Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 168 / Tuesday, September 1, 2009 / Notices 45275 

environment. Areas of investigation for 

transit projects generally include, but 

are not limited to: Land use, 

development potential, land acquisition 

and displacements, historic resources, 

visual and aesthetic qualities, air 

quality, noise and vibration, energy use, 

safety and security, and ecosystems, 

including threatened and endangered 

species; investigation may reveal that 

the proposed project will not affect or 

affect substantially many of those areas. 

Measures to avoid, minimize, or 

mitigate any significant adverse impacts 

will be identified. 

FTA Procedures 

The regulations implementing NEPA, 

as well as provisions of the Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

Users (SAFETEA–LU), call for public 

involvement in the EIS process. Section 

6002 of SAFETEA–LU requires that FTA 

and CTA do the following: (1) Extend an 

invitation to other Federal and nonFederal 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 a 

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 nonFederal agencies and Native American 

tribes that may have an interest in the 

proposed project. It is possible that FTA 

and CTA 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 nonFederal 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 and a Coordination Plan for 

public and interagency involvement 

will be developed for the project and 

posted on CTA’s Web site http:// 

www.transitchicago.com/YellowEIS. 

The public involvement program 

includes a full range of activities 

including maintaining the project 

webpage on the CTA Web site and 

outreach to local officials, community 

and civic groups, and the public. 

Specific activities or events for 

involvement will be detailed in the 

project’s public participation plan. 

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 (preferably in advance of 

printing), FTA and its grantees will 

distribute only the executive summary 

of the environmental document together 

with a Compact Disc of the complete 

environmental document. A complete 

printed set of the environmental 

document is available for review at the 

grantee’s offices and elsewhere; an 

electronic copy of the complete 

environmental document is also 

available on the grantee’s Web page. 

CTA may seek New Starts funding for 

the proposed project under 49 United 

States Code 5309 and will, therefore, be 

subject to New Starts regulations (49 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

611). The New Starts regulations also 

require the submission of certain 

project-justification information to 

support a request to initiate preliminary 

engineering. This information is 

normally developed in conjunction with 

the NEPA process. Pertinent New Starts 

evaluation criteria will be included in 

the EIS. 

The EIS will be prepared in 

accordance with NEPA and its 

implementing regulations issued by the 

Council on Environmental Quality (40 

CFR parts 1500–1508) and with the 

FTA/Federal Highway Administration 

regulations ‘‘Environmental Impact and 

Related Procedures’’ (23 CFR part 771). 

Issued on August 24, 2009. 

Marisol R. Simon, 

Regional Administrator, Federal Transit 

Administration, Region V. 

[FR Doc. E9–20964 Filed 8–31–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement: 

Orange County, CA 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA, on behalf of the 

California Department of Transportation 

(Caltrans), is issuing this notice to 

advise the public that a draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

will be prepared for a proposed highway 

project in Orange County, California. 

DATES: The public scoping meetings will 

be held on the following dates: 

(1) Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 6 

PM–8 PM, Fountain Valley. 

(2) Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 6 

PM–8 PM, Huntington Beach. 

(3) Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 6 

PM–8 PM, Westminster. 

(4) Thursday, October 01, 2009, 6 

PM–8 PM, Rossmoor. 

The final day to submit comments is 

October 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The four public scoping 

meetings will be held at the following 

locations. 

(1) Fountain Valley Senior and 

Community Center, 17967 Bushard St., 

Fountain Valley, CA 92708. 

(2) Huntington Beach Library, 7111 

Talbert Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 

92648. 

(3) Westminster Community Center— 

A/B Room, 8200 Westminster Avenue, 

Westminster, CA 92683. 

(4) Rush Park Auditorium, 3021 

Blume Drive, Rossmoor, CA 90720. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Smita Deshpande, Branch Chief, 

Caltrans-District 12, ‘‘Attn: 405 

Scoping,’’ 2201 Dupont Drive, Suite 

200, Irvine, CA 92612; Tel: 

949.724.2000. 

405scoping.parsons@parsons.com. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective 

July 1, 2007, the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) assigned, and 

the California Department of 

Transportation (Caltrans) assumed, 

environmental responsibilities for this 

project pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327. 

Caltrans, as the delegated National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

agency, in cooperation with the Orange 

County Transportation Authority 

(OCTA), will prepare an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) on a proposal for 

a highway improvement project in 

Orange County, California. The 

proposed project covers approximately 

14 miles and is located between State 

Route (SR) 73 and Interstate 605 (I–605) 

on Interstate 405 (I–405). The purpose of 

the project, as currently defined, is to 

increase capacity, improve traffic and 

interchange operations, and enhance 

safety on I–405 between SR–73 and I– 

605. Currently, the following 

alternatives are being considered: 

• Baseline/No Build Alternative; 

taking no action. 

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45276 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 168 / Tuesday, September 1, 2009 / Notices 

• Build Alternative 1; adding one 

general purpose lane in each direction. 

• Build Alternative 2; adding two 

general purpose lanes in each direction. 

• Build Alternative 3; adding one toll 

lane to the existing carpool lane in each 

direction that will be managed together 

(Federal Highway Administration 

tolling authority required); also adding 

one general purpose lane in each 

direction north of Euclid Street to I–605. 

• Build Alternative 4; on I–405 from 

Euclid Street to I–605, providing 

additional general purpose lane at 

various locations and improving various 

interchanges. 

• Transportation Systems 

Management (TSM)/Transportation 

Demand Management (TDM)/Mass 

Transit Alternative; making only lowcost operational improvements, rather 

than major capital projects, to maximize 

the efficiency of the present highway 

system and expand travelers’ 

transportation choices. 

Based on a Preliminary Environmental 

Analysis Report (PEAR) for the I–405 

Improvement Project, it is anticipated 

that the project may require the 

following Federal permits: Section 404 

Permit for filling/dredging waters of the 

United States and Section 401 Water 

Quality Certification. The 

environmental document will analyze 

factors that include, but are not limited 

to, the following: Aesthetics, cultural 

resources, biological resources, 

hazardous wastes and materials, public 

services and facilities, water quality, 

floodplain, noise, air quality, recreation, 

community impacts, and transportation/ 

traffic. Some of these alternatives may 

have impacts on the above mentioned 

resources, as well as on water quality, 

cultural resources, parks/recreation 

facilities, and community character and 

cohesion; the environmental 

documentation process will assess for 

potential impacts and suggest ways to 

reduce or mitigate them. 

This document is available at http:// 

www.octa.net/405improvement and 

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist12/405/ 

index.htm. 

Letters describing the proposed action 

and soliciting comments will be sent to 

appropriate Federal, State, Participating 

Agencies, various Tribal governments, 

and local agencies, and to private 

organizations and citizens who have 

previously expressed or are known to 

have interest in this proposal. The 

environmental review process will 

begin in Fall 2009. Public scoping 

meetings will be held in Fountain 

Valley, Huntington Beach, Westminster, 

and Rossmoor, California, on September 

22, 23, 30, and October 01, respectively. 

In addition, a public hearing will be 

held. Public notice will be given of the 

time and place of the meeting and 

hearing. The draft EIS will be available 

for public and agency review and 

comment prior to the public hearing. 

To ensure that the full range of issues 

related to this proposed action are 

addressed and all significant issues 

identified, comments, and suggestions 

are invited from all interested parties. 

Comments or questions concerning this 

proposed action and the EIS should be 

directed to Ms. Deshpande at Caltrans at 

the address provided above. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Research, 

Planning and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Issued on: August 26, 2009. 

Cindy Vigue, 

Director, State Programs, Federal Highway 

Administration, Sacramento, California. 

[FR Doc. E9–21040 Filed 8–31–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Intent to Prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement for Proposed Transit 

Improvements to the Red Line, Cook 

County, IL 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The FTA, as the lead federal 

agency, and the Chicago Transit 

Authority (CTA) intend to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Red Line Extension Project in 

Cook County, Illinois. CTA operates the 

rapid transit system in Chicago, Cook 

County, Illinois. The proposed project, 

described more completely within, 

would extend the Red Line, a heavy rail 

transit line, to connect the 95th Street 

Station to 130th Street. The purpose of 

this Notice of Intent is to alert interested 

parties regarding the intent to prepare 

the EIS, to provide information on the 

nature of the proposed project and 

possible alternatives, to invite public 

participation in the EIS process. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of the EIS, including the project’s 

purpose and need, the alternatives to be 

considered, the impacts to be evaluated, 

and the methodologies to be used in the 

evaluations should be sent to CTA on or 

before October 27, 2009. See ADDRESSES

below for the address to which written 

public comments may be sent. Two 

public scoping meetings to accept 

comments on the scope of the EIS will 

be held on the following dates: 

• Tuesday, September 22, 2009; 6 

p.m. to 8 p.m.; at the Historic Pullman 

Visitor Center, 11141 S. Cottage Grove 

Avenue, Chicago, IL 60628. 

• Thursday, September 24, 2009; 6 

p.m. to 8 p.m.; at the Woodson Regional 

Chicago Public Library, 9525 S. Halsted 

Street, Chicago, IL 60628. 

The buildings used for the scoping 

meetings are accessible to persons with 

disabilities. Any individual who 

requires special assistance, such as a 

sign language interpreter, to participate 

in the scoping meeting should contact 

Mr. Darud Akbar, Government and 

Community Relations Officer, at 312– 

681–2708 or 

dakbar@transitchicago.com, five days 

prior to the meeting. 

Scoping materials describing the 

project purpose and need and the 

alternatives proposed for analysis will 

be available at the meetings and on the 

CTA Web site http:// 

www.transitchicago.com/RedEIS. Paper 

copies of the scoping materials may also 

be obtained from Mr. Darud Akbar, 

Government and Community Relations 

Officer, at 312–681–2708 or 

dakbar@transitchicago.com. An 

interagency scoping meeting will be 

held on Thursday, September 24 at 

10:30 a.m. at CTA Headquarters, in 

Conference Room 2C, 567 W. Lake 

Street, Chicago, IL 60661. 

Representatives of Native American 

tribal governments and of all federal, 

state, regional and local agencies that 

may have an interest in any aspect of 

the project will be invited to be 

participating or cooperating agencies, as 

appropriate. 

ADDRESSES: Comments will be accepted 

at the public scoping meetings or they 

may be sent to Mr. Jeffrey Busby, 

General Manager, Strategic Planning, 

Chicago Transit Authority, P. O. Box 

7602, Chicago, IL 60680–7602, or via email at 

RedExtension@transitchicago.com. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Werner, Community Planner, 

Federal Transit Administration, Region 

V, 200 West Adams Street, Suite 320, 

Chicago, IL 60606, phone 312–353– 

3879, e-mail david.werner@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scoping 

The FTA and CTA invite all 

interested individuals and 

organizations, public agencies, and 

Native American Tribes to comment on 

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