[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 117 (Monday, June 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32867-32868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15329]


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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).

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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:
    <bullet> 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:
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> Newark Airport Station/Monorail Extension, a NJ TRANSIT 
project currently under construction that will connect the Northeast 
Corridor Line and the Newark Airport Monorail;
    <bullet> 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;

[[Page 32868]]

    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> 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
    <bullet> 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:
    <bullet> Commuting to New York City (trans-Hudson), from Bergen 
County;
    <bullet> 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,
    <bullet> 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 no-build 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