[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8530-8532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03050]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Gateway Corridor Project From Saint Paul to Woodbury in Ramsey to 
Washington Counties, MN

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Agency (FTA), as the lead federal agency, 
the Washington County Regional Railroad Authority (WCRRA), and the 
Metropolitan Council intend to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Gateway Corridor project. The Gateway 
Corridor project is a planned transitway approximately 12 miles in 
length located in Ramsey and Washington Counties in the eastern part of 
the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota. The project is located in 
a corridor generally parallel to Interstate 94 (I-94) and will better 
connect downtown Saint Paul with its east side neighborhoods and the 
suburban cities of Maplewood, Landfall, Oakdale, Lake Elmo, and 
Woodbury. More broadly, the Gateway Corridor project will better 
connect the eastern Twin Cities Metropolitan Area to the regional 
transit network via the Union Depot multimodal hub in downtown Saint 
Paul. The project is also intended to serve and draw ridership from 
other portions of the metropolitan area, including portions of eastern 
Washington County and western St. Croix County (Wisconsin) to the east, 
Dakota County to the south, and the city of Minneapolis and Hennepin 
County to the west.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing 
regulations with FTA as the lead agency. The purpose of this notice is 
to alert interested parties of the intent to prepare the EIS; to 
provide information on the nature of the proposed action and possible 
alternatives; to invite public participation in the EIS process,

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including comments on the scope of the Draft EIS proposed in this 
notice; and to announce that public and agency scoping meetings will be 
conducted.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, submitted by email or 
regular mail, must be received no later than April 16, 2014, and must 
be sent to Andy Gitzlaff. See ADDRESSES below for the location to which 
written comments may be submitted. Public scoping meetings to accept 
comments on the scope of the EIS will be held on the following dates:
    [ssquf] Monday, March 24, 2014, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at Guardian 
Angels Catholic Church (8260 4th Street N, Oakdale, MN 55128).
    [ssquf] Tuesday, March 25, 2014, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at Conway 
Recreation Center (2090 Conway Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55119).
    Comments will also be accepted at the Gateway Corridor Policy 
Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday, April 10, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at 
Woodbury City Hall (8301 Valley Creek Road, Woodbury, MN 55125).
    An interagency scoping meeting for agencies with interest in the 
project will be held on the following date:
    [ssquf] Thursday, March 20, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, at 
the Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. office (2550 University Avenue 
West, Suite 238N, Saint Paul, MN 55114).
    All the scoping meetings will be accessible to persons with 
disabilities. If special translation services or other special 
accommodations are needed, please contact Andy Gitzlaff (see ADDRESSES 
below) at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. A Scoping information 
packet, providing information on the Gateway Corridor project including 
project purpose and need, as well as alternatives proposed for 
evaluation in the EIS, will be available at public Scoping meetings, 
and will also be available on the project Web site: http://www.thegatewaycorridor.com/. Paper copies of Scoping materials may also 
be obtained from Andy Gitzlaff (see ADDRESSES below).

ADDRESSES: Andy Gitzlaff, Project Manager, Washington County Public 
Works Department, 11660 Myeron Road North, Stillwater, MN 55082, Phone: 
(651) 430-4300, Email: Gateway [email protected], Fax: (651) 
430-4350.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maya Sarna, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, FTA Headquarters, Washington, DC, Phone: 202-366-5811, 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scoping

    The FTA, WCRRA, and Metropolitan Council invite all interested 
individuals and organizations, public agencies, and Native American 
Tribes to comment on the scope of the EIS for the proposed Gateway 
Corridor project, including the project's purpose and need, the 
alternatives to be studied, the environmental impacts to be evaluated, 
and the evaluation methods to be used. Comments should address: (1) 
Feasible alternatives that may better achieve the project's purpose and 
need with fewer adverse impacts, and (2) any significant social, 
economic, or environmental issues relating to the alternatives.
    NEPA ``scoping'' has specific objectives: To identify the 
significant environmental issues associated with alternatives to be 
examined in detail, while also limiting consideration of issues that 
are not truly significant. It is in the NEPA scoping process that 
potentially significant environmental impacts, which give rise to the 
need to prepare an EIS, should be identified. Transit projects may also 
generate environmental benefits that should also be discussed.

Purpose and Need for the Project

    The purpose of the Gateway Corridor project is to provide transit 
service to meet existing and long-term regional mobility and local 
accessibility needs for businesses and the traveling public within the 
project area.
    Five factors contribute to the need for the Gateway Corridor 
project:
    [ssquf] Limited transit service throughout the day and demand for 
more frequent service over a greater time span.
    [ssquf] Policy shift toward travel choices and multimodal 
investments.
    [ssquf] Population and employment growth, increasing access needs 
and travel demand.
    [ssquf] Needs of people who depend on transit.
    [ssquf] Local and regional objectives for growth.

Project Location and Environmental Setting

    The project is located in Ramsey and Washington Counties, 
Minnesota. The character of the Gateway Corridor project area changes 
from an urban setting in downtown and the east side of Saint Paul to a 
transitional suburban/rural setting as it extends further east into the 
suburbs of Maplewood, Landfall, Oakdale, Lake Elmo, and Woodbury.

