64246 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Notices

comment on the application to impose

and use a PFC at Melbourne

International Airport under the

provisions of the Aviation Safety and

Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (Title

IX of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Pub. L.

101–508) and Part 158 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Part 158).

On November 26, 1997, the FAA

determined that the application to

impose and use a PFC submitted by

Melbourne Airport Authority was

substantially complete within the

requirements of § 158.25 of Part 158.

The FAA will approve or disapprove the

application, in whole or in part, no later

than March 4, 1998.

The following is a brief overview of

PFC Application No. 98–02–C–00–MLB.

Level of the proposed PFC: $3.00.

Proposed charge effective date: April

1, 1998.

Proposed charge expiration date:

January 1, 1999.

Total estimated PFC revenue:

$614,362.

Brief description of proposed

project(s): Runway 9R–27L

Improvements—Phase 1.

Class or classes of air carriers which

the public agency has requested not be

required to collect PFCs: Air Taxi/

Commercial Operator.

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 Melbourne

Airport Authority.

Issued in Orlando, Florida.

Charles E. Blair,

Manager, Orlando Airports District Office

Southern Region.

[FR Doc. 97–31791 Filed 12–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on

the Norfolk-Virginia Beach Light Rail

Transit Project in the Norfolk-Virginia

Beach, Virginia Corridor

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration,

DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) and the

Tidewater Transportation District

Commission (TRT), in cooperation with

the Virginia Department of Rail and

Public Transportation and the Hampton

Roads Metropolitan Planning

Organization, intend to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS),

for the Norfolk-Virginia Beach Light Rail

Transit Project in the Norfolk-Virginia

Beach, Virginia corridor. The EIS is

being prepared in conformance with the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) and will also satisfy the

requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act

Amendments (CAAA). The EIS will

evaluate the following transportation

alternatives: a No-Build alternative, a

Transportation Systems Management

(TSM) alternative, and the light rail

transit alignment. The Tidewater

Transportation District Commission will

be the lead agency for the preparation of

the EIS.

SCOPING PROCESS: The purpose of the

Public Scoping Meeting is to provide

interested individuals with an

introduction to and an overview of the

EIS process and the opportunity for

comments on the significant issues and

impacts to be addressed in the EIS.

Comments may be submitted orally at

the Scoping Meeting or in Writing to

Ms. Jayne Whitney, Project Director,

Tidewater Transportation District

Commission, 1500 Monticello Avenue,

Norfolk, Virginia 23510 during the

Scoping comment period for the

preparation of the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (DEIS) which ends on

Thursday, January 22, 1998.

The Scoping Meeting will begin with

an ‘‘open house’’ where attendees will

be able to view graphics and discuss the

project with the project representatives.

A presentation on the project will be

given at 6:00 P.M., followed by an

additional opportunity for questions

and answers. Scoping material will be

available at the meeting or in advance

of the meeting by contacting Ms. Janette

Crumley at (757) 640–6295 or Ms.

Delores Gee at (757) 640–6251. A sign

language interpreter will be available for

the hearing impaired. A TDD number

(757) 640–6255 is also available. The

buildings are accessible to people with

disabilities. Scoping meetings will be

held on:

1. Tuesday, December 9, 1997, 4

p.m.–7 p.m., Tidewater Transportation

District Commission Headquarters, 1500

Monticello Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia

23510.

2. Thursday, December 11, 1997, 4

p.m.–7 p.m., ODU/NSU Virginia Beach

Higher Education Center, 3300 South

Building, 397 Little Neck Road, Virginia

Beach, Virginia 23452.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Alfred Lebeau, Transportation Program

Specialist, Federal Transit

Administration, Region III, (215) 656–

7100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

The FTA and TRT invite interested

individuals, organizations, and federal,

state and local agencies to participate in

defining the alternatives to be evaluated

in the EIS and identifying any

significant social, economic, or

environmental impacts to be evaluated,

and suggesting alternatives that are less

costly or have less environmental

impacts while achieving similar transit

objectives. During Scoping comments

should focus on the alternatives under

consideration and not on a preference

for a particular alternative. Individual

preference for a particular alternative

should be communicated during the

draft EIS comment period. Scoping

comments may be made at the Public

Scoping Meeting or in writing within 45

days after publication of this notice. See

the ‘‘Scoping Process’’ section above for

locations and times.

II. Description of Study and Project

Need

The proposed project consists of an

18.25 mile light rail transit system

between Downtown Norfolk and the

Virginia Beach Pavilion Convention

Center generally following the Norfolk

Southern Railroad right-of-way. A

combination of single and double track

light rail transit construction is being

studied. The study includes a proposal

for 13 stations, many of which will

provide both bus and park-and-ride

access.

The Norfolk-Virginia Beach corridor

has been and continues to be an area of

significant growth for the region. One

hundred thousand people commute into

the City of Norfolk and 30,000 into

Virginia Beach every day from outside

those communities. Virginia Beach

Boulevard and Route 44/I–264 are at or

over capacity at many locations at this

time with traffic forecast to grow by

another 87 percent on Route 44 by the

Year 2015. Both of these roadways have

been expanded to the limits of the

existing, available right-of-way.

The study corridor shows population

concentrations along the Virginia Beach

to Norfolk corridor that would

potentially support further justification

for expanded transit service. Population

densities, particularly of minority,

elderly or low-income individuals often

rely on transit for their transportation

needs. Regional employment also has

continued to grow. Norfolk continues to

be the major employment center in the
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Notices 64247

1B&P states that at this point it has existing rights

over Conrail’s line of railroad to conduct

interchange between its Buffalo Creek Yard and

‘‘SK’’ Yard of the Delaware and Hudson Railway

(CP Rail system) Buffalo, NY, subject to a separate

agreement it has with Conrail, dated February 1,

1980.

2The trackage rights are granted for the sole

purpose of B&P’s use for bridge traffic only between

B&P/Conrail connections. B&P shall not perform

any local freight service at any point located on the

subject trackage. The trackage rights also provide

that B&P shall not have the right to permit or admit

any third party to the use of all or any portion of

the subject trackage, nor under the guise of doing

its own business, contract or make any agreement

to handle as its own trains, locomotives, cabooses

or cars of any third party which in the normal

course of business would not be considered the

trains, locomotives, cabooses or cars of B&P;

provided however, that the foregoing shall not

prevent B&P, pursuant to a run-through agreement

with any railroad, from using the locomotives and

cabooses of another railroad as its own under the

trackage rights agreement.

3On November 20, 1997, Samuel J. Nasca, on

behalf of United Transportation Union-New York

State Legislative Board, filed a petition to reject the

notice of exemption, or to revoke the exemption,

and/or for stay of the effective date of the

exemption pending disposition of the request for

rejection or revocation. The petition will be

addressed in a separate decision.

region with two major employment

destinations: the Naval Base Norfolk

and Norfolk’s Central Business District.

The emergence of new activity centers

along the corridor within the last fifteen

years has created new commuting

patterns and additional demands on

transportation facilities.

In response to this need, TRT has

completed a Major Investment Study

(MIS) for the Norfolk-Virginia Beach

corridor. The results of the MIS study

resulted in a preferred alternative of a

light rail transit system with limited

stops along the corridor, and includes

stations, park and ride lots, and transit

centers. Transit improvements are

intended to alleviate traffic congestion

in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach corridor

and help achieve regional air quality

goals by providing an alternative to the

single occupant vehicle.

III. Alternatives

The transportation alternatives

proposed for consideration in this

project area include: (1) No-Build,

which involves no change to

transportation services or facilities in

the corridor beyond already committed

projects, (2) a Transportation System

Management (TSM) alternative which

consists of low to medium cost

improvements to the facilities and

operations of the TRT bus system in

addition to the currently planned transit

improvements in the corridor, and (3) a

new light rail alignment (including line,

station locations and support facilities)

generally following the existing Norfolk

Southern rail corridor between Norfolk

and Virginia Beach and on surface

streets in Downtown Norfolk and to the

Virginia Beach Pavilion, and a modified

bus service component.

IV. Probable Effects

The FTA and TRT will evaluate all

significant environmental, social, and

economic impacts of the alternatives

analyzed in the EIS. Primary

environmental issues include: Land use

and neighborhood protection, traffic and

parking, visual, noise and vibration,

safety, aesthetics, stormwater

management, archaeological, historic,

cultural and ecological resources,

wildlife corridors. Impacts on natural

areas, rare and endangered species, air

and water quality, groundwater, and

potentially contaminated sites will also

be studied. Displacements and

relocations, ecosystems, water

resources, hazardous waste, parklands,

and energy impacts will be assessed.

The impacts will be evaluated both for

the construction period and for the longterm period of operation of each

alternative. Measures to mitigate any

significant adverse impacts will be

developed.

V. FTA Procedures

In accordance with the federal

transportation planning regulations (23

CFR Part 450), the Draft EIS will be

prepared to include an evaluation of the

social, economic and environmental

impact of the alternatives. The DEIS will

consider the public and agency

comments received and the TRT in

concert with the Secretary of the

Virginia Department of Rail and Public

Transportation and Hampton Roads

Metropolitan Planning Organization and

other affected agencies, will select the

preferred alternative. Then the TRT, as

lead agency, will continue with the

preparation of the Final EIS.

Opportunity for additional public

comment will be provided throughout

all phases of project development.

Issued: December 1, 1997.

Sheldon A. Kinbar,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–31803 Filed 12–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33514]

Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, Inc.—

Trackage Rights Exemption—

Consolidated Rail Corporation

Consolidated Rail Corporation

(Conrail) has agreed to grant bridge

trackage rights to Buffalo & Pittsburgh

Railroad, Inc. (B&P), described as

follows: (1) Conrail’s Olean Secondary

between the B&P/Conrail connection at

milepost 408.8± at Carrollton, NY, and

milepost 395.0± at Olean, NY, the

connection with Conrail’s Buffalo Line,

including that portion of Conrail’s track

known as the North West Connection

Track (connection between Conrail’s

Olean Secondary and its Buffalo Line),

a distance of approximately 13.8 miles;

(2) Conrail’s Buffalo Line between

milepost 69.4± at CP North Olean, and

milepost 5.7± CP–GJ, a distance of

approximately 63.7 miles; (3) Conrail’s

Ebenezer Secondary between milepost

5.7± (connection with Conrail’s Buffalo

Line) and milepost 0.4± (connection

with Conrail’s Chicago Line, within CP–

Draw), a distance of approximately 5.3

miles; (4) Conrail’s Chicago Line

between milepost 1.7± (connection with

Conrail’s Ebenezer Secondary) and

milepost 1.77± (connection with B&P), a

distance of approximately 0.07 of a

mile; and (5) Conrail’s Transco Wye in

Buffalo, NY, between milepost 1.9±

(Erie) on Conrail’s Ebenezer Secondary

and the end of Conrail’s Transco Wye

(connection with Conrail’s Bison

Runner), a distance of approximately 0.6

of a mile.1 The total combined distance

of the trackage rights is approximately

83.47 miles.2

B&P was expected to commence

operations on or after the November 24,

1997 effective date.3

The purpose of the proposed trackage

rights is to allow B&P to shift overhead

traffic from a roughly parallel line that

is in need of rehabilitation.

As a condition to this exemption, any

employees affected by the trackage

rights will be protected by the

conditions imposed in Norfolk and

Western Ry. Co.—Trackage Rights—BN,

354 I.C.C. 605 (1978), as modified in

Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.—Lease and

Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653 (1980). This

notice is filed under 49 CFR

1180.2(d)(7). If the notice contains false

or misleading information, the

exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to

revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C.

10502(d) may be filed at any time. The

filing of a petition to revoke will not

automatically stay the transaction.

An original and 10 copies of all

pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 33514, must be filed with

the Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each

pleading must be served on: Eric M.

Hocky, Esquire, Gollatz, Griffin &