Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 186 / Monday, September 27, 2010 / Notices 59323 

Passenger Rail Program. The Answers to 

Frequently Asked Questions can be 

found on FRA’s Web site at http:// 

www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/11.shtml. 

DATES: Written comments on FRA’s Buy 

America Answers to Frequently Asked 

Questions may be provided to the FRA 

on or before October 18, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit your 

comments by one of the following 

means, identifying your submissions by 

docket number FRA–2010–0147. All 

electronic submissions must be made to 

the U.S. Government electronic site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Commenters should follow the 

instructions below for mailed and handdelivered comments. 

(1) Web Site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the U.S. Government electronic 

docket site; 

(2) Fax: (202) 493–2251; 

(3) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Docket Operations, M–30, 

Room W12–140, Washington, DC, 

20590–0001; or 

(4) Hand Delivery: Room W12–140 on 

the first floor of the West Building, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC, 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

make reference to the ‘‘Federal Railroad 

Administration’’ and include docket 

number FRA–2010–0147. Due to 

security procedures in effect since 

October 2001, mail received through the 

U.S. Postal Service may be subject to 

delays. Parties making submissions 

responsive to this notice should 

consider using an express mail firm to 

ensure the prompt filing of any 

submissions not filed electronically or 

by hand. Note that all submissions 

received, including any personal 

information therein, will be posted 

without change or alteration to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. For more 

information, you may review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (65 FR 19477), or visit http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about this notice, please 

contact Ms. Linda Martin, AttorneyAdvisor, FRA Office of Chief Counsel, 

(202) 493–6062 or via e-mail at 

Linda.Martin@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Passenger Rail Investment and 

Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) 

(Division B of Pub. L. 111–432) 

authorized the appropriation of funds to 

establish several new passenger rail 

grant programs, including capital 

investment grants to support intercity 

passenger rail service (§ 301), highspeed corridor development (§ 501), and 

congestion grants (§ 302). FRA 

consolidated these and other closely 

related programs into the High-Speed 

Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) 

program, as detailed in FRA’s HighSpeed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) 

Interim Guidance (74 FR 29900 (June 

23, 2009)) and as further detailed in a 

second set of HSIPR interim program 

guidance governing the distribution of 

fiscal year 2010 funding (75 FR 38344 

and 38365 (July 1, 2010). Spending 

authorized under PRIIA is subject to the 

Buy America provision of 49 U.S.C. 

24405(a). 

In 2009, President Obama, together 

with Vice President Biden and Secretary 

of Transportation LaHood, articulated a 

new ‘‘Vision for High-Speed Rail in 

America’’ (available on FRA’s Web site). 

The HSIPR program is a component of 

that vision, as is the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), 

which appropriated funds for PRIIAauthorized grant programs. The vision 

includes a goal to bolster American 

passenger rail expertise and resources. 

The Buy America requirements 

reinforce this goal, and aid in 

encouraging a domestic market in the 

rail sector. PRIAA authorized FRA to 

operate the grant programs under 

guidance, prior to the issuance of final 

regulations. FRA is beginning the 

process of implementing regulations to 

govern the application of the Buy 

America statute to all PRIIA-authorized 

spending as part of the HSIPR program. 

As required, the proposed regulation 

will be published in the Federal 

Register for public comment under RIN 

2130–AC23 and docket number FRA– 

2010–0147. In the interim, to aid 

grantees who must immediately apply 

Section 24405(a) to funds granted them 

by FRA, FRA is providing Answers to 

Frequently Asked Questions describing 

its procedures for applying the Buy 

America provision in the HSIPR 

program on its Web site at http:// 

www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/11.shtml. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

22, 2010. 

Mark E. Yachmetz, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad Policy 

and Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24126 Filed 9–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Early Scoping for the Alternatives 

Analysis of the North Corridor Transit 

Project in Metropolitan Seattle 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Early Scoping Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) and the Central 

Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority 

(Sound Transit) issue this early scoping 

notice to advise other agencies and the 

public that they intend to explore 

alternatives for improving transit service 

between Northgate in Seattle and 

Lynnwood, in King and Snohomish 

counties, Washington. The early scoping 

is being conducted within the context of 

the Council on Environmental Quality’s 

regulations for complying with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and is part of a planning 

Alternatives Analysis (AA) required by 

Title 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) 

5309 to analyze the potential for a fixed 

guideway alternative to be implemented 

as an FTA-assisted major capital transit 

investment. The AA process results in 

the selection or confirmation of a locally 

preferred alternative which is the 

proposed action. The early scoping 

notice is intended to invite public 

comments on the scope of the AA study, 

including the transportation problems to 

be addressed, a range of alternatives, the 

transportation and community impacts 

and benefits to be considered, the 

capital and operating costs, the financial 

plans and other factors that the public 

and agencies believe should be 

considered in analyzing alternatives. If 

preparation of an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) is warranted following 

completion of the planning AA, a notice 

of intent to prepare an EIS will be 

published. This early scoping process is 

intended to support the future NEPA 

scoping process. Public meetings and 

the range of alternatives currently 

identified to address the project’s 

purpose are described below. 

