50866 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 189 / Thursday, October 1, 2009 / Notices 

2008 to the year 2013. It was requested 

that FAA evaluate and approve this 

material as a Noise Compatibility 

Program as described in Section 47504 

of the Act. The FAA began its review of 

the Program on January 14, 2009, and 

was required by a provision of the Act 

to approve or disapprove the program 

within 180 days (other than the use of 

new or modified flight procedures for 

noise control). Failure to approve or 

disapprove such program within the 

180-day period shall be deemed to be an 

approval of such program; 

The submitted program contained 

eight (8) proposed actions for noise 

mitigation on and off the airport. The 

FAA completed its review and 

determined that the procedural and 

substantive requirements of the Act and 

14 CFR Part 150 have been satisfied. 

The overall program, therefore, was 

approved by the FAA effective July 7, 

2009. 

Outright approval was granted for all 

of the specific program elements. These 

elements include: 

Operational Measures 

1. OP–1 Install ‘‘Fly Friendly’’ 

Signage. 

2. Op–2 Avoid Touch-and-Go’s, 

Maintenance Run-ups, and Extended 

APU Operations during Nighttime 

Hours. 

3. OP–3 Avoid Excessive Engine 

Idling on Ramps near Residential 

Homes. 

4. OP–4 Publish ‘‘Fly Friendly’’ 

Brochure. 

Land Use Measures 

1. LU–1 Voluntary Land Acquisition 

and Relocation of Residents within 70 

DNL. 

2. LU–2 Voluntary Sound 

Attenuation of Homes within 65 DNL. 

3. LU–3 Implement Airport 

Compatibility Overlay District. 

4. LU–4 Monitor Development within 

2013 NEM. 

These determinations are set forth in 

detail in a Record of Approval signed by 

the FAA on July 7, 2009. The Record of 

Approval, as well as other evaluation 

materials and the documents 

comprising the submittal, are available 

for review at the FAA office listed above 

and at the administrative office of the 

Oklaoosa County. The Record of 

Approval also will be available on-line 

at: http://www.faa.gov/ 

airports_airtraffic/airports/ 

environmental/airport_noise/Part150/ 

states/ 

Dated: Issued in Orlando, Florida on 

September 8, 2009. 

W. Dean Stringer, 

Manager, Orlando Airports District Office. 

[FR Doc. E9–23468 Filed 9–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the California High Speed Train Project 

From Fresno to Bakersfield, CA 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The FRA issued a Notice of 

Intent on March 13, 2009 for the 

preparation of an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and Environmental 

Impact Report (EIR) with the California 

High-Speed Rail (Authority) for the 

Merced-to-Bakersfield section of the 

Authority’s proposed California HighSpeed Train (HST) System in 

compliance with relevant State and 

Federal laws, in particular the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA). In that Notice, alternatives 

involving the alignments and stations 

located between Merced and Bakersfield 

were identified. FRA is issuing this 

Notice to amend the project 

environmental process for the Merced to 

Bakersfield section into two separate 

project EISs. 

FRA and the Authority have 

determined that the environmental 

effects of the HST System from Merced 

to Bakersfield are more appropriately 

assessed in two separate documents; 

one for Merced to Fresno and another 

for Fresno to Bakersfield. This Notice 

amends the environmental process 

started on March 13, 2009 to instead 

prepare a Project EIR/EIS for the Fresno 

to Bakersfield section of the HST 

System. The decision to complete two 

separate EIR/EISs was made because the 

project sections are of sufficient length, 

with logical termini, allowing for an 

analysis of environmental matters on a 

broad scope to ensure that the project 

will function properly without requiring 

additional improvements elsewhere; 

and the assessment of HST alternatives 

in the Fresno to Bakersfield section will 

not restrict consideration of alternatives 

for other transportation improvements. 

In 2001, the Authority and FRA 

started a tiered environmental review 

process for the HST System and in 2005, 

completed the first tier California High 

Speed Train Program EIR/EIS 

(Statewide Program EIR/EIS) and 

approved the statewide HST System for 

intercity travel in California between the 

major metropolitan centers of 

Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay 

Area in the north, through the Central 

Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in 

the south. The approved HST System 

would be about 800-miles long, with 

electric propulsion and steel-wheel-onsteel-rail trains capable of operating 

speeds of 220 miles per hour (mph) on 

a dedicated system of fully gradeseparated, access-controlled steel tracks 

with state-of-the-art safety, signaling, 

communication, and automated train 

control systems. In approving the HST 

System, the Authority and FRA also 

selected corridors/general alignments 

and station location options throughout 

most of the system. The Statewide 

Program EIR/EIS generally selected the 

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad 

(BNSF) corridor for the high-speed train 

route from Fresno to Bakersfield and the 

Union Pacific Railroad Company 

(UPRR) corridor was selected through 

the urban area of Fresno, with stations 

in downtown Fresno and Bakersfield. 

The Statewide Program EIR/EIS also 

stated that the project EIR/EIS for the 

HST in this portion of the Central Valley 

would evaluate an alignment around 

Hanford and a potential station location 

in the Visalia/Hanford/Tulare area. 

The preparation of the Fresno to 

Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will 

involve the development of preliminary 

engineering designs and the assessment 

of potential environmental effects 

associated with the construction, 

operation, and maintenance of the HST 

System, including track, ancillary 

facilities and stations, along the 

preferred alternative corridor from 

Fresno to Bakersfield with alternative 

alignments to the east of Hanford. 

DATES: FRA and the Authority invite the 

general public, other government 

agencies, and all other interested parties 

to comment on the amended scope and 

content of the Fresno to Bakersfield HST 

Project EIR/EIS. FRA and the Authority 

are soliciting additional oral and written 

comments, suggestions, and requests for 

information, and request for public 

meetings no later than October 30, 2009. 

These comments will receive equal 

consideration as comments presented 

during the March 2009 scoping period 

for the former Merced to Bakersfield 

HST Project EIR/EIS. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope should be sent to Ms. Carrie 

Bowen, Regional Director, ATTN. 

Fresno to Bakersfield, California HighSpeed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 189 / Thursday, October 1, 2009 / Notices 50867 

Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814, or 

via e-mail with subject line ‘‘Fresno to 

Bakersfield HST’’ to: 

comments@hsr.ca.gov. Comments may 

also be provided orally at the same 

address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Valenstein, Environmental 

Program Manager, Office of Railroad 

Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE (Mail Stop 20), Washington, 

DC 20590 (telephone: 202–493–6368); or 

Ms. Carrie Bowen, Regional Director, 

ATTN. Fresno to Bakersfield, California 

High-Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, 

Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814 

(telephone: 559–221–2636). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Authority was established in 1996 and 

is authorized and directed by statute to 

undertake the planning and 

development of a proposed Statewide 

HST network that is fully coordinated 

with other public transportation 

services. The Authority adopted a Final 

Business Plan in June 2000, which 

reviewed the economic feasibility of an 

800-mile-long HST System capable of 

operating speeds in excess of 200 miles 

per hour on a dedicated, fully gradeseparated state-of-the-art track. The 

Authority released an updated Business 

Plan in November 2008. 

The FRA has responsibility for 

overseeing the safety of railroad 

operations, including the safety of any 

proposed high-speed ground 

transportation system. FRA is also 

authorized to provide Federal funding 

for intercity passenger rail capital 

investments including high-speed rail. 

For the proposed HST, it is anticipated 

that FRA would need to take certain 

regulatory actions prior to operation and 

may provide financial assistance for the 

project including grant funds. 

In 2005, the Authority and FRA 

completed a Statewide Program EIR/EIS 

for the Proposed California High Speed 

Train System, as the first phase of a 

tiered environmental review process. 

The Authority certified the Statewide 

Program EIR under CEQA and approved 

the proposed HST System, and FRA 

issued a Record of Decision under 

NEPA for the Program EIS. This 

Statewide Program EIR/EIS established 

the purpose and need for the HST 

System, analyzed an HST System, and 

compared it with a No Project/No 

Action Alternative and a Modal 

Alternative. In approving the Statewide 

Program EIR/EIS, the Authority and 

FRA selected the HST Alternative, 

selected certain corridors/general 

alignments and general station locations 

for further study, incorporated 

mitigation strategies and design 

practices, and specified further 

measures to guide the development of 

the HST System during the site-specific 

project level environmental review to 

avoid and minimize potential adverse 

environmental impacts. The Fresno to 

Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will 

tier from the Statewide Program EIR/EIS 

in accordance with Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

regulations, (40 CFR 1508.28) and State 

CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of 

Regulations 15168(b)). Tiering will 

ensure that the Fresno to Bakersfield 

HST Project EIR/EIS builds upon all 

previous work prepared for, and 

incorporated in, the Statewide Program 

EIR/EIS. 

The Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project 

EIR/EIS will describe site-specific 

environmental impacts, identify specific 

mitigation measures to address those 

impacts and incorporate design features 

to avoid and minimize potential adverse 

environmental impacts. The FRA and 

the Authority will assess the site 

characteristics, size, nature, and timing 

of the proposed project to determine 

whether the impacts are potentially 

significant and whether impacts can be 

avoided or mitigated. This project EIR/ 

EIS will identify and evaluate 

reasonable and feasible site specific 

alternatives, and evaluate the impacts of 

construction, operation, and 

maintenance of the HST System. 

