Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Light Rail Operations and Maintenance Satellite Facility, King and Snohomish Counties, Washington, 57184-57186 [2012-22823]
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57184
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 180 / Monday, September 17, 2012 / Notices
Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102,
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC
20503.
Ms.
Vivian Oliver, Transportation Specialist,
Office of Information Technology,
Operations Division, Department of
Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, West Building
6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone:
202–366–2974; email Address:
vivian.oliver@dot.gov. Office hours are
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Quarterly Report of Class I and
Class II Motor Carriers of Property
(formerly OMB 2139–0002).
OMB Control Number: 2126–0033.
Type of Request: Extension of a
currently-approved information
collection.
Respondents: Class I and Class II
Motor Carriers of Property.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
111 (per year).
Estimated Time per Response: 1.8
hours (27 minutes per quarter).
Expiration Date: September 30, 2012.
Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 200
hours [111 respondents x 1.8 hours to
complete form = 200].
Background: The Quarterly Report of
Class I and Class II Motor Carriers of
Property (Form QFR) is a mandated
reporting requirement for all for-hire
motor carriers (See 49 U.S.C. § 14123
and implementing FMCSA regulations
in 49 CFR part 369). Motor carriers
(including interstate and intrastate)
subject to the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations are classified on the
basis of their gross carrier operating
revenues.1
Under the Financial and Operating
Statistics (F&OS) program, FMCSA
collects balance sheet and income
statement data from Class I and Class II
property carriers along with information
on safety needs, tonnage, mileage,
employees, transportation equipment,
and other related data. FMCSA may also
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
1 For purposes of the Financial and Operating
Statistics (F&OS) program, carriers are classified
into three groups: (1) Class I carriers are those
having annual carrier operating revenues (including
interstate and intrastate) of $10 million or more
after applying the revenue deflator formula as set
forth in Note A of 49 CFR § 369.2; (2) Class II
carriers are those having annual carrier operating
revenues (including interstate and intrastate) of at
least $3 million, but less than $10 million after
applying the revenue deflator formula as set forth
in 49 CFR § 369.2; and (3) Class III carriers are those
having annual carrier operating revenues (including
interstate and intrastate) of less than $3 million
after applying the revenue deflator formula as set
forth in Note A of 49 CFR § 369.2.
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ask carriers to respond to surveys
concerning their operations. The data
and information collected would be
made publicly available, and FMCSA
would use both to determine a motor
carrier’s compliance with the F&OS
program requirements prescribed in
chapter III of title of 49 CFR part 369.
In the past, the former Interstate
Commerce Commission issued these
regulations. Later this authority
transferred to the Secretary on January
1, 1996, by Chapter 141 of the ICC
Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA) (Pub.
L. 104–88, 109 Stat. 803, 893 (Dec. 29,
1995)), now codified at 49 U.S.C. 14123.
On September 30, 1998, the Secretary
delegated and transferred the authority
to administer the F&OS program to the
former Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS), now part of the
Research and Innovative Technology
Administration (RITA).
On September 29, 2004, the Secretary
transferred the responsibility for the
F&OS program from BTS to FMCSA in
the belief that the program was more
aligned with FMCSA’s mission and its
other motor carrier responsibilities (69
FR 51009). On August 10, 2006, the
Secretary published a final rule (71 FR
45740) that transferred and redesignated
certain motor carrier financial and
statistical reporting regulations of BTS,
that were formerly located in chapter XI,
subchapter B of title 49 CFR part 1420,
to FMCSA under chapter III of title 49
CFR part 369.
Public Comments Invited: FMCSA
requests comments on any aspect of this
information collection, including: (1)
Whether the proposed collection is
necessary for FMCSA to perform its
functions; (2) the accuracy of the
estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA
to enhance the quality, usefulness, and
clarity of the collected information; and
(4) ways that the burden could be
minimized without reducing the quality
of the collected information.
Issued on: September 4, 2012.
Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator for Office of
Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2012–22884 Filed 9–14–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for a
Light Rail Operations and Maintenance
Satellite Facility, King and Snohomish
Counties, Washington
Federal Transit Administration,
United States Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement.
AGENCY:
The Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) and the Central
Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority
(Sound Transit) are planning to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for Sound Transit’s proposed new
Light Rail Operations and Maintenance
Satellite Facility (OMSF). The OMSF
would allow Sound Transit to meet
future maintenance and storage needs of
an expanded fleet of light rail vehicles
identified in the Sound Transit 2 (ST2)
Plan. The EIS will be prepared in
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
Washington’s State Environmental
Policy Act (SEPA). This Notice of Intent
initiates scoping for the EIS, invites
interested parties to participate in the
EIS process, provides information about
the preliminary purpose and need for
the proposed transit project, includes
site alternatives being considered for
evaluation in the EIS, and identifies
potential environmental effects to be
considered. The notice invites public
comments on the scope of the EIS and
announces the public scoping meetings
that will be conducted. Alternatives
being considered for evaluation include
a No-Build alternative and five sites
where the OMSF could be built.
DATES: Written comments on the scope
of alternatives and impacts to be
considered in the EIS must be received
no later than October 22, 2012, and
must be sent to Sound Transit as
indicated below. Information about the
proposed project, the Scoping
Information Report, and the EIS process
will be available at two public scoping
meetings (on Oct. 8 and Oct. 11) and
one scoping meeting for tribal and
agency representatives (on Oct. 9) at the
locations described below. Sound
Transit and FTA will accept comments
at those meetings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the
scope of the EIS should be sent to Kent
Hale, Senior Environmental Planner,
Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson Street,
Seattle, WA 98104–2826, or by email to
OMSF@soundtransit.org.
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 180 / Monday, September 17, 2012 / Notices
At the public and agency scoping
meetings, Sound Transit will provide
information on the project along with
opportunities for written comments.
1. October 8, 2012, 4:00 p.m.–6:00
p.m., Highland Community Center,
14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA.
2. October 11, 2012, 5:00 p.m.–7:00
p.m., Lynnwood Convention Center,
3711 196th St. SW., Lynnwood, WA.
3. (Agency and Tribal Meeting)
October 9, 2012, 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.,
Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson Street,
Seattle, WA 98104.
Invitations to the interagency and
tribal scoping meeting have been sent to
appropriate Federal, tribal, state, and
local governmental units. All public
meeting locations are accessible to
persons with disabilities who may also
request materials be prepared and
supplied in alternate formats by calling
Luke Lamon, (206) 903–7469 at least 48
hours in advance of the meeting for
Sound Transit to make necessary
arrangement. Persons who are deaf or
hard of hearing may call (888) 713–6030
TTY. Scoping information as well as
general information is available at:
https://www.soundtransit.org/OMSF. The
scoping period extends to October 22,
2012, or 30 days from the date of this
notice, whichever is later. Written
scoping comments are requested by
October 22, 2012 at the address above,
or they can be submitted at the public
meetings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan
Drais, FTA Environmental Protection
Specialist, phone: (206) 220–4465.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Proposed Project. Sound Transit
is implementing a system-wide
expansion of its Link light rail transit
service as part of the Sound Transit 2
(ST2) Plan of transit investments
approved by the voters in 2008. To
provide the service required by the ST2
Plan, Sound Transit will have to
increase its light rail vehicle fleet to
approximately 180 vehicles by 2023. Its
existing light rail operations and
maintenance facility (OMF), located on
a 25-acre site south of South Forest
Street and west of Airport Way in the
industrial area south of Downtown
Seattle, is configured to serve up to 104
vehicles.
