[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69920-69921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28301]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Notice of Availability of a Final Tier 1 Environmental Impact
Statement, for the Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO High Speed Rail
Corridor Program and Tier 2 Evaluation for the Springfield Rail
Improvements Project
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), United States Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of availability of final environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) has been prepared for the
Chicago, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri High Speed Rail Corridor
Program. The Final EIS includes a Tier 1 corridor evaluation for the
Chicago, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri high-speed rail corridor and a
Tier 2 project-level evaluation for the portion of the high-speed rail
corridor in Springfield, Illinois. FRA is the lead federal agency and
the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is
[[Page 69921]]
the joint-lead state agency for the environmental review process.
IDOT proposes to improve high speed passenger rail service between
Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri, including the rail lines
through Springfield, Illinois. The proposal includes the development of
double track along the railroad corridor to improve high-speed
passenger service reliability and safety, and to increase the number of
trips between Chicago and St. Louis, as well as improvements to
railroad crossings, signals, and stations.
The Final EIS presents the Program's purpose and need, identifies
all reasonable alternatives, describes the affected environment,
analyzes the potential environmental impacts of all the reasonable
alternatives and the No-Build Alternative, and identifies the Preferred
Alternative and appropriate mitigation measures to minimize the
potential environmental impacts.
DATES: FRA will issue a final decision on the proposal after the 30 day
wait period which concludes on December 10, 2012, established by
Environmental Protection Agency's publication of the notice of
availability of the EIS in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS have been sent to affected Federal,
State, and local government agencies, stakeholders, and are also
available for public review at IDOT, 505 North MacArthur Boulevard,
Springfield, Illinois 62702 and online at FRA's Web site: http://www.fra.dot.gov and IDOT's Web site: http://www.idothsr.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea E. Martin, Environmental
Protection Specialist, Office of Railroad Policy and Development,
Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., MS-20, Washington, DC 20590; email:
[email protected]; telephone: 202-493-6201 or Joseph E. Shacter,
Director, Division of Public and Intermodal Transportation, Illinois
Department of Transportation, 100 West Randolph Street, Suite 6-600,
Chicago, Illinois 60601; email: [email protected]; telephone:
312-793-2116.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Program would include the
development of a double track and railroad crossings, signals, and
stations along a preferred route of existing railroad corridors between
Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri, to improve high-speed
passenger service reliability and safety, and increase the number of
trips. This Program of improvements would be in addition to those
associated with FRA studies within the Chicago to St. Louis Corridor
previously conducted from 2004 and 2011 and being implemented by IDOT.
The Final EIS identifies and evaluates the environmental and
transportation impacts for corridor capacity enhancements, including
double track. The current Chicago to St. Louis Corridor operates
predominantly on a single track that is shared by both traditional
freight and Amtrak passenger rail service.
A tiered environmental process was used to evaluate the proposed
Program. A tiered environmental process is a phased environmental
review used in the development of complex projects. Under this process,
the Tier 1 EIS addresses broad, corridor issues and alternatives. Tier
2 environmental documents address individual component projects of the
Selected Alternative carried forward from the Tier 1 environmental
process. Concurrently with this Tier 1 study of the full Chicago to St.
Louis Corridor, IDOT and FRA conducted a Tier 2 evaluation for the
portion of the High-Speed Rail Corridor in Springfield, IL.
In June 2012, IDOT circulated the Draft Tier 1 EIS for a 45-day
public and agency review and comment period pursuant to 40 CFR
1502.9(b). The Draft Tier 1 EIS analyzed a No-Build Alternative and
various Build Alternatives. IDOT and FRA convened public hearings in
August 2012 in Chicago, Joliet, Springfield, Bloomington, and Alton,
Illinois.
The IDOT and FRA considered the entire record and compared the
potential environmental impacts of the Tier 1 Build Alternatives, as
well as impacts of the No-Build Alternative, in order to select the
Preferred Alternative. The Preferred Alternative follows the existing
Amtrak passenger corridor, except through Springfield and north of
Joliet. Between Chicago and Joliet, the Preferred Alternative follows
the Metra Rock Island District line from Joliet Union Station to the
Norfolk Southern (NS) line near 40th Street in Chicago, the NS to
Amtrak south of Union Station, and Amtrak owned tracks to Union
Station. The Preferred Alternative allows for eight daily round trips
at 110 miles per hour (mph) on two tracks.
Other improvements also identified in the Final EIS include
sidings, pedestrian grade separations at the stations, and grade
separations along major roadways. Individual component projects along
the corridor would be advanced and studied in greater detail as future
Tier 2 project-level evaluations, as part of the tiered environmental
review process.
A Tier 2 project-level evaluation for improvements in Springfield
is also included within the Final EIS. The Springfield Rail
Improvements Project has been advanced concurrently as a component of
the overall corridor program. The Tier 2 evaluation further considers
the environmental and transportation impacts of alternatives following
different rail routes through the City of Springfield, Illinois. The
evaluation addresses safety, noise, and traffic delays that would
result from increased volumes of both passenger and freight rail
traffic on the three north-south rail corridors that pass through the
City of Springfield. In Springfield (as identified in the Tier 2
project-level evaluation), the Preferred Alternative is to shift Union
Pacific (UP) freight as well as new and existing Amtrak passenger
trains to an expanded NS corridor along Tenth Street.
This Final EIS has been prepared in compliance with the provisions
of Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR part 1500 et seq.), and
FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545;
May 26, 1999).
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 15, 2012.
Corey W. Hill,
Director, Office of Passenger and Freight Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-28301 Filed 11-20-12; 8:45 am]
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