FEDERAL REGISTER 

NOTICE OF INTENT

Appendix

G

G. Federal Register Notice of Intent
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 30 / Monday, February 14, 2011 / Notices 8397 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO High 

Speed Rail Program Corridor 

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 with the 

Illinois Department of Transportation 

(IDOT) will jointly prepare a Tier 1 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO 

High Speed Rail Corridor Program in 

compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA). This study will analyze a range 

of reasonable corridor-level route 

alternatives between Chicago and Joliet, 

and will examine additional 

improvements between Joliet and St. 

Louis to support additional passenger 

trains. The EIS will consider increasing 

the number of frequencies of high-speed 

passenger rail service, as well as 

increasing the currently planned 

maximum speed of such service, in the 

Chicago to St. Louis Corridor (Corridor). 

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 FRA and IDOT 

will be considered in the preparation of 

the EIS. Alternatives under 

consideration include taking no action, 

as well as several build alternatives 

between Chicago and Joliet, IL, through 

the City of Springfield, and for the 

approach to St. Louis, MO. 

DATES: Two agency scoping meetings 

and five public scoping meetings will be 

held during March, 2011. Public 

scoping meetings will be advertised 

locally and are scheduled for the 

following cities on the dates indicated 

below from 4 p.m.–7 p.m. 

• March 1, 2011: Joliet, IL 

• March 2, 2011: BloomingtonNormal, IL 

• March 3, 2011: Springfield, IL 

• March 8, 2011: Carlinville, IL 

• March 9, 2011: Alton, IL 

Agency scoping meetings will be held 

March 1, 2011 in Joliet, IL and March 3, 

2011 in Springfield, IL at 10 a.m. 

Detailed information on the meeting 

locations is available on the following 

Web site: http://www.idothsr.org. 

Persons interested in providing written 

comments on the scope of the EIS 

should do so by March 18, 2011. 

Written comments on the scope of the 

EIS should be provided to IDOT by 

March 18, 2011 at the address below. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope of this study should be sent to Mr. 

George Weber, Acting Deputy Director, 

Department of Intermodal and Public 

Transit, Illinois Department of 

Transportation, 100 West Randolph 

Street, Suite 6–600, Chicago, Illinois 

60601, telephone (312) 793–4222. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Wendy Messenger, Office of Railroad 

Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., (Mail Stop 20), 

Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 

493–6396; or Mr. George Weber, 

telephone (312) 793–4222 at the above 

address. Information and documents 

regarding the environmental review 

process will be made available through 

the following Web site: http:// 

www.idothsr.org. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA, in 

cooperation with IDOT, will prepare a 

Tier 1 EIS for the High Speed Rail 

program from Chicago, IL to St. Louis, 

MO. The objectives of the proposed 

Project are to meet current and future 

regional travel needs through significant 

improvements to the level and quality of 

passenger rail service along the 

Corridor. Specifically, the EIS will 

consider increasing the frequency of 

high-speed passenger trains between 

Chicago and St. Louis and will consider 

increasing train speeds above the 110 

mph maximum speed currently planned 

in the Corridor. The proposed service 

improvements examined in this EIS will 

build upon the approximately $1.1 

billion of improvements currently being 

completed in the Corridor by IDOT and 

FRA pursuant to a grant/cooperative 

agreement funded by the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 

(this work is based upon a 2003 EIS for 

the Corridor and a 2004 Record of 

Decision). Those improvements, which 

include infrastructure improvements, 

communications and signaling 

installation, stations improvements, and 

rolling stock equipment procurement, 

will increase passenger rail speeds from 

79 mph to 110 mph for the existing 

Corridor services. 

The proposed Tier 1 EIS described in 

this notice will examine a range of 

reasonable corridor-level alternative 

routes between Chicago and Joliet, and 

will examine additional improvements 

between Joliet and St. Louis to support 

additional passenger trains while 

accommodating the anticipated growth 

in freight rail traffic. The EIS will assess: 

Changing the existing rail corridor from 

one track to two tracks; increasing the 

number of high-speed passenger trains; 

potential corridor route alternatives 

between Chicago and Joliet, IL, through 

the City of Springfield, and for the 

approach to St. Louis, MO; and the 

associated transportation and 

environmental impacts. Train speed 

increases above the 110 mph maximum 

speed currently planned in the Corridor 

may be considered in the alternatives 

analysis. It is anticipated that the EIS 

will examine the viability of ChicagoJoliet corridors utilizing the Canadian 

National (CN) and Metra Rock Island 

District (RID), as well as other 

reasonable corridors between Chicago 

and Joliet that could support high speed 

rail passenger service. 

