[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1758-1760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-435]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Notice of Continuation of the Early Scoping--Efficient
Transportation Decision Making Process for the South Florida East Coast
Corridor Transit Analysis
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation and Florida Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Continuation of the Early Scoping--Efficient Transportation
Decision Making Process for the South Florida East Coast Corridor
Transit Analysis.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Florida
Department of Transportation (FDOT) issue this notice to advise
governmental agencies, the public and other interested stakeholders of
FTA's and FDOT's intent to continue the early scoping and planning-
level National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)/Florida's Efficient
Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) process previously initiated for
the South Florida East Coast Corridor Transit Analysis (SFECCTA) study.
This notice is announcing to interested parties that additional early
scoping meetings will be held at the beginning of the second phase of
early scoping/ETDM on the dates provided below, and to inform the
general public regarding the ongoing planning process.
The FTA and FDOT have been exploring transportation alternatives
along an 85-mile section of the existing Florida East Coast (FEC)
Railway freight corridor between Miami and Tequesta, Florida. A
programmatic Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
developed an approach for evaluating impacts associated with various
transportation improvement alternatives. The Tier 1 DEIS identified a
number of transportation improvement alternatives that will be further
evaluated in the continuation of the early scoping/ETDM process. This
process is intended to result in selection of one or more locally-
preferred transportation improvement alternatives. FDOT has been
engaged in alternatives analysis and produced the Final Conceptual
Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Screening Report (AA/ESR) that
documents the results of the
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first phase of the SFECCTA planning. An electronic copy of this interim
report is available upon request from the contact below.
With the continuation of early scoping, the FTA and FDOT will
discontinue the pursuit of a Tiered Programmatic EIS process and
continue the statutorily required Alternatives Analysis process. Within
this process, it is FDOT's intention to screen alternatives and
determine transportation mode and general alignment within the corridor
for each of the three independent corridor sections. At the conclusion
of the early scoping process, the locally approved alternatives (LPAs)
for each corridor segment will be adopted by the individual
Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the Long Range Transportation
Plans will be updated. FTA and FDOT will then prepare a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement incorporating by reference all early
scoping environmental planning efforts.
DATES: Written comments on this notice are welcomed and should be
submitted to Mr. Scott P. Seeburger, Project Manager, Florida
Department of Transportation, by March 10, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information requests are welcomed and
should be submitted to: Scott P. Seeburger, Project Manager, Florida
Department of Transportation, District 4, Planning and Environmental
Management, 3400 West Commercial Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309-
3421, (954) 777-4632, FAX (954) 777-4671,
[email protected].
Public Meetings: Early scoping meetings will be held at the
following wheelchair-accessible locations to advise interested agencies
and the public about continued early scoping efforts on the SFECCTA and
to receive comments:
Town of Jupiter: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 from 6 to 8 p.m. at
the Jupiter Town Hall Council Chamber, 210 Military Trail, Jupiter,
Florida.
City of Boca Raton: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 from 3:30 to 5:30
p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m., Boca Raton Community Center, Royal Palm
Room, 150 Crawford Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida.
City of West Palm Beach: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 from 3:30 to
5:30 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m., Cohen Pavilion, Kravis Center, 701
Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida.
City of Riviera Beach: Thursday, February 5, 2009 from 6 to 8 p.m.
at Riviera Beach City Hall Council Chamber Room C202, 600 West Blue
Heron Boulevard, Riviera Beach, Florida.
City of Miami: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Greater Bethel AME Church, 245 NW 8th
Street, Miami, Florida.
City of Delray Beach: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 from 6 to 8 p.m.
at Delray Beach City Hall, 100 NW 1st Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida.
Village of Miami Shores: Thursday, February 12, 2009 from 6 to 8
p.m. at the Miami Shores Country Club Ballroom, 10000 Biscayne
Boulevard, Miami Shores, Florida.
City of Hollywood: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 from 6 to 8 p.m. at
the Hollywood Center for the Performing Arts--Auditorium & Cafe, 1770
Monroe Street, Hollywood, Florida.
City of Pompano Beach: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 from 6 to 8
p.m. at the E. Pat Larkins Community Center Auditorium--West Side, 520
NW 3rd Street, Pompano Beach, Florida.
City of Aventura: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 from 6 to 8 p.m. at
the Aventura Community Recreation Center--Classrooms 1A, 1B, and 2,
3375 NE 188th Street, Miami, Florida.
City of Ft. Lauderdale: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 from 5 to 7
p.m. at the African American Research Library, 2650 West Sistrunk
Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FTA and FDOT published a notice of
intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on March 28, 2006 (Volume 71,
Number 59) to advise the public of their intent to prepare a Tier 1
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the SFECCTA to
evaluate transit improvements in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach
Counties, Florida. To date, the exploration of transportation
improvement alternatives for the 85-mile-long existing Florida East
Coast (FEC) Railway between Miami and Tequesta has taken place in the
context of FDOT's ETDM process and the NEPA tiering process. A broad
range of conceptual alternatives were considered, including various
transit technologies, corridor alignments, and station locations.
Preliminary screening of these conceptual alternatives identified a
single generalized alignment and four viable alternatives including
regional rail, rapid rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit that are
to be carried into the detailed screening phase along with the
Transportation System Management (TSM) alternative. A discussion of
these alternatives may be found in the AA/ESR.
While the programmatic or tiered NEPA-ETDM process was initially
undertaken, the form, substance, and eventual outcome of that process,
as it was being pursued, may be likened to another recognized NEPA
process--early scoping. Early scoping is a NEPA process that is
particularly useful in situations where, as here, proposed actions (the
locally-preferred alternatives) have not been identified and multiple
transportation alternatives are under consideration in a broad
corridor. Although scoping normally follows issuance of a notice of
intent, which must describe the ``proposed action,'' it ``may be
initiated earlier, as long as there is appropriate public notice and
enough information available on the proposal so that the public and
relevant agencies can participate effectively.'' [See the Council on
Environmental Quality, ``Forty Most Asked Questions Concerning CEQ's
National Environmental Policy Act Regulations,'' 46 FR 18026, 18030
(1981) (Answer to Question 13)] Thus far, information developed
cooperatively with more than 90 key agencies and stakeholders, as well
as the public, is more than adequate to continue an effective early
scoping process for transportation alternatives in the 85-mile long
Florida East Coast Railway corridor.
Continuation of the Early Scoping-ETDM Process
The continuation of the early scoping-ETDM process will build upon
the Tier 1 process and documents. Comments on the scope of alternatives
and impacts will continue to be considered. Because FDOT may seek New
Starts funding for one or more of the locally-preferred alternatives,
the early scoping-ETDM process will also serve as the vehicle for
consideration of alternatives consistent with the provisions of 49
U.S.C. 5309 (Alternatives Analysis). The early scoping-ETDM process has
established and will continue to refine a well-defined statement of
purpose and need for the transportation improvement projects, as well
as alternative means of meeting that purpose and need, thereby
promoting a more efficient NEPA process. Early scoping provides a means
through which duplication, waste, and delay that could otherwise be
experienced in situations such as this may be avoided. This is
consistent with Environmental Streamlining provisions of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
The next phase of the early scoping-ETDM process will examine
technologies, including regional rail, rapid rail, light rail, and bus
rapid transit; station locations and types; grade crossing issues;
maintenance
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facility and yard locations; locations for interconnecting passenger
services between the existing South Florida Rail Corridor that is
served by Tri-Rail Commuter services and the FEC Railway corridor;
costs; funding; ridership; economic development; land use; engineering
feasibility; and environmental factors in a selected corridor. To
satisfy the Sec. 5309 Alternatives Analysis requirement, FDOT will
also evaluate options for transportation improvements in the study area
that do not involve significant capital investment including TSM
improvements and the implications of taking no action (i.e., the ``no
build'' alternative). It is the purpose of this early scoping-ETDM
process, to identify mode and general alignment in the SFECC and
develop a well defined locally preferred alternative.
In conjunction with issuance of this notice, and consistent with
provisions of 23 U.S.C. 139, a plan for coordinating public and agency
participation in and comment on the environmental review process for
issues and alternatives under consideration here and at subsequent
phases of the process will be prepared.
Interim Report Availability
The SFECCTA was begun using a Tiered Environmental Impact Statement
NEPA process. In processing the Tier 1 Draft Final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS), FTA and FDOT agreed that the
process followed for Tier 1 is consistent with the NEPA early scoping
process, and that this early scoping process will be continued through
the next study phase including selection of one or more locally
preferred alternatives (proposed actions) in the corridor. Under this
process, the Tier 1 Draft FPEIS will be considered an interim planning
report and, as such, has been renamed the Conceptual AA/ESR. FTA and
FDOT will no longer engage in the NEPA tiering process.
In Tier 1, an iterative screening process was applied to a broad
range of conceptual alternatives. A shortlist of modal technologies and
a generalized alignment were selected consistent with the FTA
definition of conceptual alternatives. The study applied corridor-level
NEPA principles and processes in the evaluation of alternatives and
their potential environmental impacts as well as in the collaboration
with governmental agencies and the public involvement program. The
entire process was documented in a programmatic Tier 1 DEIS that was
circulated to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies
and to other interested stakeholders. A Notice of Availability was
published on October 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 198) for this
document, and a public hearing was conducted on November 8, 9, and 15,
2006 at different venues in the study area.
The Tier 1 DEIS and the Conceptual AA/ESR serve as the
administrative record documenting the NEPA analysis performed to
support the advanced alternatives analysis phase of decision-making,
federal agency oversight, agency coordination, and public comments and
responses. As mentioned above, the AA/ESR will serve as an interim
report for the early scoping-ETDM process now being used and is renamed
as the final report, Conceptual AA/ESR. The report may be viewed or
downloaded from the project's Web site at www.sfeccstudy.com. An
electronic copy of this interim report is available upon request from
the contact above. Also, bound copies of the Conceptual AA/ESR will be
available for public review, between January 9, 2009 to March 10, 2009,
at the following locations:
Florida Department of Transportation, District 4 Planning and
Environmental Management, 3400 West Commercial Boulevard, Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33309-3421, Phone: (954) 777-4632.
Florida Department of Transportation, District 6 Planning and
Environmental Management Office, 1000 NW. 111th Avenue, Miami, FL
33172, Phone: (305) 470-5220.
Issued on: January 7, 2009.
Ms. Yvette G. Taylor,
Regional Administrator, FTA Region 4.
[FR Doc. E9-435 Filed 1-12-09; 8:45 am]
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