Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 18, 1997 / Notices 61579

12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106,

(816) 426–4730. The application may be

reviewed in person at this same

location.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA

proposes to rule and invites public

comment on the application to impose

a PFC at the Spencer Municipal Airport

under the provisions of the Aviation

Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of

1990 (Title IX of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Public Law

101–508) and Part 158 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Part 158).

On November 4, 1997, the FAA

determined that the application to

impose a PFC submitted by the City of

Spencer, Iowa, was substantially

complete within the requirements of

section 158.25 of Part 158. The FAA

will approve or disapprove the

application, in whole or in part, no later

than February 14, 1998.

The following is a brief overview of

the application.

Level of the proposed PFC: $3.00.

Proposed charge effective date:

January, 2003.

Proposed charge expiration date:

September, 2011.

Total estimated PFC revenue:

$128,500.

Brief description of proposed project:

Purchase snow removal equipment and

construct equipment storage building.

Any person may inspect the

application in person at the FAA office

listed above under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.

In addition, any person may, upon

request, inspect the application, notice

and other documents germane to the

application in person at the City of

Spencer, Iowa.

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri on

November 5, 1997.

George A. Hendon,

Manager, Airports Division, Central Region.

[FR Doc. 97–30229 Filed 11–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on

the Proposed Central Light Rail Transit

Line Between North Seattle (Northgate)

and SeaTac, WA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration,

DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) and the Central

Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority

(RTA) intend to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

in accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The

RTA will also ensure that the EIS

satisfies the requirements of the

Washington State Environmental Policy

Act (SEPA). The FTA will be the NEPA

lead agency. The RTA will be the SEPA

lead agency. Corridor alternatives were

evaluated in a SEPA plan-level EIS

(1993) and in a Major Investment Study

(1997).

The EIS will evaluate the Central

Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project and

alignment alternatives in the 23-mile

long corridor between North Seattle

(Northgate) and SeaTac, Washington.

The proposed Central LRT Project is

intended to provide light rail transit

service between key activity centers

along the corridor, including the

region’s three largest employment

centers, many major institutions, dense

residential neighborhoods, and regional

destinations, such as Sea-Tac

International Airport.

The study area also includes several

sites for a proposed LRT vehicle storage

and maintenance facility. In addition,

the EIS will evaluate the no-build

alternative and any new, reasonable

alternatives within the corridor

generated through the scoping process.

Scoping will be accomplished

through correspondence with interested

persons, organizations, and federal,

state, regional, and local agencies. Six

public scoping meetings will be held, as

well as one inter-agency scoping

meeting. See DATES below for details.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written

comments on the scope of alternatives

and impacts to be considered should be

sent to the RTA by January 5, 1998. See

ADDRESSES below. Oral comments

should be made at one of the six public

scoping meetings scheduled below.

Scoping Meetings: Public scoping

meetings will be held on the following

days and locations:

Tuesday, December 9, 1997, from 4:00 p.m.

to 9:00 p.m., Kane Hall, Walker Ames

Room, University of Washington Campus,

Seattle, WA

Wednesday, December 10, 1997, from 4:00

p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Union Station, 401 S.

Jackson Street, Seattle, WA

Thursday, December 11, 1997, from 4:00 p.m.

to 9:00 p.m., Rainier Community Center,

4600 36th Avenue South, Seattle, WA

Saturday, December 13, 1997, from 9:00 a.m.

to 12:00 noon, Seattle Central Community

College, 1701 Broadway, Room 1110,

Seattle, WA

Saturday, December 13, 1997, from 1:30 p.m.

to 5:00 p.m., Foster High School Commons,

4242 S. 144th Street, Tukwila, WA

Wednesday, December 17, 1997, from 4:00

p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Tyee High School

Auditorium, 4424 South 188th Street,

SeaTac, WA

A scoping meeting for governmental

agencies will be held on Monday,

December 8, 1997, between 1:00 p.m.

and 4:00 p.m. at the RTA, 1100 2nd

Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101–

3423. All the locations for the scoping

meetings are accessible to people with

disabilities. People with special needs

should contact the RTA at the address

below or by calling (206) 684–6776. A

TDD number is also available: (206)

684–1394.

