[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27782-27784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13438]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Urban Rail Project 
Between the Fullerton Transportation Center and Irvine Transportation 
Center, Orange County, CA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as lead agency, and 
the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) intend to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) on a proposal by OCTA to 
further study the proposed implementation of an urban rail system 
within a corridor 45 kilometers (28 miles) long and 9.7 kilometers (6 
miles) wide between the Cities of Fullerton and Irvine, known as the 
Orange County Urban Rail (Urban Rail) Project. In addition to NEPA, the 
proposed project is subject to compliance with the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), therefore, a joint Environmental 
Impact Report (EIR)/EIS will be prepared.
    The EIR/EIS will evaluate the following alternatives: 1) The Local 
Preferred Strategy (LPS) Alignment Alternative. This alternative would 
follow the alignment identified in the Priority Corridor Major 
Investment Study, June 1997, on an elevated guideway. 2) A Lower Cost 
Alternative (LCA). This alternative would connect the Fullerton and 
Irvine Transportation Centers and would serve many of the activity 
centers in the Corridor along a route which minimizes the distance and 
number of freeway crossings. The system would be primarily at grade on 
local streets. 3) A No Build Alternative, which involves no change to 
transportation services or facilities in the corridor beyond already 
committed projects. Potential new feasible alternatives generated 
through the scoping process will also be considered.
    Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested

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persons, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies; and one 
public scoping meeting

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives 
and impacts to be considered should be submitted by June 22, 1998. 
Written comments should be sent to Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South 
Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863. Written comments may 
also be made at the public scoping meeting scheduled below. Scoping 
Meeting: The public scoping meeting will take place on: Thursday, June 
4, 1998 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Fullerton Senior Center. See 
ADDRESS below.
    People with special needs should contact Cindy Krebs at OCTA at the 
address below or by calling (714) 560-5740. A TDD number is also 
available: (714) 636-4327. The building is accessible to people with 
disabilities.
    The meeting will be held in an ``open-house'' format, and 
representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the 
time periods given. Informational displays and written material will 
also be available throughout the time periods given.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 
550 South Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863. Written 
comments may also be made at the public scoping meting as scheduled 
below. The Scoping Meeting will take place at the following location: 
Thursday, June 4, 1998 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Fullerton Senior 
Center, 340 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main 
Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714) 
560-5794.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    FTA and OCTA invite interested individuals, organizations, and 
Federal, State, and local agencies to participate in defining the 
alternatives to be evaluated in the EIR/EIS and identifying any 
significant social, economic, or environmental issues related to the 
alternatives. An information packet describing the purpose of the 
project, the location, the proposed alternatives, and the impact areas 
to be evaluated is being mailed to affected Federal, State, and local 
agencies. Others may request the scoping materials by contacting Ms. 
Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 
92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714) 560-5794. Scoping comments may be 
made in writing at the public scoping meeting. See the Scoping Meeting 
section above for the location and time. During scoping, comments 
should focus on identifying specific social, economic, or environmental 
impacts to be evaluated and suggesting alternatives that are less 
costly or less environmentally damaging while meeting the identified 
mobility needs. Scoping is not the appropriate time to indicate a 
preference for a particular alternative. Comments on preferences should 
be communicated after the Draft EIR/EIS has been completed. If you wish 
to be placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the 
project develops, contact: Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main 
Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714) 
560-5794.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