IDOT and FRA propose to not 

examine the Norfolk Southern-Canadian 

National alignment between Dwight and 

Chicago in the Tier 1 EIS. This 

alignment was considered in the 2003 

EIS for the Corridor to serve a proposed 

South Suburban Airport. IDOT and FRA 

propose to not examine this alignment 

because it would divert intercity 

passenger rail service from the larger 

populations currently served in the 

Chicago-Joliet corridor, and the South 

Suburban Airport area is served by an 

existing commuter rail service to 

Chicago. Additionally, the Norfolk 

Southern Railroad does not support the 

introduction of high-speed passenger 

rail to its facilities because of limited 

existing infrastructure and a limited 

ability to expand capacity in the 

corridor. The agencies have concluded 

that it is not a reasonable alternative for 

meeting the Project purpose and need. 

Elimination of the Norfolk SouthernCanadian National alignment will result 

in a single corridor to be studied 

between Dwight and Joliet utilizing the 

Union Pacific (UP) Railroad. 

The No-Build Alternative will 

represent the no action alternative and 

will be used as a baseline for 

comparison of all alternatives. The NoBuild Alternative represents other 

transportation modes, such as auto, air 

travel, intercity bus, and existing rail, 

and the physical characteristics and 

capacities as they exist at the time of the 

Tier 1 EIS, with planned and funded 

improvements that will be in place at 

the time the Project would become 

operational. 

Environmental Review Process: The 

EIS will be developed in accordance 

with Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) regulations (40 CFR part 1500 et 

seq.) implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and 

FRA’s Procedures for Considering 

Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545; 

May 26, 1999). The FRA and IDOT will 


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8398 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 30 / Monday, February 14, 2011 / Notices 

use a tiered process, as provided for in 

40 CFR 1508.28 and in accordance with 

FRA guidance, in the completion of the 

environmental review of the Project. 

‘‘Tiering’’ is a staged environmental 

review process applied to 

environmental reviews for complex 

projects. The Tier 1 EIS will address 

broad corridor-level issues and 

alternatives. Subsequent phases or tiers 

will analyze site-specific component 

projects and alternatives based on the 

decisions made in Tier 1. 

Tier 1: The Tier 1 assessment will 

result in a NEPA document with the 

appropriate level of detail for corridorlevel decisions and will address broad 

overall issues of concern, including but 

not limited to: 

• Confirm the purpose and need for 

the proposed action. 

• Define the study area appropriate to 

assess reasonable alternatives. 

• Identify a comprehensive set of 

goals and objectives for the corridor in 

conjunction with Project stakeholders. 

These goals and objectives will be 

crafted to allow comprehensive 

evaluation of all aspects of the Project 

necessary to achieve the goals, 

including train operations, vehicles, and 

infrastructure. 

• Identify the range of reasonable 

alternatives to be considered, consistent 

with the current and planned use of the 

corridor and the existing services within 

and adjacent to the study area, 

including changing the existing rail 

corridor from one track to two tracks, 

considering alternative corridors 

between Chicago and Joliet and in the 

St. Louis area, and considering a no 

action/no build alternative. 

• Develop alternatives evaluation 

criteria to identify alternatives that meet 

the purpose and need of the proposed 

action and those that do not. 

• Identify the general alignment(s) of 

the reasonable alternatives. 

• Identify right-of-way requirements 

for the reasonable alternatives. 

• Identify the infrastructure and 

equipment investment requirements for 

the reasonable alternatives. 

• Identify the operational changes 

required for the reasonable alternatives. 

• Describe the environmental impacts 

associated with the proposed changes in 

passenger rail train frequency, speed, 

and on-time performance. 

• Characterize the environmental 

consequences of the reasonable 

alternatives. 

• Establish the timing and sequencing 

of independent actions to maintain a 

state of good repair and to implement 

the proposed action. 

• Evaluate and consider the potential 

for environmental impacts associated 

with the reasonable alternatives. 

• Identify a preferred alternative for 

corridor route alignment. 

• Address component projects for 

Tier 2 NEPA documentation as 

described below. 

Tier 2: The second tier assessment(s) 

will address component projects to be 

implemented within the overall rail 

corridor improvement alternative 

selected in the Tier 1 EIS, and will 

incorporate by reference the data and 

evaluations included in the Tier 1 EIS. 

The Springfield Rail Corridor is the only 

current activity presently identified as a 

Tier 2 level evaluation to be included in 

this Tier 1 EIS; it will be combined with 

the Tier 1 EIS but may be separately 

actionable to determine site-specific as 

well as corridor-level improvements 

within its study limits and is described 

below. 

Springfield Railroad Corridor: Freight 

traffic through Springfield is expected to 

increase significantly over the next 

several years, and IDOT’s plans for 

increasing the number of frequencies of 

high-speed passenger train service 

between Chicago and St. Louis as well 

as the maximum speed of the passenger 

train service would also have an impact 

on Springfield. This study will analyze 

alternatives for accommodating the 

growing freight and passenger rail traffic 

through Springfield. 

There are currently three north-south 

railroad corridors through Springfield. 

Generally, these corridors exist along 

Third Street (Union Pacific), Tenth 

Street (primarily Norfolk Southern), and 

Nineteenth Street (primarily Canadian 

National). There are 73 at-grade 

crossings along these three corridors in 

the study area, which create traffic 

congestion and safety issues when trains 

traverse the city. The Union Pacific 

Railroad is constructing a new 

intermodal rail yard near Joliet, Illinois, 

which is anticipated to generate 

increased freight traffic on the Third 

Street corridor. The combination of 

increased passenger trains and 

increased Union Pacific freight trains 

would likely require a second track on 

the Third Street corridor to 

accommodate the greater number of 

trains per day. 

Build alternatives to accommodate 

this increase in rail traffic will be 

studied. In addition, the No-Build 

Alternative will represent the no action 

alternative and will be used as a 

baseline for comparison of all 

alternatives. One build alternative 

involves adding a second track on the 

Third Street corridor to handle up to 40 

freight and passenger trains per day. 

Another build alternative will consider 

moving the Third Street corridor trains, 

and possibly the Nineteenth Street 

corridor trains, to the Tenth Street 

corridor, where additional tracks would 

be built, which would consolidate 

Springfield’s rail traffic into one 

corridor. Other reasonable alternatives 

will also be considered, such as 

relocating rail traffic to other or new 

corridors. 

Related Projects: There are three 

ongoing rail improvement programs that 

relate to the Project being studied in this 

EIS and may be considered for indirect 

or cumulative impacts on the region. 

The Chicago Region Environmental 

and Transportation Efficiency Program 

(CREATE) is a cooperative effort 

between the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, the State of Illinois, the 

City of Chicago, the Metropolitan Rail 

Corporation (Metra), the National 

Railroad Passenger Corporation 

(Amtrak), and six freight railroads to 

improve freight and passenger rail 

efficiency and to reduce rail/highway 

traffic conflicts. There are six projects 

specifically identified by CREATE (P1, 

P2, P3, EW2, P5 and P6) that may 

involve and affect high speed rail 

service within the Chicago-Joliet portion 

of the corridor, depending on the 

corridor recommendations of this EIS 

study. More information is available at 

the CREATE Web site at http:// 

www.createprogram.org/. 

The Chicago-St. Louis 220 mph High 

Speed Rail Express is a project concept 

being pursued by IDOT. This service, at 

speeds up to 220 mph, may utilize 

existing rail corridors, a new corridor, or 

a combination of both, and could serve 

different travel markets. The 220 mph 

concept is intended as a complementary 

service to the Chicago-St. Louis high 

speed rail service that is being evaluated 

by this EIS. A feasibility study was 

prepared in 2009 by the Midwest High 

Speed Rail Association; this study 

indicated that a completely gradeseparated route could be established by 

modifying existing rail corridors to 

connect Chicago, Champaign, Decatur 

and Springfield, Illinois with St. Louis, 

Missouri, with a one-way terminal-toterminal trip time of approximately two 

hours, utilizing a maximum speed of 

220 mph. Also in 2009, an Expression 

of Interest was prepared by the French 

National Railways (SNCF) in response 

to the FRA’s Request for Expression of 

Interest dated December 11, 2008. The 

SNCF proposed a high-speed rail route 

to be located adjacent to existing rail 

corridors and sharing existing rail 

corridors in urban approaches at lower 

speeds. IDOT intends to further study 

the 220 mph project concept, including 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 30 / Monday, February 14, 2011 / Notices 8399 

development of an investment-grade 

business plan and the preparation of a 

separate Tier 1 EIS. 

The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative 

(MWRRI) is an effort led by the 

Wisconsin Department of 

Transportation and supported by eight 

other Midwestern States to upgrade 

Amtrak service in those States, with 

maximum speeds of 79 to 110 mph 

depending on the level of improvements 

made. A Chicago-St. Louis corridor is 

included in MWRRI’s September 2004 

Executive Report and November 2006 

Benefit Cost and Economic Analysis. 

Additional corridors proposed by 

MWRRI include: Chicago-Green Bay, 

Wisconsin; Chicago-Minneapolis, 

Minnesota; St. Louis-Kansas City, 

Missouri; Chicago-Cincinnati, Ohio; 

Chicago-Cleveland, Ohio; ChicagoDetroit, Michigan; Chicago-Port Huron, 

Michigan; Chicago-Carbondale, Illinois; 

Chicago-Quincy, Illinois; and ChicagoOmaha, Nebraska. Several other feeder 

corridors connecting smaller 

municipalities to the primary corridors 

are also included. More information is 

available at http:// 

www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/ 

rail.htm. 

Public Involvement: Letters describing 

the proposed action and soliciting 

comments will be sent to appropriate 

Federal, State, and local agencies, and to 

private organizations and citizens who 

have previously expressed or are known 

to have interest in this proposal. A 

minimum of two public informational 

meetings will be held during the study. 

In addition, a public hearing will be 

held on the Draft EIS. Public notice will 

be given of the time and place of the 

meetings and of the 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 that all significant issues 

are identified, comments and 

suggestions are invited from all 

interested parties. Comments or 

questions concerning this proposed 

action and the EIS should be directed to 

IDOT or FRA at the addresses provided 

above. 

Scoping and Comments: FRA 

encourages broad participation in the 

EIS process during scoping 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 the reasonable 

alternatives, are addressed and all 

significant issues are identified. In 

particular, FRA is interested in 

identifying areas of environmental 

concern where there might be a 

potential for significant impacts. Public 

agencies with jurisdiction are requested 

to advise FRA and IDOT 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 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 the subject of additional public 

notification. 

FRA is seeking participation and 

input of all interested Federal, State, 

and local agencies, Native American 

groups, and other concerned private 

organizations and individuals on the 

scope of the EIS. This Project 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 (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f)). 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 the NHPA with the 

preparation of the EIS, beginning with 

the identification of consulting parties 

through the scoping process, in a 

manner consistent with the standards 

set out in 36 CFR 800.8. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 9, 

2011. 

Mark E. Yachmetz, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad Policy 

and Development. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3248 Filed 2–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

Reports, Forms and Record Keeping 

Requirements; Agency Information 

Collection Activity Under OMB Review 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice 

announces that the Information 

Collection Request (ICR) abstracted 

below has been forwarded to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and comment. The ICR describes 

the nature of the information collections 

and their expected burden. The Federal 

Register Notice with a 60-day comment 

period was published on September 2, 

2010 (75 FR 54000). The agency 

received no comments. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before March 16, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments, within 30 

days, to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, 725–17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, 

Attention NHTSA Desk Officer. 

Comments are invited on: Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; the accuracy of 

the Department’s estimate of the burden 

of the proposed information collection; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

A comment to OMB is most effective if 

OMB receives it within 30 days of 

publication. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Deborah Mazyck at the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

Office of International Policy, Fuel 

Economy and Consumer Programs, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, 

Room W43–443, Washington, DC 20590. 

Ms. Mazyck’s telephone number is 

(202–366–4139). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

Title: 49 CFR Part 583—Automobile 

Parts Content Labeling. 

OMB Number: 2127–0573. 

Type of Request: Request for public 

comment on a previously approved 

collection of information. 

Abstract: Part 583 establishes 

requirements for the disclosure of 

information relating to the countries of 

origin of the equipment of new 

passenger motor vehicles. This 

information will be used by NHTSA to 

determine whether manufacturers are 

complying with the American 

Automobile Labeling Act (49 U.S.C. 

32304). The American Automobile 

Labeling Act requires all new passenger 

motor vehicles (including passenger 


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