[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 249 (Monday, December 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79541-79543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30751]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed 
Train Project from San Francisco to San Jose, CA

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

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SUMMARY: This notice is to advise the public that FRA and the 
California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will jointly prepare a 
project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and project Environmental 
Impact Report (EIR) for the San Francisco to San Jose section of the 
Authority's proposed California High-Speed Train (HST) System in 
compliance with relevant state and federal laws, in particular the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
    In 2001, the Authority and FRA started a tiered environmental 
review process for the HST system and in 2005, completed the first tier 
California High Speed Train Program EIR/EIS and approved the statewide 
HST system for intercity travel in California between the major 
metropolitan centers of Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area in 
the north, through the Central Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in 
the south. The approved HST system would be about 800-miles long, with 
electric propulsion and steel-wheel-on-steel-rail trains capable of 
maximum operating speeds of 220 miles per hour (mph) on a mostly 
dedicated system of fully grade-separated, access-controlled steel 
tracks and with state-of-the-art safety, signaling, communication, and 
automated train control systems. In 2008, the Authority and FRA 
completed a second program EIR/EIS to evaluate alignments and station 
locations within the broad corridor between and including the Altamont 
Pass and the Pacheco Pass to connect the Bay Area and Central Valley 
portions of the HST system. The Authority and FRA selected the Pacheco 
Pass--San Francisco and San Jose termini network alternative, as well 
as preferred corridor alignments and station location options. The 
selected alignment uses the Caltrain rail right-of-way, between San 
Francisco and San Jose along the San Francisco Peninsula, and the 
Pacheco Pass via Henry Miller Road, between San Jose and the Central 
Valley.
    The preparation of the San Francisco to San Jose HST Project EIR/
EIS will

[[Page 79542]]

