[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32240-32242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13587]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Draft Tier II Environmental Impact Statement: Southeast High 
Speed Rail Corridor-Richmond, VA (Main Street Station) to Raleigh, NC 
(Boylan Wye)

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Tier II Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement and public hearings for the Southeast High Speed Rail, 
Richmond, VA to Raleigh, NC Project (Project).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Railroad Administration announces the availability 
of the Southeast High Speed Rail, Richmond, VA to Raleigh, NC Project 
Draft Tier II Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for public review 
and comment. The DEIS was prepared pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq., the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing 
regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and the FRA NEPA guidance, 64 FR 
28545 (May 26, 1999). FRA is the lead Federal agency; the Federal 
Highway Administration, United States Coast Guard, United States Army 
Corps of Engineers, United States Environmental Protection Agency, and 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are cooperating Federal 
agencies. The North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division 
(NCDOT) and the Virginia

[[Page 32241]]

Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) are co-lead State 
agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency included the DEIS in the 
Notice of Availability published on June 4, 2010.

DATES: FRA invites interested Members of Congress, state and local 
governments, other Federal agencies, Native American tribal 
governments, organizations, and members of the public to provide 
comments on the DEIS. The public comment period opened on May 28, 2010, 
and will continue until August 30, 2010. Written and oral comments will 
be given equal weight, and FRA will consider all comments received or 
postmarked by that date in the preparing the Final EIS. Comments 
received or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent 
practicable. Dates and locations for the public hearings are listed 
below. ``Open House'' information sessions will be held from 5-7 p.m. 
followed by public hearings at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time:
    1. Norlina, NC: July 13, 2010, Northside Elementary School, 164 
Elementary Avenue, Norlina, NC 27563.
    2. Alberta, VA: July 15, 2010, Southside Virginia Community 
College, Christanna Campus, 109 Campus Drive, Alberta, VA 23821.
    3. Richmond, VA: July 20, 2010, Virginia Department of Motor 
Vehicles Cafeteria, 2300 West Broad Street, 1st floor, Richmond, VA 
23269.
    4. Petersburg, VA: July 21, 2010, Union Station, 103 River Street, 
Petersburg, VA 23804.
    5. McKenney, VA: July 22, 2010, Sunnyside Elementary School, 10203 
Sunnyside Road, McKenney, VA 23872.
    6. Raleigh, NC: July 26, 2010, Raleigh Convention Center, 500 South 
Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.
    7. Henderson, NC: July 27, 2010, Aycock Elementary School, 305 
Carey Chapel Road, Franklin County, NC 27537.
    8. Franklinton, NC: July 29, 2010, Franklinton High School Gym, 
6948 N. Cheatham Street, Franklinton, NC 27525.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted at the public hearings both 
verbally and in writing. Written comments may be submitted 
electronically via the project Web site at http://www.sehsr.org or 
mailed to SEHSR Comments, NCDOT Rail Division, 1553 Mail Service 
Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1553, or SEHSR Comments, Virginia Department 
of Rail and Public Transportation, 600 East Main Street, Suite 2102, 
Richmond, VA 23219.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
environmental review, please contact one of the following three 
individuals: Mr. Patrick Simmons, NCDOT Rail Division, 1553 Mail 
Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1553 (telephone 919-733-7245), or by 
e-mail at [email protected], with ``SEHSR Richmond to Raleigh,'' in 
the subject heading; or Ms. Christine Fix, Virginia Department of Rail 
& Public Transportation, 600 East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA 
23219 (telephone 804-786-1052) or by e-mail at 
[email protected], with ``SEHSR Richmond to Raleigh'' in 
the subject heading; or Mr. John Winkle, Transportation Industry 
Analyst, Office of Passenger Programs, Federal Railroad Administration, 
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Room W38-311, Washington, DC 20590 
(telephone 202 493-6067), or by e-mail at [email protected] with 
``SEHSR Richmond to Raleigh'' in the subject heading.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tier II DEIS evaluates alternatives and 
the environmental impacts for proposed high speed passenger rail 
service with a maximum authorized speed of 110 miles per hour within 
the preferred corridor described in the Tier I Record of Decision for 
the SEHSR Corridor from Washington, DC to Charlotte, NC. This Tier II 
DEIS is focused on the approximately 162 mile portion of the corridor 
between Main Street Station in Richmond, VA and the Boylan Wye in 
Raleigh, NC. The project corridor generally follows the CSX S-line from 
Main Street Station, Richmond, VA, to Centralia, VA, then the CSX A-
line to Collier Yard, Petersburg, VA. South of Collier Yard the 
corridor follows the Burgess Connector rail line to Burgess, VA, and 
the former Seaboard Air Line (S-line) to Norlina, NC, where the S-line 
returns to an active freight railroad. In Raleigh, NC, the study 
corridor includes two alternatives: the western branch follows the 
existing Norfolk Southern (NS) NS-line; the eastern branch continues to 
follow the CSX S-line. The two branches rejoin before the terminus of 
the project at the Boylan Wye. Included in the project are nearly 100 
new bridges/overpasses that, when combined with existing bridges/
overpasses, will create a fully grade-separated system to ensure the 
safety of both passengers and the surrounding community.
    For engineering purposes and discussions of impacts, the project 
corridor is divided into 26 sections. There are three alternatives in 
each section, and each rail alternative includes an associated set of 
highway improvements. In many areas, the alternatives are concurrent. 
The endpoints of each of the 26 sections are in locations where the 
alternative alignments are in a common location. The alternatives are 
evaluated section by section, allowing a ``best-fit'' preferred 
alternative to be developed for the entire study corridor. The Tier I 
EIS established the purpose and need for the project; and evaluated 
nine build alternatives, as well as a No-Build Alternative; therefore, 
a no-build alternative was not evaluated in this Tier II document. 
Potential environmental impacts of the alternatives include increased 
noise and vibration, local traffic impacts associated with 
consolidation of existing at-grade crossings to new or existing bridges 
and underpasses, impacts on historic properties and archeological 
sites, impacts on parks and recreation resources, impacts on sensitive 
biological resources and wetlands, and use of energy. Potential 
mitigation strategies are described to avoid or minimize potential 
impacts. Such strategies would be further refined when the preferred 
alternative is selected, and discussed in the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement.

Availability of the DEIS

    Copies of the Draft EIS and appendices are available for review at 
the following locations:
     Richmond Main Public Library, 101 East Franklin Street, 
Richmond, VA.
     Richmond Regional Planning District Commission, 9211 
Forest Hill Avenue, Suite 200, Richmond, VA.
     Chesterfield County Central Public Library, 9501 Lori 
Road, Chester, VA.
     Colonial Heights Public Library, 1000 Yacht Basin Drive, 
Colonial Heights, VA.
     Petersburg Central Public Library, 137 S. Sycamore Street, 
Petersburg, VA.
     Crater District Planning Commission, 1964 Wakefield 
Street, Petersburg, VA.
     Dinwiddie County Planning Department, 14016 Boydton Plank 
Road, Dinwiddie, VA.
     Southside Virginia Community College Library, Christiana 
Campus, 109 Campus Drive, Alberta, VA.
     Southside Planning District Commission, 200 S. Mecklenburg 
Avenue, South Hill, VA.
     Norlina Town Hall, 101 Main Street, Norlina, NC.
     NCDOT District 3 Office, 321 Gillburg Road, Henderson, NC.
     Franklinton Branch Public Library, 9 West Mason Street, 
Franklinton, NC.

[[Page 32242]]

     NCDOT District 1 Office, 4009 District Drive, Raleigh, NC.
    The project Web site http://www.sehsr.org includes a complete list 
of locations and addresses. The document is also available at the 
Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Office at 600 
East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA; and the North Carolina 
Department of Transportation Rail Division at 1 South Wilmington 
Street, Raleigh, NC. In addition, electronic versions of the Draft Tier 
II EIS and appendices are available through FRA's Web site at 
www.fra.dot.gov, on the DRPT Web site at http://www.drpt.virginia.gov 
and on the project Web site at www.sehsr.org.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 2, 2010.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-13587 Filed 6-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P