[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 179 (Friday, September 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56909-56910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22703]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Notice of Comment Period Extension for the Revised Draft 
Environmental Impact Report/Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the California High-Speed Train Project Fresno to 
Bakersfield Section

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

ACTION: Notice of comment period extension.

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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the 
comment period for the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Fresno to Bakersfield Section of the California 
High-Speed Train (HST) Project (Project) issued on June 20, 2012 has 
been extended and shall now end on October 19, 2012. FRA and the 
Project sponsor, the California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority), 
made this decision to be responsive to stakeholder requests and to 
encourage comprehensive public participation. FRA is the lead Federal 
agency and Authority is the lead state agency for the environmental 
review process. Public hearings were held on August 27, August 28, and 
August 29, 2012, in the Cities of Fresno, Hanford, and Bakersfield, CA 
respectively.

DATES: Written comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS for the Fresno to 
Bakersfield Section should be provided to the California High-Speed 
Rail Authority on or before October 19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS should be 
sent to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, EIR/EIS Comments, 770 
L Street, Suite 800, Sacramento, CA 95814, or may be submitted online 
at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Valenstein, Chief, 
Environment and Systems Planning Division, Office of Railroad Policy 
and Development, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S., Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., MS-20, Washington, DC 20590 
(telephone: 202-493-6368).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Once completed, the California HST system 
will provide intercity, high-speed passenger rail service on more than 
800 miles of tracks throughout California, connecting the major 
population centers of Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the 
Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County, and San 
Diego. It will use state-of-the-art,

[[Page 56910]]

electrically powered, high-speed, steel-wheel-on-steel-rail technology, 
including contemporary safety, signaling, and automated train-control 
systems, with trains capable of operating up to 220 miles per hour 
(mph) over a fully graded-separated, dedicated double track alignment. 
The HST System is comprised of multiple sections, one of which is the 
Fresno to Bakersfield Section analyzed in the Supplemental Draft EIS.
    This project-level EIS tiers off of the Statewide Program EIS 
published in 2005 and the Bay area to Central Valley Program EIS 
published in 2008 and builds on the earlier decisions and Program EISs. 
The Fresno to Bakersfield Section is comprised of a 114-mile dedicated, 
double-track high-speed passenger rail corridor between Fresno and 
Bakersfield, CA. The Project includes stations in downtown Fresno and 
Bakersfield, and a possible Kings/Tulare Regional Station in the 
vicinity of Hanford, CA. A heavy maintenance facility for assembly, 
testing, and commissioning of trains, train inspection and service, and 
train overhaul may be construction in the Fresno to Bakersfield 
Section.
    In August 2011, FRA issued a Draft EIS and circulated the document 
for a 60-day public and agency review and comment period. The Draft EIS 
analyzed a no action alternative and various action alternatives for 
the construction and operation of the California HST Project Fresno to 
Bakersfield Section including alignment alternatives and station 
locations. FRA and Authority held three public hearings on the Draft 
EIS held in Fresno, Hanford, and Bakersfield on September 20, September 
21, and September 22, 2011 respectively to collect public comments.
    Based on substantive comments received during the public and agency 
review of the Draft EIS, the Authority and FRA decided to reintroduce 
alignment alternatives west of Hanford. In response to concerns raised 
by stakeholders in metropolitan Bakersfield, FRA and the Authority also 
decided to evaluate another alternative in Bakersfield (Bakersfield 
Hybrid Alternative) in an effort to minimize impacts to residential and 
community facilities. The FRA and Authority determined that the 
introduction of these new alternatives and refinements being considered 
for existing Fresno to Bakersfield route alternatives required 
preparation of a Supplemental Draft EIS under NEPA and a Revised Draft 
EIR under CEQA.
    Consistent with the provisions of NEPA Section 102(2)(c) (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations 
implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500 et seq.), FRA's Procedures for 
Considering Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545, May 26, 1999), the 
Supplemental Draft EIS describes the Project's purpose and need, 
identifies the reasonable range of alternatives including the no action 
alternative, evaluates the potential environmental effects associated 
with those alternatives, and identifies mitigation measures to minimize 
potential environmental effects.
    Copies of the Supplemental Draft EIS are available online at FRA's 
Web site: www.fra.dot.gov; the Authority's Web site: 
www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov; and are also available for viewing at the 
following locations near the planned rail system:
     Fresno County Public Library, Central Branch, Central 
Reference Department, 2420 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA;
     Fresno County Public Library, Clovis Regional Library, 
1155 Fifth Street, Clovis, CA;
     Fresno County Public Library, Laton Branch, 6313 DeWoody 
Street, Laton, CA;
     Kern County Library, Beale Memorial Library, 701 Truxtun 
Avenue, Bakersfield, CA;
     Kern County Library, Corcoran Branch, 1001 Chittenden 
Avenue, Corcoran, CA;
     Kern County Library, Delano Branch, 925 10th Avenue, 
Delano, CA;
     Kern County Library, Shafter Branch, 236 James Street, 
Shafter, CA;
     Kern County Library, Wasco Branch, 1102 7th Street, Wasco, 
CA;
     Kings County Library, Hanford Branch (Main Library), 401 
N. Douty Street, Hanford, CA;
     Kings County Library, Lemoore Branch, 457 C Street, 
Lemoore, CA;
     Tulare County Library, Visalia Branch (Main Library), 200 
West Oak Avenue, Visalia, CA; and
     Tulare Public Library, 475 North M Street, Tulare, CA.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 7, 2012.
Corey Hill,
Director, Rail Project Development and Delivery.
[FR Doc. 2012-22703 Filed 9-13-12; 8:45 am]
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