DATES: Three public scoping meetings 

and one agency scoping meeting to 

accept comments will be held on the 

following dates and locations: 

Public Meetings 

North Seattle: October 7, 2010. 

Ingraham High School, 1819 N. 135th 

St., Seattle, 98133. 

Lynnwood: October 12, 2010. 

Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 

196th St., SW., Lynnwood, 98036. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
59324 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 186 / Monday, September 27, 2010 / Notices 

Shoreline: October 14, 2010. 

Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st 

Ave., NE., Shoreline, 98155. 

All public meetings will be from 6 to 

8:30 p.m. 

Agency Meeting 

Seattle: October 13, 2010, 1 p.m. to 3 

p.m. Sound Transit offices, 401 S. 

Jackson St., Seattle, 98104. 

Invitations to the interagency scoping 

meeting will be sent to appropriate 

Federal, state, local, and tribal 

governmental units. 

In addition to the supplemental 

information provided below, 

information on the AA will be provided 

at the public meetings, which will also 

provide opportunities for spoken or 

written comments. Information is also 

available on Sound Transit’s Web site 

at: http://www.soundtransit.org/ 

NorthHCT. Written scoping comments 

are requested by October 25, 2010 and 

can be sent or e-mailed to the address 

below, submitted at the public meetings, 

or provided via the online comment 

form available at http:// 

www.soundtransit.org/NorthHCT. 

ADDRESSES: Roger Iwata, North Corridor 

Project, Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson 

Street, Seattle, WA 98104–2826, or by email to roger.iwata@soundtransit.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Witmer, Community Planner, Jackson 

Federal Building, 915 Second Avenue, 

Suite 3142, Seattle, WA 98174; Phone: 

(206) 220–7954; e-mail: 

John.Witmer@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Early Scoping 

As defined by law, alternatives 

analysis (AA) is the first step of the New 

Starts project development process. AA 

is the local forum for evaluating the 

costs, benefits, and impacts of a range of 

transportation alternatives designed to 

address mobility problems and other 

locally-identified objectives in a defined 

transportation corridor, and for 

determining which particular 

investment strategy should be advanced 

for more focused study and 

development. For AA studies which 

may result in the local selection of a 

project eligible for FTA New Starts or 

Small Starts funding, the AA further 

serves as the process for development of 

the technical information necessary to 

support a candidate project’s entry into 

New Starts preliminary engineering. 

Early scoping for the North Corridor 

project is being conducted in support of 

NEPA requirements and in accordance 

with the Council on Environmental 

Quality’s regulations and guidance for 

implementing NEPA. See 40 CFR 1501.2 

through 8, which encourage federal 

agencies to initiate NEPA early in their 

planning processes. Early scoping 

allows the scoping process to begin as 

soon as there is enough information to 

describe the proposal so that the public 

and relevant agencies can participate 

effectively. This is particularly useful in 

situations when a proposed action 

involves a broadly defined corridor with 

an array of modal and alignment 

alternatives under consideration. 

This early scoping notice is intended 

to generate public comments on the 

scope of the planning AA, including the 

purpose and need for the project, a 

range of alternatives, the financial plans, 

and the environmental, transportation 

and community impacts and benefits to 

be considered. 

The North Corridor and the Regional 

Transit System 

The North Corridor is approximately 

eight to nine miles long depending on 

routing. Starting at Northgate in north 

Seattle and ending in Lynnwood, the 

corridor generally follows Interstate 5 

(I–5), which is the major north-south 

route through Washington State and 

serves a large commuter market 

traveling between Snohomish and King 

Counties and the City of Seattle. The 

corridor is within a geographically 

constrained urban area that lies between 

the Puget Sound to the west and Lake 

Washington to the east, which limits 

transportation options. This is one of 

the densest urban areas in the Pacific 

Northwest and comprises one of the 

region’s most productive markets for 

transit. 

Sound Move, the first phase of 

regional transit investments, was 

approved and funded by voters in 1996. 