    The study area extends from the City of Fullerton in a general 
southward direction through the Cities of Anaheim, Orange, Garden 
Grove, Santa Ana, and Costa Mesa and then eastward to the City of 
Irvine, California. The area is approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) 
long and 9.7 kilometers (6 miles) wide.
    The study corridor contains key activity, employment, and 
transportation facilities in Orange County such as: Fullerton College, 
Downtown Fullerton, Fullerton Transportation Center, Orangefair Mall, 
Downtown Anaheim, Disneyland, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim 
Stadium (Edison Field), Anaheim Amtrak Station, the Arrowhead Pond, the 
City Mills, the St. Joseph Children's Hospital, the Main Place Mall, 
Santa Ana Transportation Center, Downtown Santa Ana, the Federal, 
County and City Civic Center area, South Coast Plaza/Metro, Orange 
Coast College, John Wayne Airport, UCI, the Irvine Spectrum and 
Entertainment Center, and the Irvine Transportation Center.
    This EIR/EIS is the logical next step in transportation planning 
and project development following OCTA's completion of a Major 
Investment Study (MIS) of the mobility needs in the study area. This 
MIS employed a far-reaching public involvement program, continuous 
coordination with affected and interested agencies, and a detailed 
evaluation of a wide range of alternatives to meet the identified 
mobility needs. As the MIS process was mode-neutral in nature, the 
public identified a comprehensive set of bus, road, and urban rail 
alternatives. Detailed analysis at a conceptual engineering level was 
completed for a set of alternatives to identify project cost, 
ridership, cost-effectiveness measurements, and environmental benefits 
and impacts. The results led to the development of a Locally Preferred 
Strategy (LPS) that includes: (1) optimization of the present system 
through expanded bus service and increased Metrolink commuter rail 
service seats and (2) continued study of a light rail system between 
the Fullerton and Irvine Transportation Centers. This EIS focuses on 
the light rail alternative.
    An effective multi-modal transportation network within the project 
study area is necessary to meet the future mobility needs of businesses 
and residents in Orange County. By the year 2020, despite current and 
planned transportation system improvements, the magnitude and nature of 
the County's population and employment growth trends are projected to 
result in continuing transportation challenges in the corridor area as 
evidenced by: increasing travel--approximately 1.8 million more daily 
trips; growing transit-reliant population--doubling of senior 
population; continuing freeway congestion--73 percent of the freeway 
system will operate at 30 m.p.h. or less during morning and evening 
peak periods; increasing arterial congestion--major intersections with 
delay will grow from four percent to 27 percent; and limited travel 
options--congested freeway and street system, and financially 
constrained bus and Metrolink service.

III. Alternatives

    The alternatives proposed for evaluation include: (1) LPS Alignment 
Alternative. This alternative would follow the alignment identified in 
the Priority Corridor Major Investment Study (June, 1997), which 
provided for an elevated guideway from end to end within the arterial 
corridors. The elevated guideway would typically be supported on 
columns within the median. (2) A Lower Cost Alternative (LCA). This 
alternative would connect the Fullerton and Irvine Transportation 
Centers and would serve many of the activity centers in the Corridor 
along a route which minimizes the distance and number of freeway 
crossings. The system would be primarily at grade on local streets. (3) 
A No Build Alternative, which involves no change to transportation 
services or facilities in the corridor beyond already committed 
projects. Potential new feasible alternatives generated through the 
scoping process will also be considered.

IV. Probable Effects

    FTA and OCTA will evaluate, in the EIR/EIS, all significant social, 
economic,

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and environmental impacts of the alternatives. The previous MIS study 
evaluated these impacts at a corridor level of detail for the LPS 
Alternative alignment. These issues will be evaluated at a project 
level of detail in the Draft EIR/EIS. Among the primary transit issues 
to be evaluated are the expected increase in transit ridership, the 
expected increase in mobility for the corridor's transit dependent, the 
support of the region's air quality goals, the capital outlays needed 
to construct the project, the cost of operating and maintaining the 
facilities created by the project, and the financial impacts on the 
funding agencies. Potentially affected environmental and social 
resources proposed for analysis include land use and neighborhood 
impacts, residential and business displacements and relocations, 
traffic and parking impacts near stations, traffic circulation, visual 
impacts, impacts on cultural and archaeological resources, and noise 
and vibration impacts. Impacts on air and water quality, groundwater, 
hazardous waste sites, and water resources will also be covered. The 
impacts will be evaluated both for the construction period and for the 
long-term period of operation. Measures to mitigate significant adverse 
impacts will be considered.

V. FTA Procedures

    The EIR/EIS and the conceptual engineering for the Urban Rail 
project will be prepared simultaneously. The EIR/EIS/conceptual 
engineering process will assess the social, economic, and environmental 
impacts of the proposed alternatives while refining their design to 
minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts. After its publication, the 
Draft EIR/EIS will be available for public and agency review and 
comment, and a public hearing will be held. On the basis on the Draft 
EIR/EIS and comments received, OCTA will select a preferred alternative 
to carry forward into the Final EIR/EIS and complete engineering. 
Following this action by OCTA, OCTA will request FTA authorization to 
proceed with the Final EIS/EIR and complete engineering.

    Issued: May 15, 1998.
Leslie Rogers,
Regional Administrator Federal Transit Administration Region IX.
[FR Doc. 98-13438 Filed 5-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-U