[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 165 (Monday, August 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48468-48471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18657]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Buffalo-Amherst-Tonawanda Corridor Transit Expansion, Erie County, 
New York

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration, as lead Federal agency, 
and the Niagara Frontier Transit Metro System, Inc. (Metro), as local 
project sponsor and joint lead agency intend to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate potential benefits and 
impacts of the NFTA proposed Buffalo-Amherst-Tonawanda Corridor Transit 
Expansion project (the Proposed Project). The Proposed Project to be 
evaluated in the EIS would expand high quality transit service in 
Buffalo, New York to Tonawanda and Amherst, New York. FTA, in 
coordination with Metro will prepare the EIS in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Fixing America's Surface 
Transportation Act (FAST Act), and the New York State Environmental 
Quality Review Act, Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and 
its implementing regulations (SEQR). This Notice of Intent (NOI) 
initiates public scoping for the EIS, and provides information on the 
Proposed Project, the Project's purpose and need and the alternatives 
being considered for evaluation in the EIS. This NOI invites public 
comments on environmental impacts that may be associated with the 
Proposed Project and alternatives. Interested members of the public, 
tribes, and agencies are invited to submit comments on the proposed 
scope of the EIS, Metro's purpose and need, the identification of 
alternatives to be considered, the environmental benefits and impacts 
to be evaluated, and any other project-related issues or analysis. In 
consideration of the Federal Government's COVID-19 Emergency 
Declaration dated March 13, 2020, FTA has determined that virtual 
public meetings and hearings are a permissible and useful tool to 
provide for public involvement in the NEPA process.

DATES: The 45-day public scoping period will begin on the date of 
publication of this Notice and continue through October 14, 2021. 
Written comments may be submitted in hard copy via mail, electronically 
via email, and through the project website to the addresses listed in 
ADDRESSES below. Although the public can send comments through the 
mail, due to the COVID-19 national emergency, we recommend using the 
other communication methods to provide any scoping comments.
    Metro will conduct one scoping meeting for this project to provide 
an opportunity for public comment. A livestreamed virtual public 
scoping meeting will be held on September 15, 2021, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 
p.m. Registration information and instructions for participating in the 
livestream virtual scoping meeting are available at http://www.nftametrotransitexpansion.com along with the scoping information 
report. Individuals who require special assistance, such as 
translation, captioning, or signing services, to participate in the 
scoping meetings should make the request by calling (716) 855-7382 or 
emailing [email protected] by September 7, 2021.
    To ensure consideration during the development of the EIS, written 
comments on the scope of the EIS must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on 
October 14, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to: Expansion Project, c/o 
Service Planning, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, 181 
Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, by email to [email protected] or 
through the project website: http://www.nftametrotransitexpansion.com. 
Information about the Proposed Project, scoping, and the EIS will be 
available on the project's website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Burns, FTA Director of Planning 
