Document ID: FRA-2009-0031-0048
Agency: fra
Document Type: Rule
Title: Environmental Impact Statements; Availability, etc.: Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Improvements Studies
Posted Date: 2011-01-04T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 414-415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-33146]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement for the Los Angeles to San 
Luis Obispo (LOSSAN North) Rail Corridor Improvements Studies: Los 
Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties, California

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that FRA with 
the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will jointly 
prepare a Tier-1 environmental impact statement (EIS) and a program 
environmental impact report (EIR) for rail corridor improvements to the 
Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN North) rail corridor (LOSSAN 
North Program). FRA is also issuing this notice to solicit public and 
agency input into the development of the scope of the EIR/EIS and to 
advise the public that outreach activities conducted by Caltrans and 
its representatives will be considered in the preparation of the EIR/
EIS. The objective of the Tier-1 EIR/EIS is to evaluate alternatives 
and present thorough environmental analysis to help make corridor level 
decisions regarding the level of intercity passenger rail service 
provided in the corridor, including variations in train frequency, trip 
time, and on-time performance.

DATES: Locations, dates, and start and end times for public meetings 
involving the EIS are listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
Tier-1 environmental review, please contact: Ms. Lea Simpson, Manager, 
California Department of Transportation, Division of Rail, MS 74, PO 
Box 942874, Sacramento, CA 94274-0001, (telephone 916-654-7184) or Ms. 
Melissa Elefante DuMond, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of 
Railroad Policy and Development, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue, SE. (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 20590, (telephone 
202-493-6366).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need

    FRA and Caltrans have determined that improvements to the existing 
LOSSAN North rail corridor are necessary to meet the expected growth in 
population and resulting increases in intercity travel demand between 
Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. As a result of this growth in travel 
demand, their travel delays from the growing congestion on California's 
highways and at airports will increase. In terms of passenger volume, 
the LOSSAN corridor is the second-busiest intercity rail corridor in 
the nation, after the Northeast Corridor connecting Washington DC, New 
York, and Boston. However, rail capacity constraints result in rail 
congestion and travel delays which is compounded by delays related to 
weather conditions, accidents and other factors which collectively 
result in unreliable rail service. In addition, in some cases rail 
infrastructure has not been upgraded or improved in over one hundred 
years. Goals of the project underlying the environmental review include 
increasing the cost-effectiveness of State-supported intercity 
passenger rail systems; increasing the rail capacity on existing 
routes; reduction in running times to attract additional riders and to 
provide a more attractive service; and improvement to the safety of 
State-supported intercity rail service.

Rail Services Along Corridor

    Amtrak uses the LOSSAN rail corridor for the Pacific Surfliner 
Service between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo that is supported by 
Caltrans. Amtrak's Coast Starlight (service between Los Angeles, the 
Bay Area, and Portland/Seattle) also operates on the corridor. The 
Southern California Regional Rail Authority also uses the LOSSAN rail 
corridor for their Metrolink commuter rail service between Los Angeles 
and Ventura. Union Pacific operates freight service along the corridor.

Environmental Review Process

    The EIS/EIR will be developed in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 and the Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR part 1500 et seq.) 
implementing NEPA; the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), 
Division 13, Public Resources Code; and FRA's Procedures for 
Considering Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545; May 26, 1999). The FRA 
and the Caltrans will use a tiered process, as provided for in 40 CFR 
1508.28 and in accordance with FRA Procedures for the completion of the 
environmental review of the LOSSAN North Program.
    ``Tiering'' is a staged environmental review process often applied 
to environmental reviews for complex transportation projects. The 
initial phase (Tier-1 EIS) of this process will

[[Page 415]]

address broad questions and likely environmental effects for the entire 
corridor including, but not limited to, the type of service(s) being 
proposed, including cities and stations served, route alternatives, 
service levels, types of operations (speed, electric, or diesel 
powered), ridership projections, major infrastructure components, and 
identification of major terminal area or facility capacity constraints. 
Subsequent phases or tiers will analyze, at a greater level of detail, 
narrower site-specific proposals based on any decisions made in the 
Tier-1 EIR/EIS.

Alternatives

    Alternatives to be evaluated and analyzed in the Program EIR/EIS 
include a no-action (No-Project or No-Build) scenario and an 
alternative with multiple options that considers the construction of 
incremental, independent passenger rail improvements in the LOSSAN 
North rail corridor. Possible environmental impacts include 
displacement of commercial and residential properties; disproportionate 
impacts to minority and low-income populations; community and 
neighborhood disruption; increased noise and vibration along the rail 
corridor; traffic impacts associated with stations; effects to historic 
properties or archaeological sites; impacts to parks and recreation 
resources; visual quality effects; exposure to seismic and flood 
hazards; impacts to water resources, wetlands, and sensitive biological 
species and habitat; land use compatibility impacts; energy use; and 
impacts to agricultural lands.

No-Build Alternative

    The no action (No-Project or No-Build) alternative is defined to 
serve as the baseline for comparison of all alternatives. The No-Build 
Alternative represents the State's transportation system (highway, air, 
and rail) as it exists, and as it would exist after completion of 
programs or projects currently funded or being implemented. The No-
Build Alternative would draw upon the following sources of information:
     State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
     Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of 
travel.
     Airport plans.
     Passenger rail plans.

Passenger Rail Alternative and Options

    The LOSSAN North Program improvements are incremental, independent 
rail upgrade projects to the LOSSAN corridor. The Passenger Rail 
Alternative will have ``options'' that consider timing of the 
improvements and logical groupings of improvements that reflect likely 
funding scenarios. The upgrade of the LOSSAN rail corridor was 
previously studied in the LOSSAN North Corridor Strategic Plan issued 
in October 2007, which identified major improvements that could be 
undertaken between the Los Angeles Union Station and the San Luis 
Obispo Amtrak Station. The improvements to be discussed in the program 
EIR/EIS may include:
     Track upgrades.
     Curve realignments.
     Siding extensions and upgrades.
     Addition of second main track.
     Grade separations.
     Station and platform upgrades.
     Track realignments.
     Run-through tracks.
     Pedestrian crossing upgrades.
     Installation of Centralized Traffic Control (CTC).

Scoping and Comments

    FRA encourages broad participation in the EIR/EIS process during 
scoping and subsequent review of the resulting environmental document. 
Letters describing the proposed project and soliciting comments were 
sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and appropriate 
railroads. Comments and suggestions are invited from all interested 
agencies and the public at large to insure the full range of issues 
related to the proposed action and all reasonable alternatives are 
addressed and all significant issues are identified. In particular, FRA 
is interested in determining whether there are areas of environmental 
concern where there might be the potential for significant impacts 
identifiable at a program level. Public agencies with jurisdiction are 
requested to advise the FRA and Caltrans of the applicable permit and 
environmental review requirements of each agency, and the scope and 
content of the environmental information that is germane to the 
agency's statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed 
improvements.
    Scoping meetings will be advertised locally and are planned for the 
following major cities along the LOSSAN North rail corridor at the 
dates and times indicated:
     Los Angeles: January 10, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; Los Angeles 
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Headquarters--
Board Room One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA.
     Ventura: January 11, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; Camarillo 
Public Library, 4101 Las Posas Road, Camarillo, CA 93010.
     Santa Barbara: January 12, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; Louise 
Lowry Davis Center, Lu Gilbert Room, 1232 De La Vina St., Santa 
Barbara, CA, 93101.
     San Luis Obispo: January 13, 2011; 5 through 7 PM; San 
Luis Obispo City/County Public Library, Community Room, 995 Palm 
Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
    Persons interested in providing comments on the scope of the Tier-1 
EIR/EIS should do so by February 3, 2011. Comments can be sent in 
writing to Ms. Melissa Elefante DuMond at the FRA address identified 
above. Comments may also be addressed to Ms. Lea Simpson of Caltrans at 
their address identified above. Information regarding the environmental 
review process and technical studies will be made available through 
Caltrans' rail services Internet site: http://www.amtrakcalifornia.com/.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 28, 2010.
Karen Rae,
Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-33146 Filed 1-3-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P