Information and documents regarding 

this HST environmental review process 

will be made available through the 

Authority’s Internet site: http:// 

www.cahighspeedrail.gov/. 

Purpose and Need: The purpose of the 

proposed HST System is to provide a 

new mode of high-speed intercity travel 

that would link major metropolitan 

areas of the state; interface with airports, 

mass transit, and highways; and provide 

added capacity to meet increases in 

intercity travel demand in California in 

a manner sensitive to and protective of 

California’s unique natural resources. 

The need for a HST System is directly 

related to the expected growth in 

population, and increases in intercity 

travel demand in California over the 

next twenty years and beyond. With the 

growth in travel demand, there will be 

an increase in travel delays arising from 

the growing congestion on California’s 

highways and at airports. In addition, 

there will be negative effects on the 

economy, quality of life, and air quality 

in and around California’s metropolitan 

areas from an increasingly congested 

transportation system that will become 

less reliable as travel demand increases. 

The intercity highway system, 

commercial airports, and conventional 

passenger rail serving the intercity 

travel market are currently operating at 

or near capacity, and will require large 

public investments for maintenance and 

expansion to meet existing demand and 

future growth. The proposed HST 

system is designed to address some of 

the social, economic and environmental 

problems associated with transportation 

congestion in California. 

Alternatives: The Fresno to 

Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will 

consider a No Action or No Project 

Alternative and an HST Alternative for 

the Fresno to Bakersfield section. 

No Action Alternative: The No Action 

Alternative (No Project or No Build) 

represents the conditions in the corridor 

as it existed in 2009, and as it would 

exist based on programmed and funded 

improvements to the intercity 

transportation system and other 

reasonably foreseeable projects through 

2035, taking into account the following 

sources of information: the State 

Transportation Improvement Program 

(STIP), Regional Transportation Plans 

(RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport 

plans, intercity passenger rail plans, and 

city and county plans. 

HST Alternative: The Authority 

proposes to construct, operate, and 

maintain an electric-powered steelwheel-on-steel-rail HST System, about 

800 miles long, capable of operating 

speeds of 220 mph on dedicated, fully 

grad-separated tracks, with state-of-theart safety, signaling, and automated 

train control systems. The BNSF 

alignment from Fresno to Bakersfield 

was selected with the Statewide 

Program EIR/EIS. As defined in the 

Statewide Program EIR/EIS, this 

alignment would utilize the UPRR 

corridor through the urban area of 

Fresno, and would require a new highspeed alignment around the city of 

Hanford. Alignment alternatives will 

also be evaluated to serve a potential 

station in the Visalia/Hanford/Tulare 

area. The HST would operate in this 

area at speeds up to 220 mph on tracks 

separate from the existing BNSF tracks. 

Engineering studies to be undertaken as 

part of this EIR/EIS process will 

examine and refine alignments in the 

BNSF corridor. The entire alignment 

would be grade separated from existing 

roadways. In addition, alternative sites 

for right-of-way maintenance, train 

storage facilities, and a light or heavy 

maintenance and repair facility will be 

evaluated in the Fresno to Bakersfield 

HST project area. 

The two preferred station locations 

selected by the Authority and FRA 

through the Statewide Program EIR/EIS 

will be evaluated in the Fresno to 

Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS. These 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
50868 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 189 / Thursday, October 1, 2009 / Notices 

stations are downtown Fresno and 

downtown Bakersfield. Alternative 

station sites at or near the selected 

station locations may be identified and 

evaluated. A potential station in the 

Visalia/Hanford/Tulare area will also be 

evaluated in this Project EIR/EIS. 

Probable Effects: The purpose of the 

EIR/EIS process is to explore, in a 

public setting, the effects of the 

proposed project on the physical, 

human, and natural environment. The 

FRA and the Authority will continue 

the tiered evaluation of all significant 

environmental, social, and economic 

impacts of the construction and 

operation of the HST System. Impact 

areas to be addressed include 

transportation impacts; safety and 

security; land use and zoning; land 

acquisition, displacements, and 

relocations; agricultural land impacts; 

cumulative and secondary impacts; 

cultural resource impacts, including 

impacts on historical and archaeological 

resources and parklands/recreation 

areas; neighborhood compatibility and 

environmental justice; and natural 

resource impacts including air quality, 

wetlands, water resources, noise, 

vibration, energy, wildlife and 

ecosystems, including endangered 

species. Measures to avoid, minimize, 

and mitigate adverse impacts will be 

identified and evaluated. 

The Fresno to Bakersfield HST Project 

EIR/EIS will be prepared in accordance 

with FRA’s Procedures for Considering 

Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545 

May 26, 1999) and will address not only 

NEPA and CEQA but will also address 

as necessary other applicable statutes, 

regulations, and executive orders, 

including the Clean Air Act, section 404 

of the Clean Water Act, section 106 of 

the National Historic Preservation Act of 

1966, section 4(f) of the Department of 

Transportation Act, the Endangered 

Species Act, and Executive Order 12898 

on Environmental Justice. This EIR/EIS 

process will also continue the NEPA/ 

Clean Water Act section 404 integration 

process established through the 

Statewide Program EIR/EIS process. The 

EIR/EIS will evaluate project alignment 

alternatives, and station and 

maintenance facility locations to 

support a determination of the Least 

Environmentally Damaging Practicable 

Alternative (LEDPA) by the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers. 

Comments: FRA encourages broad 

participation in the EIS process and 

review of the resulting environmental 

documents. Comments are invited from 

all interested agencies and the public to 

ensure the full range of issues related to 

the proposed action and reasonable 

alternatives are addressed and all 

significant issues are identified. In 

particular, FRA is interested in learning 

whether there are areas of 

environmental concern where there 

might be a potential for significant sitespecific impacts from the FresnoBakersfield section of the HST system. 

Public agencies with jurisdiction are 

requested to advise FRA and the 

Authority of the applicable permit and 

environmental review requirements of 

each agency, and the scope and content 

of the environmental information that is 

germane to the agency’s statutory 

responsibilities in connection with the 

proposed project. Public agencies are 

requested to advise FRA if they 

anticipate taking a major action in 

connection with the proposed project 

and if they wish to cooperate in the 

preparation of the Project EIR/EIS. 

Public scoping meetings were held in 

March 2009 for the Merced to 

Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS and are 

an important component of the scoping 

process for the Fresno to Bakersfield 

HST Project EIR/EIS for both the State 

and Federal environmental review. FRA 

is seeking participation and input of all 

interested Federal, State, and local 

agencies, Native American groups, and 

other concerned private organizations or 

individuals on the scope of the EIR/EIS. 

Implementation of the Fresno to 

Bakersfield section of the HST System is 

a Federal undertaking with the potential 

to affect historic properties. As such, it 

is subject to the requirements of section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 

470f). In accordance with regulations 

issued by the Advisory Council on 

Historic Preservation, 36 CFR part 800, 

FRA intends to coordinate compliance 

with section 106 of this Act with the 

preparation of the EIR/EIS, beginning 

with the identification of consulting 

parties in a manner consistent with the 

standards set out in 36 CFR 800.8. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

25, 2009. 

Mark E. Yachmetz, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad 

Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–23749 Filed 9–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the California High-Speed Train Project 

from Merced to Fresno, CA 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The FRA issued a Notice of 

Intent on March 13, 2009 for the 

preparation of an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and Environmental 

Impact Report (EIR) with the California 

High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) 

for the Merced to Bakersfield section of 

the Authority’s proposed California 

High-Speed Train (HST) System in 

compliance with relevant state and 

federal laws, in particular the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA). In that Notice, alternatives 

involving the alignments and stations 

located between Merced and Bakersfield 

were identified. This notice amends the 

project environmental process for the 

Merced to Bakersfield section and 

announces the preparation of two 

separate EIR/EISs. 

FRA and the Authority have 

determined that the environmental 

effects of the HST System from Merced 

to Bakersfield are more appropriately 

assessed in two separate documents; 

one for Merced to Fresno and another 

for Fresno to Bakersfield. This Notice 

amends the environmental process 

started on March 13, 2009 to instead a 

Project EIR/EIS for the Merced to Fresno 

section of the HST System. The decision 

to complete two separate EIR/EISs was 

made because the project sections are of 

sufficient length, with logical termini 

allowing for an analysis of 

environmental matters on a broad scope 

to ensure that the project will function 

properly without requiring additional 

improvements elsewhere; and the 

assessment of HST alternatives in the 

Merced to Fresno section will not 

restrict consideration of alternatives for 

other transportation improvements. 

In 2001, the Authority and FRA 

started a tiered environmental review 

process for the HST System and in 2005, 

completed the first tier California High 

Speed Train Program EIR/EIS 

(Statewide Program EIR/EIS) and 

approved the statewide HST System for 

intercity travel in California between the 

major metropolitan centers of 

Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay 

Area in the north, through the Central 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES