12252 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 

will consider HST service from Los 

Angeles to Anaheim. The HST system 

can provide service to Orange County 

with a terminus in Anaheim. Beyond 

Anaheim right-of-way is constrained 

and environmental conditions are 

different. HST service beyond Anaheim 

to Irvine may be considered separately 

in the future. 

Further engineering studies to be 

undertaken as a part of this EIR/EIS 

process will examine and refine 

alignments in the selected corridor, 

including the alignment option 

identified in the statewide program EIR/ 

EIS that shares tracks with other 

passenger services separated from 

freight trains with 4 total tracks (2 for 

passenger rail service and 2 for freight 

service) between Los Angeles and 

Fullerton and 2 total tracks with 

additional passing tracks South of 

Fullerton. With this alignment option, 

the electrified HST would share tracks 

(at reduced speeds) with non-electric 

Metrolink commuter rail, Amtrak 

Surfliner intercity services and 

occasional freight trains (there are fewer 

freight operations south of Fullerton). 

This alignment option is based on the 

premise that the capacity and 

compatibility issues associated with the 

shared operations with existing nonelectric service (Surfliners, Metrolink, 

and freight) can be resolved. Additional 

alignment options will be considered 

that involve dedicated HST tracks that 

may be exclusive to HST service or that 

may also accommodate Metrolink 

express services. 

Station location options were selected 

by the Authority and FRA with the 

statewide program EIR/EIS considering 

travel time, train speed, cost, local 

access times, potential connections with 

other modes of transportation, ridership 

potential, and the distribution of 

population and major destinations along 

the route, and local planning 

constraints/conditions. Alternative 

station sites at the selected general 

station locations will be identified and 

evaluated in this project level EIR/EIS. 

Station area development policies to 

encourage transit-friendly development 

near and around HST stations that 

would have the potential to promote 

higher density, mixed-use, pedestrianoriented development will be prepared 

in coordination with local and regional 

planning agencies. Potential station 

locations to be evaluated in the Los 

Angeles-Orange County HST EIR/EIS 

include: City of Los Angeles-Union 

Station; City of Norwalk-Norwalk 

Transportation Center; and City of 

Anaheim-Anaheim Regional 

Transportation Intermodal Center 

(ARTIC). In addition, potential sites for 

turnback/layover train storage facilities 

and a main HST repair and heavy 

maintenance facility will be evaluated 

in the Los Angeles-Orange County HST 

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; 

secondary development; land 

acquisition, displacements, and 

relocations; cultural resource impacts, 

including impacts on historical and 

archaeological resources and parklands/ 

recreation areas; neighborhood 

compatibility and environmental 

justice; natural resource impacts 

including air quality, wetlands, water 

resources, noise, vibration, energy, 

wildlife and ecosystems, including 

endangered species. Measures to avoid, 

minimize, and mitigate all adverse 

impacts will be identified and 

evaluated. 

Scoping and Comments: FRA 

encourages broad participation in the 

EIS process during scoping and review 

of the resulting environmental 

documents. Comments and suggestions 

are invited from all interested agencies 

and the public at large to insure the full 

range of issues related to the proposed 

action and all reasonable alternatives 

are addressed and all significant issues 

are identified. In particular, FRA is 

interested in determining whether there 

are areas of environmental concern 

where there might be a potential for 

significant impacts identifiable at a 

project level. 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 level EIR/ 

EIS. Public scoping meetings have been 

scheduled as an important component 

of the scoping process for both the State 

and Federal environmental review. The 

scoping meetings described in this 

Notice will also be advertised locally 

and included in additional public 

notification. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 9, 

2007. 

Mark E. Yachmetz, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad 

Development. 

[FR Doc. E7–4710 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the California High Speed Train 

System from Palmdale to Los Angeles, 

CA 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA) U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT) . 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to 

advise the public that FRA and the 

California High Speed Rail Authority 

(Authority) will jointly prepare a project 

level Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) and project level Environmental 

Impact Report (EIR) for the section of 

the Authority’s proposed California 

High-Speed Train (HST) System from 

the City of Palmdale to the City of Los 

Angeles in compliance with relevant 

State and federal laws, in particular the 

California Environmental Quality Act 

(CEQA) and the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA). 

FRA is issuing this notice to solicit 

public and agency input into the 

development of the scope of the EIS and 

to advise the public that outreach 

activities conducted by the Authority 

and its representatives will be 

considered in the preparation of the 

combined EIR/EIS. The Authority and 

FRA completed a Program EIR/EIS for 

the California HST System in 2005 as 

the first-phase of a tiered environmental 

review process for the proposed 

California HST System. The Authority 

certified the Final Program EIR and 

issued a decision, and FRA issued a 

Record of Decision in November 2005 

on the Final Program EIS, selecting the 

HST Alternative for further project level 

environmental review and selecting 

corridor alignments and potential 

station locations, including a corridor 

between Palmdale and Los Angeles. The 

preparation of this project level 

Palmdale-Los Angeles HST EIR/EIS will 

involve development of preliminary 

engineering designs and assessment of 

environmental effects associated with 

the construction, operation and 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 12253 

maintenance of the HST system, 

including track, ancillary facilities and 

stations, along the previously selected 

Palmdale-Los Angeles corridor. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of the Palmdale-Los Angeles HST EIR/ 

EIS should be provided to the Authority 

by April 24, 2007. Public scoping 

meetings are scheduled from April 4–

17, 2007 as noted below. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope should be sent to Mr. Dan Leavitt, 

Deputy Director, ATTN. Palmdale-Los 

Angeles, California High-Speed Rail 

Authority, 925 L Street, Suite 1425, 

Sacramento CA 95814, or via e-mail 

with subject line ‘‘Palmdale-Los 

Angeles’’ to: comments@hsr.ca.gov. 

Comments may also be provided orally 

or in writing at scoping meetings 

scheduled at the following locations: 

• Glendale Public Library, 222 E. 

Harvard St., Glendale, CA 91205, on 

April 4, 2007 from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 

6 to 8 p.m. 

• Los Angeles County Metropolitan 

Transit Agency Headquarters (Board 

Room), One Gateway Plaza, Los 

Angeles, CA 90012, on April 5, 2007 

from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. 

• Sylmar Park Recreation Center, 

13109 Borden Avenue Sylmar, CA 

91342 on April 10, 2007, from 3 to 5:00 

p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

• Palmdale City Hall, Council 

Chambers, 38300 North Sierra Highway, 

Palmdale, CA 93550, on April 12, 2007 

from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. 

• Los Angeles River Center & Gardens 

(Atrium), 570 W. Avenue 26, Los 

Angeles, CA 90065, on April 17, 2007 

from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Valenstein, Environmental 

Program Manager, Office of Railroad 

Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue 

(Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 20590; 

Telephone (202)–493–6368, or Mr. 

Leavitt at the above noted address. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

California High-Speed Rail Authority 

(Authority) was established in 1996 and 

is authorized and directed by statute to 

undertake the planning for the 

development of a proposed statewide 

HST network that is fully coordinated 

with other public transportation 

services. The Legislature has granted the 

Authority the powers necessary to 

oversee the construction and operation 

of a statewide HST network once 

financing is secured. As part of the 

Authority’s efforts to implement a highspeed train system, the Authority 

adopted a Final Business Plan in June 

2000, which reviewed the economic 

feasibility of a 700-mile-long HST 

system capable of speeds in excess of 

200 miles per hour on a dedicated, fully 

grade-separated state-of-the-art track. 

The FRA has responsibility for 

oversight of the safety of railroad 

operations, including the safety of any 

proposed high-speed ground 

transportation system. For the proposed 

HST, it is anticipated that FRA would 

need to take certain regulatory actions 

prior to operation. 

In 2005, the Authority and FRA 

completed a Final Program EIR/EIS for 

the Proposed California High-Speed 

Train System (statewide program EIR/ 

EIS), as the first-phase of a tiered 

environmental review process. The 

Authority certified the Final Program 

EIR under CEQA and approved the 

proposed HST System, and FRA issued 

a Record of Decision under NEPA on the 

Final Program EIS. This statewide 

program EIR/EIS established the 

purpose and need for the HST system, 

analyzed a HST alternative, and 

compared it with a No Project/No 

Action Alternative and a Modal 

Alternative. In approving the statewide 

program EIR/EIS, the Authority and the 

FRA selected the HST Alternative and 

selected certain corridors/general 

alignments and general station 

locations, incorporated mitigation 

strategies and design practices, and 

specified further measures to guide the 

development of the HST system at the 

site-specific project level of 

environmental review to avoid and 

minimize potential adverse 

environmental impacts. 

The Palmdale-Los Angeles HST EIR/ 

EIS will be developed as a second-tier, 

site-specific environmental document. It 

is one of a number of second-tier 

environmental reviews for sections of 

the HST system that FRA and the 

Authority intend to undertake. It will be 

tiered from and incorporate by reference 

the certified statewide program EIR/EIS 

in accordance with Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

regulations (40 CFR 1508.28) and State 

CEQA Guidelines (14 C.C.R. 15168[b]). 

Tiering will ensure that the PalmdaleLos Angeles HST EIR/EIS builds upon 

all previous work prepared for and 

incorporated in the statewide program 

EIR/EIS. The EIR/EIS will be carried out 

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 

other applicable statutes, regulations 

and executive orders, including the 

1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, 

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 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 merger 

process established through the 

statewide program EIR/EIS process. 

This Palmdale-Los Angeles HST EIR/ 

EIS and other project level EIR/EISs will 

examine a range of project alternatives 

for portions of the proposed HST system 

within corridors selected in the 

statewide program EIR/EIS, as well as a 

no action alternative. This and other 

project level EIR/EISs will fully describe 

site-specific environmental impacts and 

will identify specific mitigation 

measures to address those impacts and 

will incorporate design practices to 

avoid and minimize potential adverse 

environmental impacts. The FRA and 

the Authority will assess the site 

characteristics, size, nature, and timing 

of proposed site-specific projects to 

determine whether the impacts are 

potentially significant and whether 

impacts can be avoided or mitigated. 

This and other project EIR/EISs will 

identify and evaluate reasonable and 

feasible site-specific alignment 

alternatives, evaluate the impacts from 

construction, operation, and 

maintenance of the HST system, and 

identify mitigation measures. 

Information and documents regarding 

the HST environmental review process 

will be made available through the 

Authority’s Internet site: http:// 

www.cahighspeedrail.gov/. 

Purpose and Need: The need for a 

HST system is directly related to the 

expected growth in population and 

increase in intercity travel demand in 

California over the next twenty years 

and beyond. With 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 a 

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 purpose of the 

proposed HST system is to provide a 

new mode of high-speed intercity travel 

that would link the major metropolitan 

areas of the state; interface with 

international airports, mass transit, and 

highways; and provide added capacity 

to meet increases in intercity travel 

demand in California in a manner 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES
12254 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 

sensitive to and protective of 

California’s unique natural resources. 

Alternatives: The Palmdale-Los 

Angeles HST EIR/EIS will consider a No 

Action or No Project Alternative and 

HST Alternatives for the Palmdale to 

Los Angeles corridor. 

No Action Alternative: The take no 

action (No Project or No Build) 

alternative is defined to serve as the 

baseline for assessment of the HST 

Alternative. The No Build Alternative 

represents the region’s transportation 

system (highway, air, and conventional 

rail) as it existed in 2006, and as it 

would exist after completion of 

programs or projects currently planned 

for funding and implementation by 

2030. The No Build Alternative defines 

the existing and future intercity 

transportation system for the Palmdale 

to Los Angeles corridor based on 

programmed and funded improvements 

to the intercity transportation system 

through 2030, according to the 

following sources of information: State 

Transportation Improvement Program 

(STIP), Regional Transportation Plans 

(RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport 

plans, and intercity passenger rail plans. 

HST Alternative: The Authority 

proposes to construct, operate and 

maintain an electric-powered steelwheel-on-steel-rail HST system, over 

700-mile long (1,126-kilometer long), 

capable of speeds in excess of 200 miles 

per hour (mph) (320 kilometers per hour 

[km/h]) on dedicated, fully gradeseparated tracks, with state-of-the-art 

safety, signaling, and automated train 

control systems. The Palmdale to Los 

Angeles HST corridor that was selected 

by the Authority and FRA with the 

statewide program EIR/EIS follows SR–

58/Soledad Canyon from the City of 

Palmdale to Sylmar and then along the 

Metrolink Railroad line to Los Angeles 

Union Station. The corridor is relatively 

wide in the area that includes both the 

SR–14 and Union Pacific Railroad 

alignments between the Antelope Valley 

and Santa Clarita. Further engineering 

studies to be undertaken as a part of this 

EIR/EIS process will examine and refine 

alignments in the selected corridor, 

including sections from the Palmdale to 

Santa Clarita and from the Burbank 

Metrolink Station to Los Angeles Union 

Station. An alignment option that 

closely follows the SR–14 through 

Soledad Canyon will be considered as 

well as an alignment option through 

Soledad Canyon along the Santa Clara 

River. Alignments along San Fernando 

Road adjacent to Taylor Yard and along 

the existing Metrolink right-of-way 

around the Taylor Yard area will be 

considered. 

Station location options were selected 

by the Authority and FRA with the 

statewide program EIR/EIS considering 

travel time, train speed, cost, local 

access times, potential connections with 

other modes of transportation, ridership 

potential and the distribution of 

population and major destinations along 

the route, and local planning 

constraints/conditions. Alternative 

station sites at the selected general 

station locations will be identified and 

evaluated in this project level EIR/EIS. 

Station area development policies to 

encourage transit-friendly development 

near and around HST stations that 

would have the potential to promote 

higher density, mixed-use, pedestrianoriented development around the 

stations will be prepared in 

coordination with local and regional 

planning agencies. Potential station 

locations to be evaluated in the 

Palmdale-Los Angeles HST EIR/EIS 

include: City of Palmdale, Palmdale 

Transportation Center; City of Sylmar, 

Sylmar Metrolink station; and City of 

Burbank, Burbank Metrolink station. 

The HST station at Los Angeles Union 

Station is being evaluated in the project 

level Los Angeles-Orange HST EIR/EIS 

and will not be considered in the 

Palmdale-Los Angeles HST EIR/EIS 

process. In addition, potential sites for 

turnback/layover train storage facilities 

and a main HST repair and heavy 

maintenance facility will be evaluated 

in the Palmdale-Los Angeles HST 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; 

secondary development; land 

acquisition, displacements, and 

relocations; cultural resource impacts, 

including impacts on historical and 

archaeological resources and parklands/ 

recreation areas; neighborhood 

compatibility and environmental 

justice; natural resource impacts 

including air quality, wetlands, water 

resources, noise, vibration, energy, 

wildlife and ecosystems, including 

endangered species. Measures to avoid, 

minimize, and mitigate all adverse 

impacts will be identified and 

evaluated. 

Scoping and Comments: FRA 

encourages broad participation in the 

EIS process during scoping and review 

of the resulting environmental 

documents. Comments and suggestions 

are invited from all interested agencies 

and the public at large to insure the full 

range of issues related to the proposed 

action and all reasonable alternatives 

are addressed and all significant issues 

are identified. In particular, FRA is 

interested in determining whether there 

are areas of environmental concern 

where there might be a potential for 

significant impacts identifiable at a 

project level. 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 level EIR/ 

EIS. Public scoping meetings have been 

scheduled as an important component 

of the scoping process for both the State 

and Federal environmental review. The 

scoping meetings described in this 

Notice will also be advertised locally 

and included in additional public 

notification. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 9, 

2007. 

Mark E. Yachmetz, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad 

Development. 

[FR Doc. E7–4711 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement for High-Capacity 

Transit Improvements in the Leeward 

Corridor of Honolulu, HI 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) and the City and 

County of Honolulu, Department of 

Transportation Services (DTS) intend to 

prepare an EIS on a proposal by the City 

and County of Honolulu to implement 

a fixed-guideway transit system in the 

corridor between Kapolei and the 

University of Hawai1i at Ma ̄noa with a 

branch to Waikı ̄kı ̄. Alternatives 

proposed to be considered in the draft 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES