[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30303-30305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13549]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket Number MARAD-2019-0109]


Notice of Intent; Notice of Public Meeting; Request for Comments; 
Port of Long Beach (POLB or Port) Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility 
Project

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Maritime 
Administration (MARAD) will prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) for the Port of Long Beach (POLB or Port) Pier B On-Dock Rail 
Support Facility Project (Project) to support an application to U.S. 
Department of Transportation for Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement 
Financing (RRIF) and potentially other federal funding programs. The 
Project is designed to address current traffic and cargo distribution 
bottlenecks into, out of, and within the POLB. The Project also 
includes consideration for anticipated future demand for cargo movement 
via on-dock rail; maximize

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on-dock intermodal operations to reach the long-term goal of 30 to 35 
percent of cargo containers to be handled by on-dock rail; provide a 
facility that can accept and handle longer container trains; and 
provide a rail yard that is cost effective and fiscally prudent. The 
Port is applying to the RRIF Program, and potentially other federal 
funding programs, to support the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility 
Project.
    This Notice of Intent (NOI) requests public participation in the 
scoping process, provides information on how to participate, and 
announces an informational open house and public meeting in the City of 
Long Beach, California.

DATES: The public scoping comment period begins on the date this notice 
is published and ends 30 days later. There will be one public scoping 
meeting held in connection with the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support 
Facility Project. The meeting will be held in City of Long Beach, CA, 
at the Port of Long Beach Administration Building on July 10, 2019, 
from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The public meeting will be preceded by an 
informational open house from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
    The public meeting may end later than the stated time, depending on 
the number of persons wishing to speak. Additionally, materials 
submitted in response to this request for comments on the Pier B On-
Dock Rail Support Facility Project must reach the Federal Docket 
Management Facility no later than 30 days after this notice is 
published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The open house and public meeting in the City of Long Beach, 
California will be held at the Port of Long Beach Administration 
Building Board Room, 4801 Airport Plaza Drive, phone: (562) 283-7000, 
www.polb.com. Free parking is available at the venue.
    The public docket for MARAD-2019-0109 is maintained by the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, West 
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Finio, Office of Environment, at 
telephone number: 202-366-8024 or by email at [email protected]. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to 
contact the above individual during business hours. The FIRS is 
available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to leave a 
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours. Additionally, if you go to the online 
docket and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when comments 
or other Project documents are posted. Anonymous comments will be 
accepted.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Meeting and Open House

    We encourage you to attend the informational open house and public 
meeting to learn about, and comment on, the proposed Pier B On-Dock 
Rail Support Facility Project. You will have the opportunity to submit 
comments on the scope and significance of the issues related to the 
proposed project that should be addressed in the EIS.
    Speaker registrations will be available at the door. Speakers at 
the public scoping meeting will be recognized in the following order: 
Elected officials, public agencies, individuals or groups in the sign-
up order and then anyone else who wishes to speak.
    In order to allow everyone a chance to speak at a public meeting, 
we may limit speaker time, extend the meeting hours, or both. You must 
identify yourself and any organization you represent by name. Your 
remarks will be recorded and/or transcribed for inclusion in the public 
docket.
    You may submit written material at a public meeting, either in 
place of, or in addition to, speaking. Written material must include 
your name and address and will be included in the public docket (http://www.regulations.gov).
    Our public meeting location is wheelchair-accessible and compliant 
with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you plan to attend an open 
house or public meeting and need special assistance such as sign 
language interpretation, non-English language translator services or 
other reasonable accommodation, please notify MARAD (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 5 business days in advance of the public 
meeting. Include your contact information as well as information about 
your specific needs.

Request for Comments

    We request public comment on this proposal. The comments may relate 
to, but are not limited to, the environmental impact of the proposed 
action. All comments will be accepted. The public meeting is not the 
only opportunity you have to comment on the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support 
Facility Project. In addition to, or in place of, attending a meeting, 
we encourage you to submit comments electronically through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov under docket number 
MARAD-2019-0109. If you submit your comments electronically, it is not 
necessary to also submit a hard copy. If you cannot submit using http://www.regulations.gov, please contact Alan Finio MARAD, as listed in the 
contacts section of this NOI (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). For 
in-person access to the docket, go to Room W12-401 of the Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays, and 
ask for the MARAD docket number identified above. If you have questions 
on viewing the Docket, call Docket Operations, telephone: 202-366-9317 
or 202-366-9826. Comments can also be faxed to the Federal Docket 
Management Facility at 202-493-2251. Please submit comments using only 
one method.
    The comments and associated documentation, as well as the draft and 
final EISs (when published), are available for viewing at the Federal 
Docket Management System (FDMS) website: http://www.regulations.gov 
under docket number MARAD-2019-0109.
    Public comment submissions should include the Docket number MARAD-
2019-0109.
    Faxed, mailed or hand delivered submissions must be unbound, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches and suitable for copying and electronic 
scanning. The format of electronic submissions should also be no larger 
than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches. If you mail your submission and want to know 
when it reaches the Federal Docket Management Facility, please include 
a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    Regardless of the method used for submitting comments, all 
submissions will be posted, without change, to the FDMS website (http://www.regulations.gov) and will include any personal information you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information to the docket makes it 
public. You may wish to read the Privacy and Use Notice that is 
available on the FDMS website and the Department of Transportation 
Privacy Act Notice that appeared in the Federal Register on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477) (see PRIVACY ACT). You may view docket submissions 
at the Federal Federal Docket Management Facility or electronically on 
the FDMS website.

Scoping Process

    Public scoping is an early and open process for identifying and 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. Scoping 
begins with this notice,

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continues through the public comment period (see DATES), and ends when 
MARAD has completed the following actions:
     Invites the participation of Federal, state, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribe, the applicant, in this case POLB, 
and other interested persons;
     Determines the actions, alternatives and impacts described 
in 40 CFR 1508.25;
     Identifies and eliminates from detailed study, those 
issues that are not significant or that have been covered elsewhere;
     Identifies other relevant permitting, environmental review 
and consultation requirements;
     Indicates the relationship between timing of the 
environmental review and other aspects of the application process; and
     At its discretion, exercises the options provided in 40 
CFR 1501.7(b).
    Once the scoping process is complete, MARAD will prepare a draft 
EIS. When complete, a Federal Register notice announcing public 
availability of the Draft EIS will be published. If you want that 
notice to be sent to you, please contact the MARAD project manager 
identified in this NOI (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You will 
have an opportunity to review and comment on the Draft EIS. MARAD and 
other appropriate cooperating agencies will consider the received 
comments, make changes where appropriate, and then prepare the Final 
EIS. An announcement will be published when the Final EIS is available 
including instructions for how to review or obtain a copy of the Final 
EIS.

Summary of the Project

    The City of Long Beach (COLB), acting by and through its Board of 
Harbor Commissioners (BHC), is proposing to construct the 12th Street 
Alternative in the POLB. The purposes of the proposed Project for the 
reconfiguration and expansion of the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support 
Facility are to: (a) Provide a sufficient facility to accommodate the 
expected demand of cargo to be moved via on-dock rail into the 
foreseeable future; (b) maximize on-dock intermodal operations to reach 
the long-term goal of 30 to 35 percent of cargo containers to be 
handled by on-dock rail; (c) provide a facility that can accept and 
handle longer container trains; and (d) provide a rail yard that is 
cost effective and fiscally prudent.
    The proposed Project would be constructed in three phases over an 
estimated seven years and has an estimated opening year of 2025. 
Components of the proposed Project would include:
     Adding 31 yard tracks and five arrival/departure tracks, 
thereby expanding the yard from an existing 12 tracks (2 main line 
tracks, 10 yard tracks, and no arrival/departure tracks) to a total of 
48 tracks (2 main tracks, 41 yard tracks, and five arrival/departure 
tracks);
     Providing for up to 10,000-foot long receiving/departure 
tracks;
     Widening the existing rail bridge over Dominguez Channel 
to accommodate one additional track; and
     Constructing an area for locomotive refueling within the 
yard.
    Realignments and closures of some roadways would be required. Pier 
B Street would be realigned to the south, its geometrics would be 
improved, and two lanes of traffic in each direction would be provided.
     The realignment of Pier B Street would require the 
reconstruction of two intersections, at Anaheim Way and Edison Avenue.
     The existing at-grade 9th Street railroad grade crossing 
would be closed and the Shoemaker ramps removed.
     Pico Avenue would be realigned to the west beginning at 
the I-710 ramps south to approximately Pier D Street, allowing space 
for four additional tracks between Pico Avenue and the I-710 freeway.
     Areas needed for new rail tracks would require the closure 
of portions of 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th streets and Edison, Jackson, 
Santa Fe, Canal, Caspian, Harbor, and Fashion avenues between Anaheim 
Street and Pier B Street, in the City of Long Beach.
     Portions of Farragut, Foote, Cushing, Macdonough, and 
Schley avenues would be closed in the vicinity of existing railroad 
right-of-way (ROW) in the City of Long Beach.
    The proposed Project would be located in two POLB Planning 
Districts (the Northeast Harbor and North Harbor); the site also 
includes the Wilmington-Harbor City Community Plan Area of the City of 
Los Angeles. The Project site is generally situated between Dominguez 
Channel to the west, Interstate 710 (I-710) to the east, Ocean 
Boulevard to the south, and Anaheim Street to the north. The proposed 
Project area includes rail tracks that extend west beyond the Terminal 
Island Freeway (State Route 103) to just west of Dominguez Channel, 
where they connect with the Alameda Corridor, and also south as far as 
Ocean Boulevard. In addition to privately owned property, a variety of 
public agencies own property within the Project site and in its 
vicinity, including the POLB, COLB, City of Los Angeles, Port of Los 
Angeles, Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads; 
Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority; Los Angeles County Flood 
Control District; and Southern California Edison.

Privacy Act

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), MARAD solicits comments from 
the public to better inform its rulemaking process. MARAD posts these 
comments, without edit, including any personal information the 
commenter provides to http://www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
syste of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
http://www.dot.gov/privacy. If you wish to provide comments containing 
proprietary or confidential information, please contact the agency for 
alternate submission instructions.

(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq., 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, 
Department of Transportation Order 5610.1C, and MARAD Administrative 
Order 600-1)

    Dated: June 21, 2019.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-13549 Filed 6-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P