Alternatives Analysis

    The Gateway Corridor Alternatives Analysis (AA) Study was completed 
by the Gateway Corridor Commission in February 2013. The AA Study 
evaluated a No-Build alternative and a range of Build alternatives, 
including a transportation system management alternative, a commuter 
rail alternative, light rail transit (LRT) alternatives, and bus rapid 
transit (BRT) alternatives on various alignments, including various 
alignments along East 7th Street in Saint Paul, and Hudson Road. All 
eight alternatives underwent detailed evaluation. At the end of the AA 
process, it was recommended that both BRT and LRT alternatives adjacent 
to Hudson Road move forward for consideration in the Draft EIS.
    Information on the AA process will be available at scoping 
meetings/summarized in the Scoping Booklet. The results of an 
investigation of Gateway Corridor service on East 7th Street, as re-
visited during early phases of Draft EIS scoping, will be made 
available for public review and comment. This will include the results 
of technical analyses used as the basis for decision-making by Gateway 
Corridor project technical and policy committees, supporting the 
findings made through the AA process that eliminated the East 7th 
Street alignment.

Proposed Alternatives

    The following alternatives are currently under consideration for 
further study in the EIS:
    No-Build Alternative. The No-Build Alternative serves as the NEPA 
baseline against which environmental effects of the Build alternatives 
are measured. It is defined as the 2030 transportation network with 
only those improvements already planned and programmed. The No-Build 
alternative does not include the Gateway Corridor project.
    LRT Alternative. The LRT alternative would include several station 
stops between Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul and Manning Avenue in 
Woodbury, for a length of approximately 12 miles. LRT would generally 
travel in double-track, exclusive right-of-way (guideway) parallel to 
Interstate 94 (I-94) west of Interstate 694 (I-694), and adjacent to 
Hudson Road to the east. Between Woodbury Drive/Keats Avenue, there are 
two alignment options: One south of I-94 in vicinity of the frontage 
road/Hudson Road, and one north of I-94 along 4th Street North and 
Hudson Boulevard, before crossing I-94 near Woodbury Drive/Keats 
Avenue. The LRT Alternative would include tracks, stations and support 
facilities, as well as transit service for LRT and connecting bus 
routes.

[[Page 8532]]

    BRT Alternative. The BRT alternative would generally include an 
exclusive, two-way busway in dedicated guideway. The length of the 
alignment would be approximately 12 miles, with several stations 
between Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul and Manning Avenue in 
Woodbury. BRT would generally travel parallel to I-94 to the west of I-
694 and adjacent to Hudson Road to the east, similar to the LRT 
Alternative. The BRT Alternative would also include the same two 
alignment options between I-694 and Keats Avenue, as described above. 
It would include all facilities associated with the construction and 
operation of BRT, including right-of-way, travel lanes, stations, and 
support facilities, as well as transit service for BRT and connecting 
bus routes.

Potential Impacts for Analysis

    The purpose of the EIS process is to study, in a public setting, 
the potentially significant effects of the proposed project on the 
quality of the human environment. Primary areas of investigation for 
this project may include, but might not be limited to: Transportation; 
land use and consistency with applicable plans; land acquisition and 
displacements; socioeconomic impacts; park and recreation resources; 
historic and cultural resources; environmental justice; visual and 
aesthetic qualities; air quality; noise and vibration; water quality, 
wetlands, and floodplains;, and ecosystems, including threatened and 
endangered species. Effects will be evaluated in the context of both 
short-term construction and long-term operation of the Gateway Corridor 
project. Direct project effects as well as indirect and cumulative 
effects on the environment will be addressed. The environmental 
analysis may reveal that the proposed project will not affect, or 
affect substantially, many of the primary areas of investigation. 
However, if any adverse impacts are identified, measures to avoid, 
minimize, or mitigate those adverse effects will be proposed.

Procedures for Public and Agency Involvement

    The regulations implementing NEPA call for public involvement in 
the EIS Process. 23 U.S.C. 139 requires that FTA, WCRRA, and the 
Metropolitan Council do the following: (1) Extend an invitation to 
other federal and non-federal agencies and Native American tribes that 
may have an interest in the proposed project to become ``participating 
agencies;'' (2) provide an opportunity for involvement by participating 
agencies and the public to help define the purpose and need for the 
proposed project, as well as the range of alternatives for 
consideration in the EIS; and (3) establish a plan for coordinating 
public and agency participation in, and comment on, the environmental 
review process. An invitation to become a participating or cooperating 
agency, with Scoping materials appended, will be extended to other 
federal and non-federal agencies and Native American tribes that may 
have an interest in the proposed project. It is possible that FTA, 
WCRRA, and the Metropolitan Council will not be able to identify all 
federal and non-federal agencies and Native American tribes that may 
have such an interest. Any federal or non-federal agency or Native 
American tribe interested in the proposed project that does not receive 
an invitation to become a participating agency should notify at the 
earliest opportunity the Project Manager identified above under 
ADDRESSES.
    A comprehensive public involvement program for public and agency 
involvement has been developed for the project and is available on the 
project Web site. The public involvement program includes a full range 
of activities including maintaining the project Web site and outreach 
to local officials, community and civic groups, and the general public.

Paperwork Reduction

    The Paperwork Reduction Act seeks, in part, to minimize the cost to 
the taxpayer of the creation, collection, maintenance, use, 
dissemination, and disposition of information. Consistent with this 
goal and with principles of economy and efficiency in government, it is 
FTA policy to limit insofar as possible distribution of complete 
printed sets of environmental documents. Accordingly, unless a specific 
request for a complete printed set of environmental documents is 
received before the document is printed, at the latest, FTA and its 
grantees will distribute only the executive summary of environmental 
documents in printed form together with a compact disc (CD) that 
contains the complete environmental document. A complete printed set of 
the environmental documents will be available for review at the 
grantee's offices and elsewhere; an electronic copy of the complete 
environmental document will also be available on the grantee's Web 
site.

Marisol Simon,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-03050 Filed 2-11-14; 8:45 am]
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