[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 189 (Thursday, October 1, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50866-50868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23749]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed 
Train Project From Fresno to Bakersfield, 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: The FRA issued a Notice of Intent on March 13, 2009 for the 
preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and 
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) with the California High-Speed Rail 
(Authority) for the Merced-to-Bakersfield 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 that Notice, alternatives involving the 
alignments and stations located between Merced and Bakersfield were 
identified. FRA is issuing this Notice to amend the project 
environmental process for the Merced to Bakersfield section into two 
separate project EISs.
    FRA and the Authority have determined that the environmental 
effects of the HST System from Merced to Bakersfield are more 
appropriately assessed in two separate documents; one for Merced to 
Fresno and another for Fresno to Bakersfield. This Notice amends the 
environmental process started on March 13, 2009 to instead prepare a 
Project EIR/EIS for the Fresno to Bakersfield section of the HST 
System. The decision to complete two separate EIR/EISs was made because 
the project sections are of sufficient length, with logical termini, 
allowing for an analysis of environmental matters on a broad scope to 
ensure that the project will function properly without requiring 
additional improvements elsewhere; and the assessment of HST 
alternatives in the Fresno to Bakersfield section will not restrict 
consideration of alternatives for other transportation improvements.
    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 (Statewide 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 operating speeds of 220 miles per hour 
(mph) on a dedicated system of fully grade-separated, access-controlled 
steel tracks with state-of-the-art safety, signaling, communication, 
and automated train control systems. In approving the HST System, the 
Authority and FRA also selected corridors/general alignments and 
station location options throughout most of the system. The Statewide 
Program EIR/EIS generally selected the Burlington Northern Santa Fe 
Railroad (BNSF) corridor for the high-speed train route from Fresno to 
Bakersfield and the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) corridor was 
selected through the urban area of Fresno, with stations in downtown 
Fresno and Bakersfield. The Statewide Program EIR/EIS also stated that 
the project EIR/EIS for the HST in this portion of the Central Valley 
would evaluate an alignment around Hanford and a potential station 
location in the Visalia/Hanford/Tulare area.
    The preparation of the Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS 
will involve the development of preliminary engineering designs and the 
assessment of potential environmental effects associated with the 
construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST System, including 
track, ancillary facilities and stations, along the preferred 
alternative corridor from Fresno to Bakersfield with alternative 
alignments to the east of Hanford.

DATES: FRA and the Authority invite the general public, other 
government agencies, and all other interested parties to comment on the 
amended scope and content of the Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/
EIS. FRA and the Authority are soliciting additional oral and written 
comments, suggestions, and requests for information, and request for 
public meetings no later than October 30, 2009. These comments will 
receive equal consideration as comments presented during the March 2009 
scoping period for the former Merced to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/
EIS.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope should be sent to Ms. Carrie 
Bowen, Regional Director, ATTN. Fresno to Bakersfield, California High-
Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street,

[[Page 50867]]

Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814, or via e-mail with subject line 
``Fresno to Bakersfield HST'' to: [email protected]. Comments may 
also be provided orally at the same address.

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 Ms. Carrie Bowen, Regional 
Director, ATTN. Fresno to Bakersfield, California High-Speed Rail 
Authority, 925 L Street, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814 (telephone: 
559-221-2636).

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 an 800-mile-long HST System capable of operating 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 overseeing the safety of railroad 
operations, including the safety of any proposed high-speed ground 
transportation system. FRA is also authorized to provide Federal 
funding for intercity passenger rail capital investments including 
high-speed rail. For the proposed HST, it is anticipated that FRA would 
need to take certain regulatory actions prior to operation and may 
provide financial assistance for the project including grant funds.
    In 2005, the Authority and FRA completed a Statewide Program EIR/
EIS for the Proposed California High Speed Train System, as the first 
phase of a tiered environmental review process. The Authority certified 
the Statewide Program EIR under CEQA and approved the proposed HST 
System, and FRA issued a Record of Decision under NEPA for the 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 during the site-specific project level 
environmental review to avoid and minimize potential adverse 
environmental impacts. The Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS 
will tier from the Statewide Program EIR/EIS in accordance with Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, (40 CFR 1508.28) and State 
CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations 15168(b)). Tiering 
will ensure that the Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS builds 
upon all previous work prepared for, and incorporated in, the Statewide 
Program EIR/EIS.
    The Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will describe site-
specific environmental impacts, identify specific mitigation measures 
to address those impacts and incorporate design features to avoid and 
minimize potential adverse environmental impacts. The FRA and the 
Authority will assess the site characteristics, size, nature, and 
timing of the proposed project 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 alternatives, and evaluate the impacts of 
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 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 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 an increasingly congested 
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. The proposed HST system is designed to address some of 
the social, economic and environmental problems associated with 
transportation congestion in California.
    Alternatives: The Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will 
consider a No Action or No Project Alternative and an HST Alternative 
for the Fresno to Bakersfield section.
    No Action Alternative: The No Action Alternative (No Project or No 
Build) represents the conditions in the corridor as it existed in 2009, 
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: the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), 
Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport 
plans, intercity passenger rail plans, and 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 speeds of 220 mph on 
dedicated, fully grad-separated tracks, with state-of-the-art safety, 
signaling, and automated train control systems. The BNSF alignment from 
Fresno to Bakersfield was selected with the Statewide Program EIR/EIS. 
As defined in the Statewide Program EIR/EIS, this alignment would 
utilize the UPRR corridor through the urban area of Fresno, and would 
require a new high-speed alignment around the city of Hanford. 
Alignment alternatives will also be evaluated to serve a potential 
station in the Visalia/Hanford/Tulare area. The HST would operate in 
this area at speeds up to 220 mph on tracks separate from the existing 
BNSF tracks. Engineering studies to be undertaken as part of this EIR/
EIS process will examine and refine alignments in the BNSF corridor. 
The entire alignment would be grade separated from existing roadways. 
In addition, alternative sites for right-of-way maintenance, train 
storage facilities, and a light or heavy maintenance and repair 
facility will be evaluated in the Fresno to Bakersfield HST project 
area.
    The two preferred station locations selected by the Authority and 
FRA through the Statewide Program EIR/EIS will be evaluated in the 
Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS. These

[[Page 50868]]

stations are downtown Fresno and downtown Bakersfield. Alternative 
station sites at or near the selected station locations may be 
identified and evaluated. A potential station in the Visalia/Hanford/
Tulare area will also be 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; agricultural land impacts; cumulative 
and secondary impacts; cultural resource impacts, including impacts on 
historical and archaeological resources and parklands/recreation areas; 
neighborhood compatibility and environmental justice; and natural 
resource impacts including air quality, wetlands, water resources, 
noise, vibration, energy, wildlife and ecosystems, including endangered 
species. Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts will 
be identified and evaluated.
    The Fresno to Bakersfield 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, and 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.
    Comments: FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS process 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 learning whether there are areas of environmental 
concern where there might be a potential for significant site-specific 
impacts from the Fresno-Bakersfield section of the HST system. 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 were held in March 2009 for the Merced to 
Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS and are an important component of the 
scoping process for the Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS for 
both the State and Federal environmental review. 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 Fresno to Bakersfield 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 in a manner 
consistent with the standards set out in 36 CFR 800.8.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 25, 2009.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-23749 Filed 9-30-09; 8:45 am]
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