involve development of preliminary engineering designs and assessment 
of environmental effects associated with the construction, operation, 
and maintenance of the HST system, including track, ancillary 
facilities and stations, along the Caltrain corridor from San Francisco 
to San Jose.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the San Francisco to San Jose 
HST Project EIR/EIS should be provided to the Authority by March 6, 
2009. Public scoping meetings are scheduled from January 22, 2009 to 
January 29, 2009, as noted below in San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa 
Clara Counties.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope should be sent to Mr. Dan 
Leavitt, Deputy Directory, ATTN: San Francisco to San Jose, California 
High-Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 
95814, or via e-mail with subject line ``San Francisco to San Jose 
HST'' to: [email protected]. Comments may also be provided orally or 
in writing at the scoping meetings scheduled at the following 
locations:
     Sam Trans Auditorium, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, 
California, January 22, 2009 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
     San Francisco State University, 835 Market Street, 6th 
Floor (Rooms 673-674), San Francisco, California, January 27, 2009 from 
3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
     Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great American 
Parkway, Great American Meeting Rooms 1 & 2, Santa Clara, California, 
January 29, 2009 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Valenstein, Environmental 
Program Manager, Office of Railroad Development, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE. (Mail Stop 20), Washington, 
DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 493-6368, or Mr. Dan Leavitt, Telephone: 
(916) 324-1541 at the above noted address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Authority was established in 1996 and is 
authorized and directed by statute to undertake the planning and 
development of a proposed statewide HST network that is fully 
coordinated with other public transportation services. The Authority 
adopted a Final Business Plan in June 2000, which reviewed the economic 
feasibility of a 800-mile-long HST capable of speeds in excess of 200 
miles per hour on a dedicated, fully grade-separated state-of-the-art 
track. The Authority released an updated Business Plan in November 
2008.
    The FRA has responsibility for oversight of the safety of railroad 
operations, including the safety of any proposed high-speed ground 
transportation system. For the proposed HST, it is anticipated that FRA 
would need to take certain regulatory actions prior to operation.
    In 2005, the Authority and FRA completed a Final Program EIR/EIS 
for the Proposed California High Speed Train System (Statewide Program 
EIR/EIS), as the first phase of a tiered environmental review process. 
The Authority certified the Final Program EIR under CEQA and approved 
the proposed HST System, and FRA issued a Record of Decision under NEPA 
on the Final Program EIS. This statewide program EIR/EIS established 
the purpose and need for the HST system, analyzed an HST system, and 
compared it with a No Project/No Action Alternative and a Modal 
Alternative. In approving the statewide program EIR/EIS, the Authority 
and FRA selected the HST Alternative, selected certain corridors/
general alignments and general station locations for further study, 
incorporated mitigation strategies and design practices, and specified 
further measures to guide the development of the HST system at the 
site-specific project level of environmental review to avoid and 
minimize potential adverse environmental impacts. In the subsequent Bay 
Area to Central Valley HST Final Program EIR/EIS, the Authority and FRA 
selected the Caltrain right-of-way between San Francisco and San Jose 
as the preferred alternative to connect with the San Jose to Central 
Valley section.
    The San Francisco to San Jose HST Project EIR/EIS will tier from 
the Final Statewide Program EIR/EIS and the Final Bay Area to Central 
Valley HST Program EIR/EIS in accordance with Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) regulations, (40 CFR 1508.28) and State CEQA Guidelines 
(14 C.C.R. Sec.  15168[b]). Tiering will ensure that the San Francisco 
to San Jose HST Project EIR/EIS builds upon all previous work prepared 
for and incorporated in the Statewide Program EIR/EIS and the Bay Area 
to Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS.
    This Project EIR/EIS will describe site-specific environmental 
impacts, will identify specific mitigation measures to address those 
impacts and will incorporate design practices to avoid and minimize 
potential adverse environmental impacts. The FRA and the Authority will 
assess the site characteristics, size, nature, and timing of proposed 
site-specific projects to determine whether the impacts are potentially 
significant and whether impacts can be avoided or mitigated. This 
project EIR/EIS will identify and evaluate reasonable and feasible 
site-specific alignment alternatives, and evaluate the impacts from 
construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST system. Information 
and documents regarding this HST environmental review process will be 
made available through the Authority's Internet site: http://www.cahighspeedrail.gov/.
    Purpose and Need: The purpose of the proposed HST system is to 
provide a new mode of high-speed intercity travel that would link major 
metropolitan areas of the state; interface with international airports, 
mass transit, and highways; and provide added capacity to meet 
increases in intercity travel demand in California in a manner 
sensitive to and protective of California's unique natural resources. 
The need for a high-speed train (HST) system is directly related to the 
expected growth in population, and increases in intercity travel demand 
in California over the next twenty years and beyond. With the growth in 
travel demand, there will be an increase in travel delays arising from 
the growing congestion on California's highways and at airports. In 
addition, there will be negative effects on the economy, quality of 
life, and air quality in and around California's metropolitan areas 
from a transportation system that will become less reliable as travel 
demand increases. The intercity highway system, commercial airports, 
and conventional passenger rail serving the intercity travel market are 
currently operating at or near capacity, and will require large public 
investments for maintenance and expansion to meet existing demand and 
future growth.
    Alternatives: The San Francisco to San Jose HST Project EIR/EIS 
will consider a No Action or No Project Alternative and an HST 
Alternative for the San Francisco to San Jose corridor.
    No Action Alternative: The No Action Alternative (No Project or No 
Build) represents the conditions in the corridor as it existed in 2007, 
and as it would exist based on programmed and funded improvements to 
the intercity transportation system and other reasonably foreseeable 
projects through 2035, taking into account the following sources of 
information: State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Regional 
Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport plans, 
intercity passenger rail plans, city and county plans.
    HST Alternative: The Authority proposes to construct, operate and 
maintain an electric-powered steel-wheel-on-steel-rail HST system, 
about 800 miles long, capable of operating

[[Page 79543]]

speeds of 220 mph on mostly dedicated, fully graded-separated tracks, 
with state-of-the-art safety, signaling, and automated train control 
systems. The San Francisco to San Jose HST corridor selected by the 
Authority and FRA follows the Caltrain right-of-way from San Francisco 
to San Jose. The HST would operate in this area at speeds below 150 mph 
and would share tracks with Caltrain express commuter trains. Further 
engineering studies to be undertaken as part of this EIR/EIS process 
will examine and refine alignments in the Caltrain right-of-way. The 
entire alignment would be grade separated. The options to be considered 
for the design of grade separated roadway crossings would include (1) 
Depressing the street to pass under the rail line; (2) elevating the 
street to pass over the rail line; and (3) leaving the street as-is and 
constructing rail line improvements to pass over or under the local 
street. In addition, alternative sites for right-of-way maintenance, 
train storage facilities and a train service and inspection facility 
will be evaluated in the San Francisco to San Jose HST project area.
    The preferred station in the City of San Francisco is the Transbay 
Transit Center; in the City of Millbrae the existing Millbrae BART/
Caltrain Station, and in the City of San Jose the Intermodal Diridon 
Station. These locations were selected by the Authority and FRA through 
the Bay Area to Central Valley HST Final Program EIR/EIS considering 
the project purpose and need, and the program objectives. Potential 
station locations in the City of Redwood City at the existing Caltrain 
Station near downtown or in the City of Palo Alto at the existing 
Caltrain Station near downtown will also be evaluated in this project 
EIR/EIS. Alternative station sites at or near the selected station 
locations may be identified and evaluated in this Project EIR/EIS.
    Probable Effects: The purpose of the EIR/EIS process is to explore 
in a public setting the effects of the proposed project on the 
physical, human, and natural environment. The FRA and the Authority 
will continue the tiered evaluation of all significant environmental, 
social, and economic impacts of the construction and operation of the 
HST system. Impact areas to be addressed include transportation 
impacts; safety and security; land use and zoning; land acquisition, 
displacements, and relocations; cumulative and secondary impacts; 
cultural resource impacts, including impacts on historical and 
archaeological resources and parklands/recreation areas; neighborhood 
compatibility and environmental justice; natural resource impacts 
including air quality, wetlands, water resources, noise, vibration, 
energy, wildlife and ecosystems, including engendered species. Measures 
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts will be identified and 
evaluated.
    The San Francisco to San Jose HST Project EIR/EIS will be prepared 
in accordance with FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental 
Impacts (64 FR 28545 [May 26, 1999]) and will address not only NEPA and 
CEQA but will also address as necessary other applicable statutes, 
regulations, and executive orders, including the Clean Air Act, Section 
404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act of 1966, Section 4(f) of the Department of 
Transportation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and Executive Order 
12898 on Environmental Justice.
    This EIR/EIS process will also continue the NEPA/Clean Water Act 
Section 404 integration process established through the Statewide 
Program EIR/EIS process. The EIR/EIS will evaluate project alignment 
alternatives, station and maintenance facility locations to support a 
determination of the Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable 
Alternative (``LEDPA'') by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    Scoping and Comments: FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS 
process during scoping and review of the resulting environmental 
documents. Comments are invited from all interested agencies and the 
public to ensure the full range of issues related to the proposed 
action and reasonable alternatives are addressed and all significant 
issues are identified. In particular, FRA is interested in determining 
whether there are areas of environmental concern where there might be a 
potential for significant site-specific impacts. Public agencies with 
jurisdiction are requested to advise FRA and the Authority of the 
applicable permit and environmental review requirements of each agency, 
and the scope and content of the environmental information that is 
germane to the agency's statutory responsibilities in connection with 
the proposed project. Public agencies are requested to advise FRA if 
they anticipate taking a major action in connection with the proposed 
project and if they wish to cooperate in the preparation of the Project 
EIR/EIS. Public scoping meetings have been scheduled as an important 
component of the scoping process for both the State and Federal 
environmental review. The scoping meetings described in this Notice 
will also be the subject of additional public notification.
    FRA is seeking participation and input of all interested federal, 
state, and local agencies, Native American groups, and other concerned 
private organizations or individuals on the scope of the EIR/EIS. 
Implementation of the San Francisco to San Jose section of the HST 
system is a federal undertaking with the potential to affect historic 
properties. As such, it is subject to the requirements of section 106 
of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470f.). In 
accordance with regulations issued by the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation, 36 CFR part 800, FRA intends to coordinate compliance 
with section 106 of this Act with the preparation of the EIR/EIS, 
beginning with the identification of consulting parties through the 
scoping process, in a manner consistent with the standards set out in 
36 CFR 800.8.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 18, 2008.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development.
 [FR Doc. E8-30751 Filed 12-24-08; 8:45 am]
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