Scoping meetings will be held in an

‘‘open-house’’ format. Project

representatives will be available to

discuss the project throughout the entire

meeting. Informational displays and

written materials will also be available

throughout the entire meeting. In

addition to written comments, which

may be made at the meeting or as

described below, a stenographer will be

available at the meeting to record oral

comments.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

project scope should be sent to: Perry

Weinberg, Environmental Compliance

Manager, Regional Transit Authority,

1100 Second Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle,

WA 98101–3423; fax number: (206)

689–3525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

F. William Fort, Transportation Program

Specialist, Federal Transit

Administration, Region X, 915 Second

Avenue, Room 3142, Seattle, WA 98174;

phone number: (206) 220–4461.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

The FTA and the RTA invite

interested individuals, organizations,

and federal, state, regional and local

agencies to participate in defining the

alternatives within the corridor to be

evaluated in the EIS and identifying any

significant, social, economic, or

environmental issues related to the

alternatives. An Environmental Scoping

Information Report describing the

project, the proposed alternatives, the

impact areas to be evaluated, the public

involvement program and the

preliminary project schedule has been

prepared. You may request a copy of the

report by contacting the person

identified above in the section FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Scoping

comments may be made orally at the

public scoping meetings or in writing.

See DATES above for locations and times,

and see the ADDRESSES section above for

written comments. During scoping,

comments should focus on identifying

specific social, economic, or

environmental impacts to be evaluated
61580 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 18, 1997 / Notices

and suggesting alternatives that are

more cost-effective or have fewer

environmental impacts while achieving

similar transit objectives.

Scoping materials will be available at

the meeting or in advance of the

meeting by contacting the RTA at (206)

684–6776. If you wish to be placed on

the mailing list to receive further

information as the project proceeds,

please contact the following at the RTA:

Ron Endlich, LRT North Corridor

Manager (206) 684–1634 or Jonathan

Jackson, LRT South Corridor Manager

(206) 684–6773.

II. Description of Study Area and

Project Need

The Central LRT Project study area is

a north-south corridor, approximately

23 miles long between the Northgate

area in north Seattle and SeaTac,

Washington. The Central LRT Project

will include a partially grade-separated,

double-track light rail line on new rightof-way. Conventional LRT low-floor

vehicles are expected to be used.

Service is expected to operate every 6

minutes in peak periods and every 8

minutes in off-peak times, 18 to 20

hours a day, seven days a week.

A total of 21 LRT stations are

proposed to serve the major transit

markets of Northgate, the University

District, Capitol Hill, First Hill,

downtown Seattle, Southeast Seattle,

and the cities of Tukwila and SeaTac.

Light rail service will operate through

downtown Seattle in the existing transit

tunnel. Bus transfer facilities will be

provided at each LRT station. Transfers

to planned commuter rail service will

take place at several selected stations.

III. Alternatives

The alternatives proposed for

evaluation include a variety of

alignment alternatives for different

segments of the corridor. In addition,

various track profiles will be evaluated

throughout the study area. Profiles

include tunnel, surface and aerial

sections.

Beginning from the south, in the

SeaTac segment two route alignment

alternatives will be evaluated. One route

follows International Blvd. (State Route

99) from S. 200th Street, north past SeaTac Airport to the intersection with SR–

518. The other alignment starts from the

same location at the south end of the

City and follows 28th Street, using SeaTac Airport property traveling north to

connect with the SR–99 route.

In the Tukwila segment, two

alternative alignments will be evaluated.

One alignment would use Pacific

Highway South (State Route 99)

between the SeaTac city limits and

Boeing Access Road. The second

alignment would travel east from State

Route 99 along State Route 518 and

continue east past Southcenter Mall.

The line would proceed north along

Interurban Avenue to I–5 at Boeing

Access Road.

In the southeast Seattle (Rainier

Valley) segment, two alignment

alternatives will be considered. One

follows Martin Luther King, Jr. Way

from Henderson Street north to

McClellan Street. The other follows

Rainier Avenue South between the same

locations. Various combinations of these

alignments may also be considered.

Between South McClellan Street and

the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel,

two general alignments will be

evaluated. One alignment would run

north along Rainier Avenue past I–90,

before heading west to connect with the

existing International District tunnel

station. The second alignment would

explore the feasibility of tunneling

under Beacon Hill, beginning just west

of the intersection of Rainier Avenue

and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. The

route would connect with the existing

E–3 busway at South Lander Street and

would travel north to the International

District tunnel station.

From the north end of the Downtown

Seattle Transit Tunnel to the University

District, two alignments will be

evaluated. One alignment is a tunnel

beginning under I–5 east of the existing

Convention Place tunnel station. The

tunnel would loop south to serve First

Hill, then continue north under

Broadway Avenue and 10th Avenue

East. The tunnel would continue under

Portage Bay and 15th Avenue Northeast

in the University District. Another

alignment would run north from the

Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel at the

Westlake Station underground through

the Denny Regrade and the Seattle

Center areas. The route would continue

northeast through south Lake Union and

the Eastlake/Fairview area, adjacent to

I–5. The route would leave the tunnel

north of SR–520 and would cross the

Ship Canal on a new high-level bridge

parallel to the existing I–5 bridge. The

route would continue east along

Campus Parkway and reenter a tunnel

under the University District.

In the University District to Northgate

segment, several alternative alignments

will be considered for the segment

between Ravenna Boulevard and N.E.

75th Street. These alternatives include

alignments along 8th Avenue N.E.,

Roosevelt Way, and 12th Avenue N.E.

The proposed Central LRT Project

also includes construction of an LRT

vehicle storage and maintenance

facility. Alternative locations for the

facility will be evaluated in the City of

Tukwila, near Boeing Access Road and

East Marginal Way South, and in

Southeast Seattle, between Boeing

Access Road and Henderson Street.

The No-Build alternative, which

involves no change to transportation

services or facilities in the corridor

beyond those currently programmed,

will also be evaluated in the EIS.

IV. Probable Effects/Potential Impacts

for Analysis

The FTA and RTA plan to evaluate in

the EIS all significant, social, economic,

and environmental impacts of the

alternatives. Environmental and social

impacts proposed for analysis include

land use and neighborhood impacts,

traffic and parking impacts near

stations, traffic circulation, visual

impacts, health and safety impacts,

impacts on cultural and archaeological

resources, impacts on wetland and

parkland areas, and noise and vibration

impacts. The impacts on natural areas,

rare and endangered species, and earth,

air and water quality, will also be

covered. The impacts will be evaluated

both for the construction period and for

the long-term period of operations.

Reasonable measures to mitigate adverse

impacts will be identified.

V. FTA Procedures

The Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) and the Preliminary Engineering

(PE) for the Central Light Rail Transit

Project will be conducted

simultaneously. The locally preferred

light rail transit mode and its general

alignment were selected previously on

the basis of the evaluation in the Major

Investment Study (1997). The EIS/PE

process will assess the social, economic

and environmental impacts of

alternative specific alignments, station

locations and designs, and maintenance

facility locations and designs to

minimize and mitigate adverse impacts.

A draft EIS will be published and made

available for public and agency review

and comment, and public hearings will

be held. On the basis of the draft EIS

and the comments received, the RTA

will refine the project design and

complete preliminary engineering and

the final EIS.

Issued: November 12, 1997.

Helen M. Knoll,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–30212 Filed 11–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P