The Purpose of and Need for the
Project. The project’s purpose is to
enable Sound Transit to meet the
maintenance and storage needs of the
expanded fleet of light rail vehicles
identified in the ST2 Plan. ST2’s vehicle
acquisition and delivery schedule
requires additional capacity to be
operational by the end of 2020. The
OMSF project will:
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20:20 Sep 14, 2012
Jkt 226001
• Accommodate expansion of the
Link system to Lynnwood, Overlake and
South King County (Kent or Des
Moines);
• Provide efficient and reliable light
rail service and minimize system
operating costs; and
• Support regional long-range plans,
including the Puget Sound Regional
Council’s (PSRC) VISION 2040 and
Transportation 2040 plans, and Sound
Transit’s Regional Transit Long-Range
Plan.
The project is needed because the
existing OMF site cannot store,
maintain, or deploy the vehicles
associated with the expanded service
called for in the ST2 Plan. Sound
Transit cannot provide reliable service
without adequate maintenance facility
capacity. Approximately 180 vehicles
are needed for the ST2 expansion; the
existing OMF can store only 104
vehicles. Therefore, to implement ST2
the Link system will require more
storage area and greater capacity for
necessary service, maintenance, and
inspection functions. Moreover, the
storage and maintenance facility must
be sited to support efficient and reliable
operations and deployment of vehicles
to serve the entire Link system.
Potential EIS Alternatives. Sound
Transit and FTA are considering several
alternatives for study in the EIS.
Potentially viable sites that meet
minimum requirements of size,
configuration, proximity to the light rail
system, and operational feasibility have
been identified along the Lynnwood
Link Extension and in the East Link
Corridor. FTA and Sound Transit invite
comments on these preliminary
alternatives; public and agency input
received during the scoping period will
help FTA and Sound Transit develop a
range of reasonable alternatives to
evaluate in the Draft EIS.
Lynnwood Link Corridor. One site is
at 52nd Ave and SW 208th St., north of
I–5 and east of 52nd Ave W/Cedar
Valley Road in Lynnwood. It is located
along all of the proposed Lynnwood
Link alignments being evaluated in the
Lynnwood Link Extension Draft EIS.
East Link Corridor. Four potential
sites are on the East Link alignment in
Bellevue: (1) Between the BNSF railway
corridor on the west and 120th Ave. NE
on the east, south of SR 520 and north
of NE 12th St.; (2) south of SR 520 and
north of Northup Way/NE 20th St., east
of 130th Ave. NE and west of 140th Ave.
NE; (3) East of 140th Ave. NE., between
NE 20th St. and NE 24th St., and
southeast of SR 520; and (4) west of
130th Ave. NE., east of 124th Ave. NE.,
and south of Northup Way.
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57185
No-Build Alternative. NEPA requires
consideration of a No-Build Alternative
as a baseline against which to measure
impacts of the action alternatives. It
includes the existing transportation
system plus the transportation
improvements included in PSRC’s
Transportation Improvement Program.
Scope of Environmental Analysis. The
EIS process explores in a public setting
the potentially significant effects of
implementing the proposed action (and
alternatives to the proposed action) on
the physical, human, and natural
environment. Areas of investigation for
this project may include, but might not
be limited to, transportation, land use
and consistency with applicable plans,
land acquisition and displacements,
socioeconomic impacts, park and
recreation resources, historic and
cultural resources, environmental
justice, visual and aesthetic qualities, air
quality, noise and vibration, energy use,
safety and security, and ecosystems,
including threatened and endangered
species. These effects will be evaluated
for both the construction period and the
long-term period of operation. Indirect,
secondary and cumulative impacts will
also be evaluated. The EIS will identify
measures to avoid, minimize, or
mitigate significant adverse impacts.
Roles of Participating Agencies and
the Public. NEPA, and FTA’s own
authorities, call for public involvement
in the EIS process, including: (1)
Invitations to other Federal and nonFederal agencies and Indian tribes that
may have an interest in the proposed
project to become ‘‘cooperating’’ or
‘‘participating agencies,’’ (2)
opportunities for involvement by
agencies and the public in helping to
define the proposed project’s purpose
and need, as well as the range of
alternatives for consideration in the
impact statement, and (3) a plan for
coordinating public and agency
participation in and comment on the
environmental review process.
An invitation to become a
participating agency will be extended to
other Federal and non-Federal agencies
and Indian tribes that may have an
interest in the proposed project. Any
agency or tribe interested in the project
that does not receive such an invitation
should promptly notify the Senior
Environmental Planner identified above
under ADDRESSES.
A draft Coordination Plan for public
and agency involvement is available for
review at the project Web site. It
identifies the project’s coordination
approach and structure, details the
major milestones for agency and public
involvement, and includes an initial list
of interested agencies and organizations.
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57186
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 180 / Monday, September 17, 2012 / Notices
FTA and Sound Transit welcome
comments from interested individuals,
organizations, tribes and agencies.
Comments are invited regarding the
preliminary statement of purpose and
need; the alternatives to be evaluated in
the EIS; and any significant
environmental issues related to the
alternatives. Suggested reasonable
alternatives that meet the project
purpose and need will be seriously
considered. To assist the public during
scoping, Sound Transit has prepared an
Environmental Scoping Information
Report describing the project, potential
site alternatives, potential impact areas
to be evaluated, and the preliminary EIS
schedule. You may request a copy of it
from Luke Lamon, Sound Transit, 401 S.
Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104–2826,
telephone: (206) 903–7469 or email:
luke.lamon@soundtransit.org. It is also
available at https://
www.soundtransit.org/OMSF. After the
comment period, Sound Transit will
publish a summary of the public and
agency comments it received. After
scoping concludes later this year, the
Sound Transit Board is expected to
consider a motion addressing the
purpose and need for the project, the
scope of environmental review, and
alternatives to be considered in the draft
EIS.
FTA and Sound Transit will comply
with all applicable Federal
environmental laws, regulations, and
executive orders during the
environmental review process. These
requirements include, but are not
limited to, the regulations of the Council
on Environmental Quality
implementing NEPA, and FTA’s own
NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–
1508, and 23 CFR part 771); the air
quality conformity regulations of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) (40 CFR part 93); the Section
404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part
230); the regulations implementing
Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (36 CFR part 800); the
regulations implementing Section 7 of
the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR
part 402); Section 4(f) of the Dept. of
Transportation Act (23 CFR part 774);
Executive Orders 12898 on
Environmental Justice, 11988 on
floodplain management, and 11990 on
wetlands; and DOT Order 5610.2(a) on
Environmental Justice.
Paperwork Reduction. The Paperwork
Reduction Act seeks, in part, to
minimize the cost to the taxpayer of the
creation, collection, maintenance, use,
dissemination, and disposition of
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19:43 Sep 14, 2012
Jkt 226001
information. Consistent with this goal
and with principles of economy and
efficiency in government, FTA limits as
much as possible the distribution of
complete sets of printed environmental
documents. Accordingly, absent a
specific request for a complete printed
set of environmental documents
(preferably in advance of printing),
Sound Transit will distribute only the
executive summary of the
environmental document together with
a compact disc of the complete
environmental document. A complete
printed set of the environmental
document will be available for review at
the grantee’s offices and elsewhere; an
electronic copy of the complete
environmental document will also be
available on Sound Transit’s Web page.
Issued on: September 6, 2012.
Kenneth A. Feldman,
Deputy Regional Administrator, FTA Region
10.
[FR Doc. 2012–22823 Filed 9–14–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2010–0152]
Technical Report on Fatality Risk,
Mass, and Footprint of Model Year
2000–2007 Passenger Cars and LTVs
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Request for comments on
technical report.
AGENCY:
This notice announces
NHTSA’s publication of a technical
report describing relationships between
a vehicle’s mass, footprint (size), and
body type and its rate of involvement in
fatal crashes. The report’s title is:
Relationships Between Fatality Risk,
Mass, and Footprint in Model Year
2000–2007 Passenger Cars and LTVs—
Final Report.
DATES: Comments must be received no
later than January 15, 2013.
ADDRESSES:
Report: The technical report is
available on the Internet for viewing in
PDF format at https://wwwnrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811665.pdf.
You may obtain a copy of the report free
of charge by sending a self-addressed
mailing label to Charles J. Kahane
(NVS–431), National Highway Traffic
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Safety Administration, Room W53–312,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590.
Comments: You may submit
comments [identified by Docket Number
NHTSA–2010–0152] by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
M–30, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building, Ground
Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
You may call Docket Management at
202–366–9826.
Instructions: For detailed instructions
on submitting comments, see the
Procedural Matters section of this
document. Note that all comments
received will be posted without change
to https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation
Division, NVS–431, National Center for
Statistics and Analysis, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
Room W53–312, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Telephone: 202–366–2560. Email:
chuck.kahane@dot.gov.
Mass
reduction while holding a vehicle’s
footprint (size) constant is a potential
strategy for meeting footprint-based
CAFE and GHG standards. An important
corollary issue is the possible effect of
mass reduction that maintains footprint
on fatal crashes. One way to estimate
these effects is statistical analyses of
societal fatality rates per VMT, by
vehicles’ mass and footprint, for the
current on-road vehicle fleet. Societal
fatality rates include occupants of all
vehicles in the crash as well as
pedestrians. The analyses comprised
MY 2000–2007 cars and LTVs in CY
2002–2008 crashes. Fatality rates were
derived from FARS data, 13 State crash
files, and registration and mileage data
from R.L. Polk. The table presents the
estimated percent increase in societal
fatality rates per 100-pound mass
reduction while holding footprint
constant for five classes of vehicles:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 180 (Monday, September 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57184-57186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22823]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
a Light Rail Operations and Maintenance Satellite Facility, King and
Snohomish Counties, Washington
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, United States Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Central Puget
Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) are planning to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Sound Transit's
proposed new Light Rail Operations and Maintenance Satellite Facility
(OMSF). The OMSF would allow Sound Transit to meet future maintenance
and storage needs of an expanded fleet of light rail vehicles
identified in the Sound Transit 2 (ST2) Plan. The EIS will be prepared
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
Washington's State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). This Notice of
Intent initiates scoping for the EIS, invites interested parties to
participate in the EIS process, provides information about the
preliminary purpose and need for the proposed transit project, includes
site alternatives being considered for evaluation in the EIS, and
identifies potential environmental effects to be considered. The notice
invites public comments on the scope of the EIS and announces the
public scoping meetings that will be conducted. Alternatives being
considered for evaluation include a No-Build alternative and five sites
where the OMSF could be built.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to be
considered in the EIS must be received no later than October 22, 2012,
and must be sent to Sound Transit as indicated below. Information about
the proposed project, the Scoping Information Report, and the EIS
process will be available at two public scoping meetings (on Oct. 8 and
Oct. 11) and one scoping meeting for tribal and agency representatives
(on Oct. 9) at the locations described below. Sound Transit and FTA
will accept comments at those meetings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to
Kent Hale, Senior Environmental Planner, Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson
Street, Seattle, WA 98104-2826, or by email to OMSF@soundtransit.org.
[[Page 57185]]
At the public and agency scoping meetings, Sound Transit will
provide information on the project along with opportunities for written
comments.
1. October 8, 2012, 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., Highland Community Center,
14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA.
2. October 11, 2012, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Lynnwood Convention
Center, 3711 196th St. SW., Lynnwood, WA.
3. (Agency and Tribal Meeting)
October 9, 2012, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson
Street, Seattle, WA 98104.
Invitations to the interagency and tribal scoping meeting have been
sent to appropriate Federal, tribal, state, and local governmental
units. All public meeting locations are accessible to persons with
disabilities who may also request materials be prepared and supplied in
alternate formats by calling Luke Lamon, (206) 903-7469 at least 48
hours in advance of the meeting for Sound Transit to make necessary
arrangement. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (888)
713-6030 TTY. Scoping information as well as general information is
available at: https://www.soundtransit.org/OMSF. The scoping period
extends to October 22, 2012, or 30 days from the date of this notice,
whichever is later. Written scoping comments are requested by October
22, 2012 at the address above, or they can be submitted at the public
meetings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Drais, FTA Environmental
Protection Specialist, phone: (206) 220-4465.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Proposed Project. Sound Transit is implementing a system-wide
expansion of its Link light rail transit service as part of the Sound
Transit 2 (ST2) Plan of transit investments approved by the voters in
2008. To provide the service required by the ST2 Plan, Sound Transit
will have to increase its light rail vehicle fleet to approximately 180
vehicles by 2023. Its existing light rail operations and maintenance
facility (OMF), located on a 25-acre site south of South Forest Street
and west of Airport Way in the industrial area south of Downtown
Seattle, is configured to serve up to 104 vehicles.
The Purpose of and Need for the Project. The project's purpose is
to enable Sound Transit to meet the maintenance and storage needs of
the expanded fleet of light rail vehicles identified in the ST2 Plan.
ST2's vehicle acquisition and delivery schedule requires additional
capacity to be operational by the end of 2020. The OMSF project will:
Accommodate expansion of the Link system to Lynnwood,
Overlake and South King County (Kent or Des Moines);
Provide efficient and reliable light rail service and
minimize system operating costs; and
Support regional long-range plans, including the Puget
Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) VISION 2040 and Transportation 2040
plans, and Sound Transit's Regional Transit Long-Range Plan.
The project is needed because the existing OMF site cannot store,
maintain, or deploy the vehicles associated with the expanded service
called for in the ST2 Plan. Sound Transit cannot provide reliable
service without adequate maintenance facility capacity. Approximately
180 vehicles are needed for the ST2 expansion; the existing OMF can
store only 104 vehicles. Therefore, to implement ST2 the Link system
will require more storage area and greater capacity for necessary
service, maintenance, and inspection functions. Moreover, the storage
and maintenance facility must be sited to support efficient and
reliable operations and deployment of vehicles to serve the entire Link
system.
Potential EIS Alternatives. Sound Transit and FTA are considering
several alternatives for study in the EIS. Potentially viable sites
that meet minimum requirements of size, configuration, proximity to the
light rail system, and operational feasibility have been identified
along the Lynnwood Link Extension and in the East Link Corridor. FTA
and Sound Transit invite comments on these preliminary alternatives;
public and agency input received during the scoping period will help
FTA and Sound Transit develop a range of reasonable alternatives to
evaluate in the Draft EIS.
Lynnwood Link Corridor. One site is at 52nd Ave and SW 208th St.,
north of I-5 and east of 52nd Ave W/Cedar Valley Road in Lynnwood. It
is located along all of the proposed Lynnwood Link alignments being
evaluated in the Lynnwood Link Extension Draft EIS.
East Link Corridor. Four potential sites are on the East Link
alignment in Bellevue: (1) Between the BNSF railway corridor on the
west and 120th Ave. NE on the east, south of SR 520 and north of NE
12th St.; (2) south of SR 520 and north of Northup Way/NE 20th St.,
east of 130th Ave. NE and west of 140th Ave. NE; (3) East of 140th Ave.
NE., between NE 20th St. and NE 24th St., and southeast of SR 520; and
(4) west of 130th Ave. NE., east of 124th Ave. NE., and south of
Northup Way.
No-Build Alternative. NEPA requires consideration of a No-Build
Alternative as a baseline against which to measure impacts of the
action alternatives. It includes the existing transportation system
plus the transportation improvements included in PSRC's Transportation
Improvement Program.
Scope of Environmental Analysis. The EIS process explores in a
public setting the potentially significant effects of implementing the
proposed action (and alternatives to the proposed action) on the
physical, human, and natural environment. Areas of investigation for
this project may include, but might not be limited to, transportation,
land use and consistency with applicable plans, land acquisition and
displacements, socioeconomic impacts, park and recreation resources,
historic and cultural resources, environmental justice, visual and
aesthetic qualities, air quality, noise and vibration, energy use,
safety and security, and ecosystems, including threatened and
endangered species. These effects will be evaluated for both the
construction period and the long-term period of operation. Indirect,
secondary and cumulative impacts will also be evaluated. The EIS will
identify measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate significant adverse
impacts.
Roles of Participating Agencies and the Public. NEPA, and FTA's own
authorities, call for public involvement in the EIS process, including:
(1) Invitations to other Federal and non-Federal agencies and Indian
tribes that may have an interest in the proposed project to become
``cooperating'' or ``participating agencies,'' (2) opportunities for
involvement by agencies and the public in helping to define the
proposed project's purpose and need, as well as the range of
alternatives for consideration in the impact statement, and (3) a plan
for coordinating public and agency participation in and comment on the
environmental review process.
An invitation to become a participating agency will be extended to
other Federal and non-Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have
an interest in the proposed project. Any agency or tribe interested in
the project that does not receive such an invitation should promptly
notify the Senior Environmental Planner identified above under
ADDRESSES.
A draft Coordination Plan for public and agency involvement is
available for review at the project Web site. It identifies the
project's coordination approach and structure, details the major
milestones for agency and public involvement, and includes an initial
list of interested agencies and organizations.
[[Page 57186]]
FTA and Sound Transit welcome comments from interested individuals,
organizations, tribes and agencies. Comments are invited regarding the
preliminary statement of purpose and need; the alternatives to be
evaluated in the EIS; and any significant environmental issues related
to the alternatives. Suggested reasonable alternatives that meet the
project purpose and need will be seriously considered. To assist the
public during scoping, Sound Transit has prepared an Environmental
Scoping Information Report describing the project, potential site
alternatives, potential impact areas to be evaluated, and the
preliminary EIS schedule. You may request a copy of it from Luke Lamon,
Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104-2826,
telephone: (206) 903-7469 or email: luke.lamon@soundtransit.org. It is
also available at https://www.soundtransit.org/OMSF. After the comment
period, Sound Transit will publish a summary of the public and agency
comments it received. After scoping concludes later this year, the
Sound Transit Board is expected to consider a motion addressing the
purpose and need for the project, the scope of environmental review,
and alternatives to be considered in the draft EIS.
FTA and Sound Transit will comply with all applicable Federal
environmental laws, regulations, and executive orders during the
environmental review process. These requirements include, but are not
limited to, the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality
implementing NEPA, and FTA's own NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508, and 23 CFR part 771); the air quality conformity regulations of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (40 CFR part 93); the
Section 404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part 230); the regulations
implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36
CFR part 800); the regulations implementing Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act (50 CFR part 402); Section 4(f) of the Dept. of
Transportation Act (23 CFR part 774); Executive Orders 12898 on
Environmental Justice, 11988 on floodplain management, and 11990 on
wetlands; and DOT Order 5610.2(a) on Environmental Justice.
Paperwork Reduction. The Paperwork Reduction Act seeks, in part, to
minimize the cost to the taxpayer of the creation, collection,
maintenance, use, dissemination, and disposition of information.
Consistent with this goal and with principles of economy and efficiency
in government, FTA limits as much as possible the distribution of
complete sets of printed environmental documents. Accordingly, absent a
specific request for a complete printed set of environmental documents
(preferably in advance of printing), Sound Transit will distribute only
the executive summary of the environmental document together with a
compact disc of the complete environmental document. A complete printed
set of the environmental document will be available for review at the
grantee's offices and elsewhere; an electronic copy of the complete
environmental document will also be available on Sound Transit's Web
page.
Issued on: September 6, 2012.
Kenneth A. Feldman,
Deputy Regional Administrator, FTA Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2012-22823 Filed 9-14-12; 8:45 am]
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