Sound Transit is now completing the 

development of Sound Move, which 

includes light rail, commuter rail and 

regional express bus infrastructure and 

service, including the Central Link light 

rail system between Northgate, the 

University of Washington, downtown 

Seattle, Tukwila and SeaTac. In 2009, 

Sound Transit began light rail 

operations between downtown Seattle 

and SeaTac. Link light rail north from 

downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill and 

the University of Washington is now 

under construction and is scheduled to 

open in 2016. The final section of 

Central Link light rail from the 

University of Washington to Northgate 

is about to enter final design with 

operation to begin in 2020. 

In 2004, Sound Transit initiated 

planning for the second phase of 

investment to follow Sound Move. This 

work included updating Sound Transit’s 

Long-Range Plan and associated 

environmental review. Following 

several years of system planning work to 

detail, evaluate, and prioritize the next 

round of regional transit system 

expansion, voters in 2008 authorized 

funding for the extension of the regional 

light rail system in the North Corridor 

as part of the Sound Transit 2 (ST2) 

Plan. The ST2 Plan also includes an 

East Link light rail line from downtown 

Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond to the 

east, and from SeaTac to Federal Way to 

the south. 

Transportation Purpose of the North 

Corridor Project 

The purpose of the project is to 

improve transit service from Seattle 

north into Snohomish County by: 

(1) Providing reliable, rapid, and 

efficient two-way, all-day transit service 

of sufficient capacity to meet the 

existing and projected demand between 

the communities and activity centers 

located in the North Corridor and the 

other urban centers in the central Puget 

Sound area by providing a mobility 

alternative to travel on congested 

roadways and improved connections to 

the regional multimodal transportation 

system; 

(2) Supporting North Corridor 

communities’ and the region’s land use, 

transportation and economic 

development vision, which promotes 

the well-being of people and 

communities, ensures economic vitality 

and preserves a healthy environment; 

and 

(3) Supporting the long-range vision, 

goals, and objectives for transit service 

established by Sound Transit’s LongRange Plan for high quality regional 

transit service connecting major activity 

centers in King, Pierce and Snohomish 

counties. 

The project is needed to: 

• Meet the rapidly growing 

transportation needs of the corridor and 

the region’s future residents and 

workers by increasing mobility, access, 

and transportation capacity to and from 

regional growth and activity centers in 

the North Corridor and the rest of the 

region, as called for in the region’s 

adopted plans, including the Puget 

Sound Regional Council’s VISION 2040 

and Transportation 2040, as well as 

related county and city comprehensive 

plans. 

• Address the problems of increasing 

and unreliable travel times for transit 

users in the North Corridor, who are 

now dependent on the corridor’s highly 

congested roadway and high occupancy 

vehicle systems. 

• Address overcrowding facing 

current and future North Corridor 

transit riders due to insufficient 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 186 / Monday, September 27, 2010 / Notices 59325 

capacity of the infrastructure that 

supports the current transit system. 

• Provide an alternative to 

automobile trips on I–5 and SR 99, the 

two primary highways serving the 

corridor, which are unreliable and over 

capacity throughout significant portions 

of the day. 

• Implement the long-range vision for 

regional transit service established by 

Sound Transit’s Long Range Plan, with 

a transit investment that supports 

economic vitality, preserves the 

environment, preserves communities, 

and allows for the further extension of 

regional transit north to Everett. 

• Ensure long-term regional mobility, 

multimodal connectivity, and 

convenience for North Corridor citizens 

and communities, including traveldisadvantaged residents and low 

income and minority populations. 

• Provide the transit infrastructure 

needed to support the development of 

Northgate and Lynnwood as designated 

regional growth centers providing 

housing, employment, public services, 

and multimodal transportation 

connections. 

• Help support the environmental 

and sustainability goals of the state and 

region, including state regulations 

setting goals for reducing annual per 

capita vehicle miles traveled by 2050, in 

accordance with RCW 47.01.440, and 

the reduction of greenhouse gas 

emissions (Limiting Green House Gas 

Emissions, RCW Chapter 702.35). 

Alternatives 

In developing the ST2 Plan, Sound 

Transit defined a light rail alignment 

that helped establish the ridership 

potential and costs for the transit 

improvements in the North Corridor. 

The alignment was assumed to be 

entirely elevated primarily along I–5. 

The project elements included a light 

rail guideway, track, and systems 

extending approximately 8.5 miles 

north from Northgate Station to 

Lynnwood Transit Center. After leaving 

Northgate Station, the alignment 

followed the east side of I–5 to about 

48th Avenue W. in Snohomish County 

and then crossed to the west side of I– 

5 to enter Lynnwood Transit Center. 