and Program Development, Email: [email protected]; Telephone: (212) 
668-2203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Proposed Project. Metro is proposing to expand high quality transit 
in the Buffalo-Amherst-Tonawanda Corridor. The build alternatives being 
considered include a light rail transit (LRT) extension and a bus rapid 
transit (BRT) system. Both alternatives would essentially follow the 
same alignment and would be primarily at-grade. Ten stations, two with 
park & ride facilities and an overnight storage and light maintenance 
facility are proposed for both alternatives. Metro intends to seek 
financial support for the project from the United States Department of 
Transportation, including FTA funding. The Project is included in the 
Greater Buffalo and Niagara Regional Transportation Council's (GBNRTC) 
2050 long-range plan as regionally significant.
    Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Project. The Proposed 
Project's primary purpose is to provide a fast, reliable, safe, and 
convenient transit ride and link established and emerging activity 
centers along the existing Metro Rail line in Buffalo with existing and 
emerging activity centers in Amherst and Tonawanda. The Project would 
serve existing Metro riders, attract new transit patrons, improve 
regional connections between Buffalo, Amherst, and Tonawanda, and 
support redevelopment and other economic development opportunities. 
Additionally, the Proposed Project would improve livability by 
increasing mobility and accessibility in communities throughout the 
region. The need for enhanced, equitable and sustainable transit 
service has three main components: (1) To serve existing and future 
travel demand generated by recent, pending, and future regional 
development; (2) to provide high-quality regional transit service; and 
(3) to better serve transit-dependent population segments.
    Scoping. The NEPA scoping process has specific objectives, one of 
which is to identify the build alternatives' significant issues that 
will be examined in detail in the EIS. Previously, consistent with NEPA 
and in accordance with FTA guidance, in 2017, Metro conducted an 
Amherst-Buffalo Alternatives Analysis (AA) to identify a Locally 
Preferred Alternative (LPA), a light rail extension in 2017. 
Subsequently, Metro, as lead agency, completed an environmental review 
process on the LPA in accordance with the SEQR in 2020. A scoping 
process designed to meet NEPA requirements was conducted in 2018 and a 
SEQR Draft EIS (SEQR DEIS) was released in January 2020. Metro 
conducted two public hearings in February 2020 to provide an 
opportunity for the public and local agencies to provide comments and 
input to the SEQR DEIS. The findings of the SEQR DEIS, the written and 
oral comments received during the SEQR public hearings and comments 
received during the SEQR DEIS 60-day public comment period will inform 
the development of the NEPA DEIS and be considered by FTA during the 
NEPA scoping process. For this phase of the Proposed Project, the NEPA 
Scoping Information Packet released with the NOI can be found on the 
project website.
    Screening of Potential Alternatives. As described in the previous 
section, potential alternatives were developed and evaluated through a 
local planning process including the GBNRTC's metropolitan long-range 
transportation plan, the AA, and previously published SEQR DEIS. The AA 
involved a three-tiered screening and evaluation methodology that 
started with 36 alignment and mode alternatives. The modes considered 
were LRT, BRT, preferential bus and enhanced bus. The LPA was adopted 
by Metro's Board of Commissioners and the GBNRTC based on the technical 
analysis results and feedback from stakeholders and the public. The LPA 
and further refined during the development of the SEQR DEIS.

