[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 92 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29212-29214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10156]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Early Scoping Notice for the Kitsap County Public Transportation 
Benefit Area Authority Proposed Seattle Fast Ferry Terminal Facility 
Project

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

ACTION: Early scoping notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Kitsap County 
Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority (Kitsap Transit), the 
operator of Kitsap Fast Ferries, issue this early scoping notice to 
advise tribes, agencies, and the public that FTA and Kitsap Transit 
will explore potential expansion of passenger-only ferry facility 
capacity on the downtown Seattle waterfront for the Kitsap Transit 
Seattle Fast Ferry Terminal Facility Project (Project). The Project 
would improve regional transit service by addressing the current lack 
of passenger-only ferry landing site capacity on the Seattle 
waterfront, the most in-demand destination in downtown Seattle.

DATES: Two online public early scoping meetings will be held at the 
following times (all times are Pacific Daylight Time):
     Monday, June 6, 2022, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
     Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
    Links for the online public early scoping meetings can be found at 
the project web page: https://www.kitsaptransit.com/seattle-fast-ferry-terminal-siting-study.
    In addition, an interagency and tribal early scoping meeting will 
be held Monday, June 6, 2022, 2:00-3:00 p.m., to receive comments from 
tribes and agencies who have an interest in the proposed Project. 
Invitations to the tribal and agency early scoping meeting will be sent 
to appropriate federal, tribal, state, and local government units and 
will include details on how to participate in the online meeting.
    These early scoping meetings will be conducted in a webinar format, 
accessible via the internet and by teleconference.
    FTA and Kitsap Transit will offer individual meetings with 
federally-recognized tribes having usual and accustomed (U&A) rights in 
the project area at their convenience.
    Additional information about the Project is provided in the 
following sections and the Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry Terminal Siting: 
Early Scoping

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Information Report available on the project website identified below. 
Kitsap Transit will also provide information on the alternative 
analysis at the early scoping meetings, along with opportunities for 
comment. Information is also currently available on the Kitsap Transit 
website at the following project web page (https://www.kitsaptransit.com/seattle-fast-ferry-terminal-siting-study).
    Written early scoping comments are requested by June 12, 2022, and 
can be mailed or emailed to the addresses below. Comments can also be 
provided via the online comment form available at the website address 
below or left as a voicemail at the phone number below.

ADDRESSES: Steffani Lillie, Kitsap Transit Service and Capital 
Development Director, 60 Washington Avenue, Suite 200, Bremerton, WA 
98337, Email: [email protected], Project website: https://www.kitsaptransit.com/seattle-fast-ferry-terminal-siting-study, 
Telephone: (360) 478-6931. Information for alternate formats: (360) 
479-4348.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Assam, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Region X, Federal Transit Administration, 915 Second 
Avenue, Suite 3142, Seattle, WA 98174, phone: (206) 220-4465, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Early Scoping

    Early scoping is an optional step in the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) process that is intended to invite public, agency, 
and tribal comments at the earliest reasonable time in project 
planning. FTA is the lead federal agency under NEPA. Early scoping is 
also being conducted under the Washington State Environmental Policy 
Act (SEPA) rules regarding expanded scoping (Washington Administrative 
Code 197-11-410). Kitsap Transit is the lead agency under SEPA.
    Early scoping is being initiated during this Project's site 
screening and alternatives development phase. This early scoping notice 
invites the public and other interested parties to comment on the scope 
of the site screening and alternatives development analysis, including 
the following: (a) The purpose and need for the Project; (b) the 
assessment and criteria presented in the Early Scoping Information 
Report; (c) the potential impacts and benefits of the Project; and (d) 
other considerations that are relevant to the evaluation of 
alternatives. These early scoping efforts are being conducted in 
accordance with NEPA and its implementing regulations.

Purpose and Need for the Project

    The purpose of the proposed Project is to improve regional mobility 
through expanded passenger-only terminal facilities on the downtown 
Seattle waterfront to:
     Increase vessel docking capacity.
     Increase passenger staging capacity and improve rider 
amenities, including restrooms and bicycle storage.
     Incorporate shoreside infrastructure and equipment to 
support electric vessel charging.
     Increase integration of passenger-only ferry travel with 
other transit modes.
     Maintain or improve rider accessibility to Seattle 
business, employment, cultural and retail destinations.
     Create opportunities for growth of regional passenger-only 
ferry routes throughout the Puget Sound Region.
     Improve access to jobs and housing opportunities in 
regional growth centers.
     Expand mobility options for minority and low-income 
populations.
    Additional terminal facilities are needed because:
     The current passenger-only ferry terminal in downtown 
Seattle, Pier 50, is the only public facility of its kind. This 
facility can only accommodate two vessels at one time.
     The Pier 50 passenger-only ferry terminal facility does 
not have shore-side space for equipment and infrastructure needed to 
support future electric vessel charging, such as energy storage 
systems.
     Kitsap Transit's passenger-only ferry service frequency 
cannot by increased during peak commute periods due to the limited 
landing site capacity. Current service is limited to 12 landings from 
the three Kitsap Transit routes within the peak period.
     Terminal docking congestion leads to cascading departure 
delays and schedule disruptions.
     Access between the more affordable housing on the Kitsap 
peninsula and the Downtown Seattle job center is constrained due to 
limited frequency of the passenger-only ferry service. Alternatives to 
passenger-only ferry service include auto/passenger ferry service 
provided by WSF, bus transit, or driving; all of which result in travel 
times roughly twice as long as Kitsap Transit's passenger-only ferry 
routes.
     Additionally, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) 2020 
Puget Sound Passenger-only Ferry Study identified the lack of landing 
site capacity in downtown Seattle as a barrier to potential future 
routes or service expansion.

Project Description

    Kitsap Transit is exploring potential expansion of passenger-only 
ferry facility capacity on the downtown Seattle waterfront to support 
ongoing operations of Kitsap Fast Ferries and growth of regional 
passenger-only ferry service. The first step in the Project is to 
assess downtown Seattle waterfront locations to identify a preferred 
downtown terminal location to support long-term passenger-only ferry 
operations.

Project Context and History

    Passenger-only ferry docking facilities at the Seattle waterfront, 
the most in demand destination in downtown Seattle, are limited and 
inhibit any increases to service on current routes or introduction of 
new routes due to capacity constraints at the existing facility. The 
PSRC forecasts in 2018 that the region will add 1.8 million people and 
1.2 million jobs by 2050. This growth is supported by PSRC's regional 
transportation forecasting models that predict continued growth over 
the next 20 years.
    Passenger-only ferry service to downtown Seattle, the region's 
economic and cultural center, offers an alternative to the region's 
capacity strained land-based transportation systems and complements 
existing Washington State Ferries (WSF) service. Passenger-only ferry 
transportation continues to expand, with Kitsap Transit implementing 
three routes in the last four years (Bremerton-Seattle, Kingston-
Seattle, and Southworth-Seattle) with four vessels, and with ridership 
growing on the two existing King County Water Taxi routes (West 
Seattle-Seattle and Vashon Island-Seattle), operated by the 
Metropolitan King County, Metro Transit Department, Marine Division 
(King County Metro). In addition to existing operators, a recent PSRC 
2020 Puget Sound Passenger-only Ferry Study identified additional 
potential ferry routes into the congested downtown Seattle waterfront.
    The Kitsap Transit passenger-only ferry program is an important 
transportation link connecting the Kitsap Peninsula to downtown 
Seattle. To ensure this service is reliable and meets rider needs, 
adequate landing facilities must be available on both ends of the 
routes. Kitsap Transit has built adequate landing facilities at two of 
their four landing locations: Bremerton and Kingston. The Southworth-
Seattle route currently shares a single slip with

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WSF at Southworth, and Kitsap Transit is working with WSF to make 
facility improvements to expand docking facilities. However, all three 
Kitsap Transit routes share two slips with the two King County Metro 
routes at Pier 50 on the Seattle waterfront (Kitsap Transit's fourth 
landing location). Pier 50's designed operating capacity is 
insufficient for five distinct routes, serviced by six operating 
vessels, arriving 20 times during both the morning and afternoon 
commute periods.
    Kitsap Transit is the secondary user at Pier 50 and must fit their 
service schedule around King County Metro's schedule. Hence, the 
driving factor in Kitsap Transit's service schedule is docking 
availability. This means that landing times are limited to available 
docking windows rather than customer preferences for arrival and 
departure times. With 12 landings in the peak commute ridership periods 
(5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.), Kitsap Transit's current 
schedule fully utilizes the docking times not reserved for King County 
Metro. Although there are a few remaining dock openings during the 
commute window, they cannot be accommodated within Kitsap Transit 
vessel headways and dwell times.
    Additional challenges to maintaining service schedules occur when 
Kitsap Transit and King County Metro vessels experience inevitable 
transit delays due to weather conditions such as fog or marine traffic 
that lead to cascading departure delays and service disruptions that 
cannot be mitigated with two landing slips.
    Kitsap Transit must stay within their docking windows in Seattle so 
as not to disrupt King County Metro's schedule. To maintain docking 
windows, Kitsap Transit routinely has to travel at higher than planned 
speeds to maintain the Seattle arrival and departure schedule. At these 
higher speeds, Kitsap Transit consumes more fuel leading to higher 
carbon emissions and increased operating costs from higher fuel 
expense. Higher-speed operations also place greater loads on vessel 
engines and other vessel systems leading to increased maintenance 
costs.
    Kitsap Transit temporarily operated their Bremerton-Seattle route 
from a leased private dock at Pier 54. The lease could not be renewed, 
forcing Kitsap Transit to consolidate all three routes with King County 
Metro's two routes at Pier 50 beginning May 2, 2022. With five routes 
and six vessels operating from two slips, the risk of arrival and 
departure delays and higher operating costs will increase.

Next Steps

    Following early scoping, FTA and Kitsap Transit will use the 
comments received from early scoping to help identify and narrow the 
range of Project location alternatives for further evaluation in a 
combined NEPA/SEPA environmental document. If the resulting range of 
alternatives involves the potential for significant environmental 
impacts requiring an environmental impact statement (EIS), FTA will 
publish a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS in the Federal Register, 
and Kitsap Transit will publish a Determination of Significance/Scoping 
Notice. Tribes, agencies, and the public will be invited to comment on 
the scope of the EIS at that time.
    Authority: 49 CFR 622.101, 23 CFR 771.111, and 40 CFR 1501.7.

Linda M. Gehrke,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2022-10156 Filed 5-11-22; 8:45 am]
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