in 
particular along University Avenue.

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    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: (1) 
Scoping; (2) Alternatives Analysis/ EIS, selection of the Locally 
Preferred Alternative (LPA); selection of the Preferred Alternative and 
(3) Final EIS.

III. Alternatives

    The Feasibility Study conducted in 2005 recommended Bus Rapid 
Transit (BRT) along University Parkway and University Avenue with a 
detour off University Avenue to serve Brigham Young University (BYU). 
Because population and employment densities have changed in the study 
area since 2005, the AA/EIS will evaluate a wide range of fixed 
guideway alternatives including light rail and Bus Rapid Transit. Bus 
Rapid Transit includes exclusive transit lanes (either center-running 
or side-running) and queue jump lanes. The preliminary alternatives 
will be narrowed to a locally preferred alternative based on updated 
ridership forecasts. The locally preferred alternative and a No-Action 
alternative will be evaluated in detail in the EIS resulting in the 
selection of a Preferred Alternative.

IV. Probable Effects

    NEPA requires FTA and UTA to evaluate the significant impacts of 
the alternatives selected for study in the AA/EIS. Primary issues 
identified thus far include additional right-of-way takes, business 
impacts, potential impacts to historic properties, and traffic and 
accessibility impacts. 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.

V. FTA Procedures

    The regulation implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of the 
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), call for public involvement in the NEPA 
process. Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires that the lead agencies 
(FTA, UTA, and MAG) do the following: (1) Extend an invitation to other 
Federal and non-Federal agencies and Native American 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 to help 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. An invitation to become a participating or cooperating 
agency, with scoping materials appended, will be extended to other 
Federal and non-Federal agencies and Native American tribes that may 
have an interest in the proposed project. It is possible that the lead 
agencies will not be able to identify all Federal and non-Federal 
agencies and Native American tribes that may have such an interest. Any 
Federal or non-Federal agency or Native American tribe interested in 
the proposed project that does not receive an invitation to become a 
participating agency should notify Pat Rothacher, Utah Transit 
Authority, at 3600 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84119 or 
[email protected].
    UTA is seeking federal assistance from the FTA to fund the proposed 
project under 49 United States Code 5309 and will, therefore, be 
subject to regulations (49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 611) 
related to New Starts projects.
    The AA/EIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA and its 
implementing regulation issued by the Council on Environmental Quality 
(40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and with the FTA/Federal Highway 
Administration regulations ``Environmental Impact and Related 
Procedures'' (23 CFR part 771). 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. These requirements include, 
but are not limited to, the environmental and public hearing provisions 
of Federal transit laws (49 U.S.C. 5301 (e), 5323 (b), and 5324); 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 Department of Transportation 
Act (23 CFR 771.135); and Executive Orders 12898 on environmental 
justice, 11988 on floodplain management, and 11990 on wetlands.

    Issued on: December 14, 2007.
Charmaine Knighton,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. E7-24861 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P