[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 4 (Thursday, January 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-00035]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Limitation on Claims Against a Proposed Public Transportation 
Project

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces final environmental actions taken by the 
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for a project in Los Angeles, CA. 
The purpose of this notice is to announce publicly the environmental 
decisions by FTA on the subject project and to activate the limitation 
on any claims that may challenge these final environmental actions.

DATES: By this notice, FTA is advising the public of final agency 
actions subject to Section 139(l) of Title 23, United States Code 
(U.S.C.). A claim seeking judicial review of FTA actions announced 
herein for the listed public transportation project will be barred 
unless the claim is filed on or before June 6, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy-Ellen Zusman, Assistant Chief 
Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, (312) 353-2577 or Terence Plaskon, 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Environmental Programs, 
(202) 366-0442. FTA is located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that FTA has taken 
final agency actions by issuing certain approvals for the public 
transportation project listed below. The actions on the project, as 
well as the laws under which such actions were taken, are described in 
the documentation issued in connection with the project to comply with 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and in other documents in 
the FTA administrative record for the project. Interested parties may 
contact either the project sponsor or the relevant FTA Regional Office 
for more information. Contact information for FTA's Regional Offices 
may be found at http://www.fta.dot.gov.
    This notice applies to all FTA decisions on the listed project as 
of the issuance date of this notice and all laws under which such 
actions were taken, including, but not limited to, NEPA [42 U.S.C. 
4321-4375], Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 
1966 [49 U.S.C. 303], Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act [16 U.S.C. 470f], and the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q]. 
This notice does not, however, alter or extend the limitation period 
for challenges of project decisions subject to previous notices for the 
Regional Connector Transit Corridor Project published in the Federal 
Register. The project and actions that are the subject of this notice 
are:

    Project name and location: Regional Connector Transit Corridor 
Project, Los Angeles County, CA. Project sponsor: Los Angeles County 
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA). Project description: 
The proposed project would provide a 1.9-mile direct connection of 
light rail transit service from the Metro Gold Line Little Tokyo/
Arts District Station to the 7th Street/Metro Center Station in 
downtown Los Angeles. The project would allow passengers to transfer 
to Blue, Expo, Red, and Purple Lines, bypassing Union Station and 
providing a one-seat ride for travel across Los Angeles County. In 
January 2012, FTA and LACMTA prepared and distributed a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Final 
EIS/EIR) for the project. On June 29, 2012, FTA issued a Record of 
Decision (ROD) for the project. Subsequently, the Final EIS/EIR and 
ROD were challenged in federal court. Final Judgment was entered on 
October 24, 2014, partially in favor of Flower Associates and 
partially in favor of the Defendants (``NEPA Judgment''). The NEPA 
Judgment partially vacated the June 29, 2012 ROD and directed the 
FTA to prepare a supplemental analysis under NEPA addressing the 
feasibility of open-face shield and sequential excavation method 
tunneling alternatives under South Flower Street south of 4th Street 
in the Financial District. See, Today's IV, Inc. v. Federal Transit 
Administration, et al. (U.S. District Court, Central District of 
California, Western Division, Case No. 2:13-CV-00378) and 515/555 
Flower Associates, LLC v. Federal Transit Administration, et al. 
(U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western 
Division, Case No. 2:13-CV-00453). Pursuant to the Court's decision, 
FTA and LACMTA prepared additional analysis for the project, 
specifically draft and final versions of a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). The SEIS was limited in its 
scope and analyzed in detail two additional tunnel construction 
alternatives along Flower Street from 4th Street to 7th Street, as 
required by the Court's Order. FTA issued the Final SEIS 
concurrently with a Supplemental ROD per 23 U.S.C. Section 
139(n)(2)(A), as amended by the Fixing America's Surface 
Transportation Act, Public Law 114-94. This notice only applies to 
this discrete action taken by FTA. Nothing in this notice affects 
FTA's previous decisions, or notice thereof, for this project. Final 
agency actions: Supplemental Record of Decision, dated December 16, 
2015. Supporting documentation: Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement, dated December 2015.

Lucy Garliauskas,
Associate Administrator Planning and Environment.
[FR Doc. 2016-00035 Filed 1-6-16; 8:45 am]
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