Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed Train Project From Merced to Bakersfield, CA, 11172-11174 [E9-5579]

Agencies

• Federal Railroad Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 49 (Monday, March 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11172-11174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5579]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed 
Train Project From Merced to Bakersfield, CA

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to advise the public that FRA and the 
California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will jointly prepare a 
project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and project Environmental 
Impact Report (EIR) for the Merced-to-Bakersfield section of the 
Authority's proposed California High-Speed Train (HST) System in 
compliance with relevant State and Federal laws, in particular the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
    In 2001, the Authority and FRA started a tiered environmental 
review process for the HST system and in 2005, completed the first tier 
California High Speed Train Program EIR/EIS and approved the statewide 
HST system for intercity travel in California between the major 
metropolitan centers of Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area in 
the north, through the Central Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in 
the south. The approved HST system would be about 800-miles long, with 
electric propulsion and steel-wheel-on-steel-rail trains capable of 
operating speeds of 220 miles per hour (mph) on a dedicated system of 
fully grade-separated, access-controlled steel tracks and with state-
of-the-art safety, signaling, communication, and automated train 
control systems. In approving the HST system, the Authority and FRA 
also selected preferred corridor alignments and station location 
options throughout most of the system. In 2008, the Authority and FRA 
completed a second program EIR/EIS to evaluate alignments and station 
locations within the broad corridor between and including the Altamont 
Pass and the Pacheco Pass to connect the Bay Area and Central Valley 
portions of the HST system. The Authority and FRA selected the Pacheco 
Pass with San Francisco and San Jose termini network alternative, as 
well as preferred corridor alignments and station location options. The 
selected alignment uses the Union Pacific (UPRR) railroad corridor 
through the portion of the Central Valley from just north of Madera to 
just south of Stockton and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) 
alignment from Madera to Bakersfield, as selected with the Statewide 
Program EIR/EIS.
    The preparation of the Merced to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS 
will involve development of preliminary engineering designs and 
assessment of environmental effects associated with the construction, 
operation, and maintenance of the HST system, including track, 
ancillary facilities and stations, along the preferred alternative 
corridors from Merced to Bakersfield.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the Merced to Bakersfield HST 
Project EIR/EIS should be provided to the Authority by April 10, 2009. 
Public scoping meetings are scheduled from March 18, 2009 to March 26, 
2009, as noted below in the cities of Merced, Madera, Fresno, Visalia, 
and Bakersfield.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope should be sent to Ms. Carrie 
Pourvahidi, Deputy Director, ATTN. Merced to Bakersfield, California 
High-Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 
95814, or via e-mail with subject line ``Merced to Bakersfield HST'' 
to: comments@hsr.ca.gov. Comments may also be provided orally or in 
writing at the scoping meetings scheduled as follows:
     March 18, 2009: Merced Community Senior Center, from 3 
p.m. to 7 p.m.
     March 19, 2009: Madera County Fairgrounds, 1850 West 
Cleveland Avenue, Madera, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
     March 24, 2009: Visalia Convention Center, 303 E. Acequia 
Avenue, Visalia, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
     March 25, 2009: Fresno Convention Center (Exhibit Hall), 
848 M Street, Fresno, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
     March 26, 2009: Rabobank Theater, 1001 Truxtun Avenue, 
Bakersfield, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Valenstein, Environmental 
Program Manager, Office of Railroad Development, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE. (Mail Stop 20), Washington, 
DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 493-6368, or Ms. Carrie Pourvahidi, 
Telephone: (916) 324-1541 at the above noted address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Authority was established in 1996 and is 
authorized and directed by statute to undertake the planning and 
development of a proposed statewide HST network that is fully 
coordinated with other public transportation

[[Page 11173]]

services. The Authority adopted a Final Business Plan in June 2000, 
which reviewed the economic feasibility of an 800-mile-long HST capable 
of operating speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour on a dedicated, 
fully grade-separated state-of-the-art track. The Authority released an 
updated Business Plan in November 2008.
    The FRA has responsibility for oversight of the safety of railroad 
operations, including the safety of any proposed high-speed ground 
transportation system. For the proposed HST, it is anticipated that FRA 
would need to take certain regulatory actions prior to operation.
    In 2005, the Authority and FRA completed a Final Program EIR/EIS 
for the Proposed California High Speed Train System (Statewide Program 
EIR/EIS), as the first phase of a tiered environmental review process. 
The Authority certified the Final Program EIR under CEQA and approved 
the proposed HST System, and FRA issued a Record of Decision under NEPA 
on the Final Program EIS. This statewide program EIR/EIS established 
the purpose and need for the HST system, analyzed an HST system, and 
compared it with a No Project/No Action Alternative and a Modal 
Alternative. In approving the statewide program EIR/EIS, the Authority 
and FRA selected the HST Alternative, selected certain corridors/
general alignments and general station locations for further study, 
incorporated mitigation strategies and design practices, and specified 
further measures to guide the development of the HST system at the 
site-specific project level of environmental review to avoid and 
minimize potential adverse environmental impacts. In the subsequent Bay 
Area to Central Valley HST Final Program EIR/EIS, the Authority and FRA 
selected the Pacheco Pass alternative, via Henry Miller Road, as the 
preferred alternative to connect the Bay Area to the Central Valley.
    The Merced to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will tier from the 
Final Statewide Program EIR/EIS and the Final Bay Area to Central 
Valley HST Program EIR/EIS in accordance with Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) regulations, (40 CFR 1508.28) and State CEQA Guidelines 
(14 C.C.R. 15168[b]). Tiering will ensure that the Merced to 
Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS builds upon all previous work prepared 
for and incorporated in the Statewide Program EIR/EIS and the Bay Area 
to Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS.
    This Project EIR/EIS will describe site-specific environmental 
impacts, will identify specific mitigation measures to address those 
impacts and will incorporate design practices to avoid and minimize 
potential adverse environmental impacts. The FRA and the Authority will 
assess the site characteristics, size, nature, and timing of proposed 
site-specific projects to determine whether the impacts are potentially 
significant and whether impacts can be avoided or mitigated. This 
project EIR/EIS will identify and evaluate reasonable and feasible 
site-specific alignment alternatives, and evaluate the impacts from 
construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST system. Information 
and documents regarding this HST environmental review process will be 
made available through the Authority's Internet site: https://
www.cahighspeedrail.gov/.
    Purpose and Need: The purpose of the proposed HST system is to 
provide a new mode of high-speed intercity travel that would link major 
metropolitan areas of the State; interface with international airports, 
mass transit, and highways; and provide added capacity to meet 
increases in intercity travel demand in California in a manner 
sensitive to and protective of California's unique natural resources. 
The need for a HST system is directly related to the expected growth in 
population, and increases in intercity travel demand in California over 
the next twenty years and beyond. With the growth in travel demand, 
there will be an increase in travel delays arising from the growing 
congestion on California's highways and at airports. In addition, there 
will be negative effects on the economy, quality of life, and air 
quality in and around California's metropolitan areas from a 
transportation system that will become less reliable as travel demand 
increases. The intercity highway system, commercial airports, and 
conventional passenger rail serving the intercity travel market are 
currently operating at or near capacity, and will require large public 
investments for maintenance and expansion to meet existing demand and 
future growth.
    Alternatives: The Merced to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will 
consider a No Action or No Project Alternative and an HST Alternative 
for the Merced to Bakersfield section.
    No Action Alternative: The No Action Alternative (No Project or No 
Build) represents the conditions in the corridor as it existed in 2007, 
and as it would exist based on programmed and funded improvements to 
the intercity transportation system and other reasonably foreseeable 
projects through 2035, taking into account the following sources of 
information: State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Regional 
Transportation Plans (RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport plans, 
intercity passenger rail plans, city and county plans.
    HST Alternative: The Authority proposes to construct, operate and 
maintain an electric-powered steel-wheel-on-steel-rail HST system, 
about 800 miles long, capable of operating speeds of 220 mph on 
dedicated, fully graded-separated tracks, with state-of-the-art safety, 
signaling, and automated train control systems. As part of the Bay Area 
to Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS, the Authority and FRA selected 
the Union Pacific (UPRR) railroad alignment through the portion of the 
Central Valley from just north of Madera to just south of Stockton as 
the preferred alternative. This Project EIR/EIS will also evaluate the 
BNSF railroad alignment in this part of the Central Valley because of 
the uncertainty of negotiating with the UPRR for some of their right-
of-way and will continue investigation of alignments/linkages to a 
potential maintenance facility at Castle AFB. The BNSF alignment from 
Madera to Bakersfield was selected as the preferred alignment for this 
portion of the Central Valley in the Statewide Program EIR/EIS. As 
defined in the Statewide Program EIR/EIS, this alignment would utilize 
the UPRR corridor through the urban area of Fresno, and would require a 
new high-speed alignment around the city of Hanford. Alignment 
alternatives will also be evaluated to serve a potential station in the 
Visalia/Hanford/Tulare area. The HST would operate in this area at 
speeds up to 220 mph on tracks separate from the existing BNSF and UP 
tracks. Further engineering studies to be undertaken as part of this 
EIR/EIS process will examine and refine alignments in the BNSF and UP 
corridors. The entire alignment would be grade separated from existing 
roadways. In addition, alternative sites for right-of-way maintenance, 
train storage facilities and a heavy maintenance and repair facility 
will be evaluated in the Merced to Bakersfield HST project area.
    The three preferred station locations selected by the Authority and 
FRA through the Bay Area to Central Valley HST Final Program-Level EIR/
EIS will be evaluated in the Merced to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS. 
These stations are downtown Merced, downtown Fresno, and downtown 
Bakersfield. Alternative station sites at or near the selected station 
locations may be identified and evaluated. A potential HST station to 
serve the

[[Page 11174]]

Visalia/Hanford/Tulare area will also be evaluated in this Project EIR/
EIS.
    Probable Effects: The purpose of the EIR/EIS process is to explore 
in a public setting the effects of the proposed project on the 
physical, human, and natural environment. The FRA and the Authority 
will continue the tiered evaluation of all significant environmental, 
social, and economic impacts of the construction and operation of the 
HST system. Impact areas to be addressed include transportation 
impacts; safety and security; land use and zoning; land acquisition, 
displacements, and relocations; agricultural land impacts; cumulative 
and secondary impacts; cultural resource impacts, including impacts on 
historical and archaeological resources and parklands/recreation areas; 
neighborhood compatibility and environmental justice; and natural 
resource impacts including air quality, wetlands, water resources, 
noise, vibration, energy, wildlife and ecosystems, including endangered 
species. Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts will 
be identified and evaluated.
    The Merced to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will be prepared in 
accordance with FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts 
(64 FR 28545 [May 26, 1999]) and will address not only NEPA and CEQA 
but will also address as necessary other applicable statutes, 
regulations, and executive orders, including the Clean Air Act, Section 
404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act of 1966, Section 4(f) of the Department of 
Transportation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and Executive Order 
12898 on Environmental Justice.
    This EIR/EIS process will also continue the NEPA/Clean Water Act 
Section 404 integration process established through the Statewide 
Program EIR/EIS process. The EIR/EIS will evaluate project alignment 
alternatives, and station and maintenance facility locations to support 
a determination of the Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable 
Alternative (``LEDPA'') by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    Scoping and Comments: FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS 
process during scoping and review of the resulting environmental 
documents. Comments are invited from all interested agencies and the 
public to ensure the full range of issues related to the proposed 
action and 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 a 
potential for significant site-specific impacts. Public agencies with 
jurisdiction are requested to advise FRA and the Authority 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 project. Public agencies are requested to advise FRA if 
they anticipate taking a major action in connection with the proposed 
project and if they wish to cooperate in the preparation of the Project 
EIR/EIS. Public scoping meetings have been scheduled as an important 
component of the scoping process for both the State and Federal 
environmental review. The scoping meetings described in this Notice 
will also be the subject of additional public notification.
    FRA is seeking participation and input of all interested Federal, 
State, and local agencies, Native American groups, and other concerned 
private organizations or individuals on the scope of the EIR/EIS. 
Implementation of the Merced to Bakersfield section of the HST system 
is a Federal undertaking with the potential to affect historic 
properties. As such, it is subject to the requirements of section 106 
of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470f). In 
accordance with regulations issued by the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation, 36 CFR part 800, FRA intends to coordinate compliance 
with section 106 of this Act with the preparation of the EIR/EIS, 
beginning with the identification of consulting parties through the 
scoping process, in a manner consistent with the standards set out in 
36 CFR 800.8.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2009.
Ray LaHood,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation.
 [FR Doc. E9-5579 Filed 3-13-09; 8:45 am]
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