Four new stations were anticipated at 

NE. 145th Street, NE. 185th Street, SW., 

236th Street, and the Lynnwood Transit 

Center (terminal station), all sized to 

accommodate 4-car trains. Park-and-ride 

structures of 500 stalls each would be 

provided at NE 145th Street, NE., 185th 

Street, and Lynnwood Transit Center. 

As part of the AA and in accordance 

with FTA guidance for New Start 

projects, Sound Transit will explore 

alternative mode, alignment, station, 

and design configurations for improved 

transit in the North Corridor. All 

alternatives will be compared to a ‘‘NoBuild’’ alternative, which represents the 

future transportation system through the 

year 2030 without North Corridor transit 

improvements, and a Transportation 

Systems Management (TSM) alternative, 

which will examine methods for 

improving transit in the North Corridor 

without a new fixed guideway. Potential 

elements of a TSM alternative could 

include more frequent bus service, new 

or expanded park-and-ride capacity, or 

freeway or arterial transit priority 

improvements. 

Sound Transit is inviting comments 

on the alternative transit modes, 

alignments, station locations, and 

design configurations to be studied, as 

well as comment on proposed 

evaluation measures to be used to 

compare alternatives. Routes that may 

be considered follow portions of State 

Route 99, the Interurban Trail, Interstate 

5 and 15th Avenue NE. The definition 

of these alternatives will reflect a range 

of high and low cost capital 

improvements, including non-guideway 

options which can serve as a ‘‘baseline’’ 

for measuring the merits of higher level 

investments. Measures for evaluating 

the relative merits of alternatives will be 

identified, as will technical 

methodologies for generating the 

information used to support such 

measures; these will typically include 

disciplines such as travel forecasting, 

capital and operations and maintenance 

costing, and environmental and land 

use analyses. Finally, costs, benefits, 

and impacts of each alternative are 

developed and evaluated, funding 

strategies are analyzed, and a locally 

preferred alternative (LPA) is affirmed 

to be advanced for further development. 

At the conclusion of the AA process, 

Sound Transit and the FTA anticipate 

narrowing the range of alternatives for 

further evaluation in a draft 

environmental impact statement (EIS), if 

warranted, potentially including 

identification of a locally preferred 

alternative. If the resulting range of 

alternatives involves the potential for 

significant environmental impacts 

requiring an EIS, a Notice of Intent to 

prepare an EIS will be published in the 

Federal Register, and public and agency 

comment on the scope of the EIS will be 

invited and considered at that time. 

Issued on: September 17, 2010. 

Linda Gehrke, 

Deputy Regional Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24103 Filed 9–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions 

on Proposed Highway in North 

Carolina 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Limitation on Claims 

for Judicial Review of Actions by FHWA 

and Other Federal Agencies. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces actions 

taken by the FHWA and other Federal 

agencies that are final within the 

meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(I)(1). The 

actions relate to a proposed highway 

project, the Monroe Connector/Bypass, 

from US 74 near I–485 in Mecklenburg 

County, North Carolina, to US 74 

between the towns of Wingate and 

Marshville in Union County, North 

Carolina. The Monroe Connector/Bypass 

is also known as State Transportation 

Improvement Program Project R–3329/ 

R–2559. Those actions grant licenses, 

permits, and approvals for the project. 

DATES: By this notice, the FHWA is 

advising the public of final agency 

actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(I)(1). A 

claim seeking judicial review of the 

Federal agency actions on the highway 

project will be barred unless the claim 

is filed on or before March 28, 2011. If 

the Federal law that authorizes judicial 

review of a claim provides a time period 

of less than 180 days for filing such 

claim, then that shorter time period still 

applies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

George Hoops, P.E., Major Projects 

Engineer, Federal Highway 

Administration, 310 New Bern Avenue, 

Suite 410, Raleigh, North Carolina 

27601–1418, Telephone: (919) 747– 

7022; e-mail: george.hoops@dot.gov. 

FHWA North Carolina Division Office’s 

normal business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 

p.m. (Eastern Time). Ms. Jennifer Harris, 

P.E., Director of Planning and 

Environmental Studies, North Carolina 

Turnpike Authority (NCTA), 5400 

Glenwood Avenue, Suite 400, Raleigh, 

North Carolina 27612, Telephone: (919) 

571–3000; e-mail: 

jennifer.harris@ncturnpike.org. NCTA’s 

normal business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 

p.m. (Eastern Time). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that FHWA and other 

Federal agencies have taken final agency 

actions by issuing a Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the following highway project 

in the State of North Carolina: The 

Monroe Connector/Bypass, a 20-mile 

long, multi-lane, fully access-controlled, 

new location toll road. The project is 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES