Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2001 / Notices 32867

the public and agency comments

received, a locally preferred alternative

will be selected, to be further detailed

in the final EIS.

Issued on: June 13, 2001.

Letitia Thompson,

Regional Administrator, TRO–II, Federal

Transit Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–15328 Filed 6–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Major Investment Study/Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Northern Branch Corridor, Bergen

County, New Jersey

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration

(FTA)

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a

major investment study/draft

environmental impact statement (MIS/

DEIS).

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) and the New

Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ

TRANSIT) intend to prepare a Major

Investment Study/Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (MIS/DEIS) to study

transportation access improvements

along the Northern Branch corridor in

Bergen County, New Jersey. The MIS/

DEIS is being prepared in accordance

with the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, and

implemented by the Council on

Environmental Quality (CEQ)

regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),

the FTA/Federal Highway

Administration’s Environmental Impact

regulations (23 CFR part 771), and the

FTA/FHWA Statewide Planning/

Metropolitan Planning regulations (23

CFR part 450). This study will also

comply with the requirements of the

National Historic Preservation Act of

1966, as amended, section 4(f) of the

1966 U.S. Department of Transportation

Act, the 1990 Clean Air Act

Amendments, the Executive Order

12898 on Environmental Justice, and

other applicable rules, regulations, and

guidance documents.

The purpose of the Northern Branch

Corridor MIS/DEIS is to examine

solutions for improving mobility in

Bergen County, New Jersey and to

document the social, economic, and

environmental impacts of implementing

identified study alternatives. The MIS/

DEIS will identify a preferred

alternative that will improve mobility

within that region. The MIS/DEIS will

evaluate Baseline Alternative and a

Build Alternative. The Build Alternative

under consideration was selected as a

result of the findings of the West Shore

Region Alternatives Analysis Report

(December 1999). The Alternatives

Analysis Report recommended an

alternative for advancement to the MIS/

DEIS phase of the project made up of

the following components: West Shore

corridor commuter rail service via the

Meadowlands Sports Complex;

Northern Branch corridor light rail

service via Hudson Bergen Light Rail

Transit (HBLRT); and NYS&W corridor

light rail service via HBLRT. All three

of these proposed new rail services

would involve construction of new

transportation infrastructure, including

tracks, stations and yards. This MIS/

DEIS will examine the Northern Branch

corridor light rail service via HBLRT.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written

comments on the scope of the MIS/DEIS

should be sent to NJ TRANSIT by

August 15, 2001. See ADDRESSES below.

Scoping Meeting: Public scoping

meetings for the Northern Branch

Corridor MIS/DEIS will be held on:

• Wednesday, July 11, 2001

3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.,

John Harms Center for the Arts,

Theater 30 North Van Brunt Street,

Englewood, New Jersey 07631.

Registration to speak will begin at

2:30 p.m. and will remain open until

4:30 for the afternoon session;

registration to speak will begin at 6:30

p.m. and will remain open until 8:30

p.m. for the evening session. The

scoping meeting will conclude at 4:30

p.m. and 8:30 p.m., respectively, if there

are no remaining registered speakers.

People with special needs should

contact Joseph Lombardi at NJ TRANSIT

at the address below or call the study

toll-free information line at 1–866–658–

9874. The buildings are accessible to

people with disabilities. A sign language

interpreter will be made available for

the hearing impaired by calling the

study toll-free information line at 1–

866–658–9874.

Scoping material will be available at

the meetings and may also be obtained

in advance of the meetings by

contacting Joseph Lombardi at the

address below or by calling the study

toll-free information line above. Oral

and written comments may be given at

the scoping meetings; a stenographer

will record all comments.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

project scope should be sent to Joseph

Lombardi, Project Manager, NJ

TRANSIT, One Penn Plaza East,

Newark, NJ 07105–2246. The scoping

meetings will be held at the locations

identified above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If

you wish to be placed on the mailing

list to receive further information as the

study develops, contact Joseph

Lombardi at the above address or call

the study toll-free information line at 1–

866–658–9874. For further information,

you may also contact: Mr. Irwin B.

Kessman, Director, Office of Planning

and Program Development, Federal

Transit Administration, Region II, One

Bowling Green, Room 429, New York,

New York, 10004–1415; phone: 212–

668–2170, fax: 212–668–2136.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

The FTA and NJ TRANSIT invite all

interested individuals and

organizations, and federal, state, and

local agencies to provide comments on

the scope of the study. During the

scoping process, comments should

focus on identifying specific social,

economic, or environmental issues to be

evaluated and suggesting alternatives,

which may be less costly or have less

environmental impacts, while achieving

the similar transportation objectives.

Comments should focus on the issues

and alternatives for analysis and not on

a preference for a particular alternative.

Scoping materials will be available at

the meetings or in advance of the

meetings by contacting Joseph Lombardi

at NJ TRANSIT, as indicated above. The

Northern Branch Corridor MIS/DEIS

will be closely coordinated with major

regional initiatives and studies that are

related to this effort, including:

• Secaucus Transfer Station, a NJ

TRANSIT project currently under

construction that will create a

connection between the existing Main,

Bergen County, and Pascack Valley

Lines with the Northeast Corridor Line,

improving access to Midtown

Manhattan and other destinations;

• Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit

(HBLRT), a NJ TRANSIT project

currently under construction that will

create a new light rail line operating

from the Vince Lombardi Park-and-Ride

to Bayonne. The initial segment in

Jersey City and Bayonne opened in

April 2000;

• Newark Airport Station/Monorail

Extension, a NJ TRANSIT project

currently under construction that will

connect the Northeast Corridor Line and

the Newark Airport Monorail;

• West Shore Corridor DEIS, a study

by NJ TRANSIT that will examine the

potential benefits, costs, and impacts of

alternatives for improving access in the

West Shore study area, including a

potential commuter rail service via the

Meadowlands Sports Complex;

32868 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2001 / Notices

• Bergen—Passaic Cross County

Corridor DEIS, a study by NJ TRANSIT

that will examine the potential benefits,

costs, and impacts of alternatives for

improving access in the NYS&W study

area, including a potential light rail

service via the Hudson Bergen Light

Rail;

• West Haverstraw Extension Study, a

study by Rockland County and NJ

TRANSIT examining the potential to

extend the West Shore Commuter Rail

service to West Haverstraw, New York;

• Access to the Region’s Core Study

(ARC), a joint study by NJ TRANSIT,

Port Authority of New York and New

Jersey, and the Metropolitan

Transportation Authority (MTA). The

ARC study continues to study access to

Midtown Manhattan from points east

and west;

• Penn Station Access MIS/DEIS, a

study by Metro-North to examine

improving access to Penn Station to/

from the Metro-North service area; and

• Conrail/CSX/Norfolk Southern

Merger, a change in the ownership of

the freight network, dividing the former

Conrail holdings between CSX and

Norfolk Southern.

Following the public scoping process,

public outreach activities will include

meetings with a Community Liaison

Committee (CLC) established for the

study and comprised of community

leaders; public meetings and hearings;

distribution of study newsletter(s); and

use of other outreach mechanisms.

Every effort will be made to ensure that

the widest possible range of public

participants has the opportunity to

attend general public meetings (e.g.,

scoping meetings and public hearing(s))

held by NJ TRANSIT to solicit input on

the Northern Branch Corridor MIS/

DEIS. Attendance will be sought

through mailings, notices,

advertisements, and press releases.

II. Description of Study Area and

Transportation Needs

The study area includes the Northern

Branch corridor, through Fairview,

Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia,

Englewood, and Tenafly in New Jersey.

The purpose of the Northern Branch

MIS/DEIS is to examine solutions for

addressing mobility issues in Bergen

County, New Jersey, and to identify a

preferred alternative that will improve

mobility within that region. The MIS/

DEIS will be conducted in coordination

with other major network expansion

proposals under study or construction

within the region. The MIS/DEIS will

examine and document the social,

economic, and environmental impacts

of implementing identified study

alternatives.

Provision of new transportation

service in the Northern Branch Corridor

would address:

• Commuting to New York City

(trans-Hudson), from Bergen County;

• Inter- and intra-corridor

commuting, both to employment centers

within the study corridors, and from the

study corridors to employment locations

in other areas of New Jersey; and,

• Non-work trips including business,

shopping, recreational, and education to

New York City, within the corridor, and

to destinations outside the corridor in

New Jersey.

III. Alternatives

The alternatives proposed for

evaluation include:

(1) The Baseline Alternative, which

includes no-build conditions, plus any

cost-effective transit improvements that

can be implemented, short of the

proposed new start alternative. The nobuild conditions involve the current

infrastructure of highways, trains, and

bus services, in addition to all ongoing,

committed and funded roadway and

transit projects outlined in the State

Transportation Improvement Program

(STIP) including projects under

construction such as the Secaucus

Transfer Station and the Hudson-Bergen

Light Rail Transit (HBLRT). Transit

improvements lower in cost than the

proposed new start alternative were also

identified for inclusion in the Baseline

Alternative, including a bus component,

from Bergen County to the East

Midtown Manhattan.

(2) The Build Alternative, Northern

Branch light rail service via HBLRT. The

Build Alternative will involve

construction of new transportation

infrastructure, including tracks, stations

and yards. Additional reasonable Build

alternatives suggested during the

scoping process, including those

involving other modes, may be

considered.

IV. Probable Effects

The FTA and NJ TRANSIT will

evaluate all potential changes to the

social, economic, and physical

environment, including air quality,

noise and vibration, traffic, parking,

transit, pedestrians and freight rail,

energy and potential for conservation,

electric and magnetic fields, safety and

security, water quality, wetlands,

flooding, navigable waterways and

coastal zones, ecologically sensitive

areas, endangered species, hazardous

waste, land acquisition and

displacements, land use, zoning and

economic development, consistency

with local plans, historic properties and

resources, parkland, archaeology,

aesthetics, community disruption,

environmental justice, construction

impacts, and cumulative impacts. Key

areas of environmental concern would

be in the areas of potential new

construction (e.g. new stations, new

track, etc.). The impacts will be

evaluated both for the construction

period and for the long-term period of

operation of each alternative. Measures

to mitigate any significant adverse

impacts will be identified.

V. FTA Procedures

The DEIS will be prepared in

conjunction with a major investment

study and will document the results of

that study, including an evaluation of

the potential social, economic, and

environmental impacts of the

alternatives. Upon completion, the MIS/

DEIS will be available for public and

agency review and comment. Public

hearing(s) will be held within the study

area. On the basis of the MIS/DEIS and

the public and agency comments

received, a locally preferred alternative

will be selected, to be further detailed

in the final EIS.

Issued on: June 13, 2001.

Letitia Thompson,

Regional Administrator, TRO–II, Federal

Transit Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–15329 Filed 6–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Major Investment Study/Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for

the West Shore Corridor, Bergen

County, New Jersey and Rockland

County, New York

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration

(FTA).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a

Major Investment Study/Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (MIS/

DEIS).

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) and the New

Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ

TRANSIT) intend to prepare a Major

Investment Study/Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (MIS/DEIS) to study

transportation access improvements

along the West Shore corridor in Bergen

County, New Jersey and Rockland

County, New York. The MIS/DEIS is

being prepared in accordance with the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (NEPA), as amended, and

implemented by the Council on

Environmental Quality (CEQ)