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    The NEPA documentation will consider the alternatives and 
evaluations conducted to date, and the public outreach efforts 
conducted under SEQR, including a scoping period/meeting and a 60-day 
comment period for the SEQR DEIS. During the comment period for the 
SEQR DEIS, FTA requested lead agency participation in a NEPA 
environmental review, and that Metro consider a BRT system along the 
Buffalo-Amherst-Tonawanda Corridor as a reasonable alternative.
    The results of the alternatives planning and SEQR DEIS, as well as 
other background information, are summarized in the Buffalo-Amherst-
Tonawanda Corridor Transit Expansion Scoping Information Report, which 
is available at NFTA's office located at 181 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, 
NY 14203 and on the project website: http://www.nftametrotransitexpansion.com.
    Proposed Alternatives. Two build alternatives, an LRT extension and 
a BRT system have been identified for the Proposed Project, as well as 
a no-build alternative, as required under NEPA. The no-build 
alternative serves as a baseline against which to assess the impacts of 
the proposed build alternatives. Proposed LRT build alternative is an 
approximately 7-mile extension of Metro's existing light rail transit 
(Metro Rail) and was developed incorporating public and stakeholder 
comments from Metro's planning process and SEQR DEIS scoping process. 
The LRT extension would be primarily at-grade, except for a 0.8-mile 
underground segment from the existing Metro Rail University Station to 
Niagara Falls Boulevard and at the intersection of Maple Road and Sweet 
Home Road. Ten stations are proposed, two with park & ride facilities, 
and an overnight storage and light maintenance facility located near 
the end of the line. The trackway would be configured with two tracks--
one for northbound service and one for southbound service. The project 
would generally be within existing roadway right-of-way. The proposed 
BRT build alternative would provide transit service north from the 
existing Metro Rail University Station for approximately 7 miles along 
the same at-grade alignment as the LRT build alternative with the same 
number of stations in the same locations, however, a transfer would be 
required between the existing Metro Rail operations at University 
Station to the BRT service. A new BRT vehicle storage and maintenance 
facility would also be required. More details of the proposed build 
alternatives can be found in the Scoping Information Report and on the 
project's website.
    EIS Process and Role of Participating Agencies and the Public. FTA 
and Metro are proposing a Study Area for the EIS to include an area 
approximately \1/4\ mile from the proposed transit expansion alignment 
and \1/2\ mile around proposed stations. This is the area where 
potential primary direct or indirect impacts may be experienced.
    Consistent with NEPA, FTA and Metro will evaluate, with input from 
the public, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, the potential 
for impacts of the proposed alternatives on the natural, built, and 
social environments from both construction and operation. The EIS will 
evaluate the potential for impacts in at least the following areas: 
Land use, zoning and public policy, community facilities, open space, 
socioeconomic conditions, environmental justice, air quality (including 
consideration of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change), historic 
properties and cultural resources, visual resources, transportation, 
noise and vibration, natural resources, water quality, utilities, 
energy, contaminated materials, construction and safety and security. 
Measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate any significant adverse 
impacts will be identified.
    An Agency Coordination Plan (Plan) will be developed within 90 days 
of this NOI's publication date to guide a comprehensive public outreach 
program, and once available, it will be published on the project's 
website and the Federal Permitting Dashboard at http://www.permits.performance.gov/. The Plan will outline outreach to local 
and county officials and community and civic groups; a public scoping 
process to define the issues of concern among all parties interested in 
the Proposed Project; establishment of a Technical Advisory Committee 
and periodic meetings with that committee; a public hearing on the 
release of the NEPA Draft EIS; and relevant updates to the project 
website. Cooperating and Participating agencies may include the United 
States Environmental Protection Agency, the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation, the United States Department of the Interior, 
the United States Fishing and Wildlife Services, the Federal Highway 
Administration, and the New York State Department of Transportation 
along with other agencies.
    FTA invites comments on the Metro's statement of purpose and need 
for the Proposed Project, as well as the alternatives proposed for 
consideration. Suggestions for modifications to the statement of 
purpose and need, and any other reasonable alternatives that meet the 
purpose and need for the project, are welcome and will be given serious 
consideration. Comments on significant environmental impacts that may 
be associated with the Proposed Project and alternatives are also 
welcome, as are the identification of information and analyses relevant 
to the proposed Project.
    FTA Procedures. Public comments will be received through those 
methods explained earlier in this Notice and will be incorporated into 
the final NEPA Scoping Information Packet. This document will detail 
the scope of the EIS and the potential environmental effects that will 
be considered during the NEPA process. After the completion of the 
Draft EIS, a public and agency review period, including a public 
hearing, will allow for input on the Draft EIS. These public comments, 
as well as any public comments received during the scoping process, 
along with responses to them, will be incorporated into the Draft EIS 
for the Proposed Project.
    Anticipated Permits and Approvals. The NEPA Scoping process and 
agency coordination will identify any permits and approvals required 
from Federal, State, and local agencies. Federal agency consultations 
required by the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the 
National Historic Preservation Act will be undertaken.
    Anticipated Schedule for Decision-Making Process. FTA and Metro 
anticipate the following environmental review schedule, which is 
subject to change:
     Scoping Process: September-October 2021.
     Official Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS published 
in the Federal Register: Summer 2022.
     Public Hearings on the Draft EIS: Fall 2022.
     Federal Register Notice of Availability of a Final EIS/
Record of Decision (ROD): Winter 2023.
    Combined Final EIS and ROD. In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 139, FTA 
may consider combining the Final EIS and ROD. If FTA combines the Final 
EIS and ROD, it is anticipated that those documents will serve as the 
basis for Federal and State environmental findings and determinations 
needed to conclude the environmental review process, unless statutory 
criteria preclude issuance of a combined document (i.e., the Final EIS 
makes substantial changes to the proposed action that are relevant to 
environmental or safety concerns or there is a significant new 
circumstance or information relevant to

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environmental concerns that affect the proposed action or its impacts).

Michael L. Culotta,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration--Region 
II.
[FR Doc. 2021-18657 Filed 8-27-21; 8:45 am]
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