[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 213 (Thursday, November 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68021-68022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27872]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Draft Finding of No Significant Impact on the Tier 1 Ohio 3C 
Quick Start Passenger Rail Tier-1 Environmental Assessment

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments on draft Finding 
of No Significant Impact.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA) and the FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental 
Impacts (FRA Environmental Procedures) (64 FR 28545, May 26, 1999), the 
FRA and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ohio Rail 
Development Commission (ORDC) prepared a Tier-1 Environmental 
Assessment (Tier-1 EA) that evaluates the impacts of the 3C Quick Start 
Passenger Rail Project. Based on the Tier-1 EA, the FRA has prepared a 
draft finding of no significant impact (draft FONSI) and is inviting 
the public to comment on the draft.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted on or before December 6, 2010. 
Copies of both the Tier-1 EA and draft FONSI are available on FRA's Web 
site at: http://www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/249.shtml and ODOT's Web site at 
http://www.3CisMe.Ohio.gov.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments on the draft FONSI to Ms. 
Judi Craig Parsons Brinckerhoff, 312 Elm Street, Suite 2500, 
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
draft FONSI please contact Wendy Messenger, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 
Stop 20, Washington DC 20590, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the 3C ``Quick Start'' 
Passenger Rail Project is to reestablish intercity conventional speed 
passenger rail service (up to 79 miles per hour) in the 3C Corridor and 
provide a reliable train system that links Ohio's three largest cities 
(Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.) The service will deliver 
predictable and consistent travel times. It is intended to provide 
travel options and develop the passenger rail market for possible 
further development. To achieve these goals ORDC applied for Federal 
funding through the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program (HSIPR 
Program) administered by the FRA and funded by the American Recovery 
and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). ORDC's application under the 
Recovery Act identified the transportation benefits of the project as 
providing citizens with additional mobility options and a new 
transportation choice for travelers with associated benefits. The FRA 
intends to provide funding under the HSIPR Program for this project.
    In June 2009, the FRA released the HSIPR Program Guidance (Interim 
Guidance) that described the eligibility requirements and procedures 
for obtaining funding under the HSIPR Program. (74 FR 29900 (June 23, 
2009)). The Interim Guidance split the funding opportunities into four 
separate tracks. The 3C Quick Start Project was submitted by ODOT for 
consideration for Track 2 funding. The Interim Guidance required Track 
2 applicants to submit, with their application, a ``corridor-wide 
`service' NEPA study, such as a programmatic or Tier I EIS.'' (Interim 
Guidance Section 1.6.2). The Interim Guidance went on to explain that 
Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statements and some Environmental 
Assessments are programmatic and ``[a]ddress[ ] actions at a broad 
level, such as a program concept for an entire corridor.'' (Interim 
Guidance Section 2.2).
    In order to comply with the requirements of the Interim Guidance, 
ODOT and ORDC prepared a Tier-1 or ``service'' NEPA document that 
included the analysis of four route alternatives including the ``No 
Build'' and twelve communities with 32 possible station sites. The No 
Build Alternative analyzes what would happen if there are no 
improvements on the OH 3C Corridor. The alternatives analyses analyze 
the effect on the human and natural environments of the improvements 
that involve the four route alternatives, twelve communities and 32 
possible station sites that meet the goals of the OH 3C Quick Start 
Project. The Tier-1 EA was completed in September, 2009 and was made 
available for comment between September 25, 2009 and October 6, 2009 at 
http://www.3CisMe.Ohio.gov. Approximately 7,500 comments were received.
    At the Tier-1 level of review, the FRA finds that the 3C Quick 
Start Passenger Rail Project as presented and evaluated in the July 
2010 Tier-1 EA, satisfies the requirements of FRA's ``Procedures for 
Considering Environmental Impacts'' and will not have a significant 
impact on the quality of the human or natural environment, following 
the implementation of the mitigation measures detailed in the FONSI and 
those which will be developed during the site-specific environmental 
documentation process for specific improvements.
    Therefore, FRA has drafted a FONSI for the proposed improvements. 
This FONSI based on the Tier-1 EA has been prepared to comply with NEPA 
and the FRA's Environmental Procedures. FRA has concluded that the 
award of Federal funds to reestablish the intercity passenger rail 
service on the 3C corridor as described in the EA, constitutes a major 
Federal action within the meaning of Section 102(c) of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 
4332). Prior to release of construction funding for this project, ODOT 
and ORDC will successfully complete applicable mitigation measures 
detailed in the draft FONSI and complete appropriate project-level NEPA 
evaluations, documentation and decision documents and the mitigation 
measures developed thereunder.
    FRA Environmental Procedures require that a FONSI be made available 
to the public for not less than 30 days when the ``nature of the 
proposed action is one without precedent.'' Because the nature of this 
project is unprecedented and this Tier-1 Level FONSI is

[[Page 68022]]

contemplated to be one of the first that FRA will issue, this notice 
invites the public to comment on the draft FONSI.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 1, 2010.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Policy and Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-27872 Filed 11-2-10; 8:45 am]
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