Environmental Impact Statement for the Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Maglev (SCMAGLEV) Project, Between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC, 85319-85321 [2016-28285]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 227 / Friday, November 25, 2016 / Notices
Elwood F. Gorom (WA)
Mike W. Holland (IL)
Dan M. McAllister (WI)
Paul F. Rivers (MN)
Marcus V. Romo (ID)
Wayne L. Snyder (OH)
Justin K. Zimmerschied (KS)
The drivers were included in Docket
Nos. FMCSA–2011–0383. Their
exemptions are effective as of April 27,
2016 and will expire on April 27, 2018.
As of April 30, 2016, and in
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and
31315, the following 2 individuals, have
satisfied the renewal conditions for
obtaining an exemption from the rule
prohibiting drivers with ITDM from
driving CMVs in interstate commerce
(79 FR 10612; 79 FR 14579; 79 FR
28590; 79 FR 27685):
Charles L. Bryant (PA)
Christopher P. Martin (NH)
The drivers were included in Docket
Nos. FMCSA–2014–0012; FMCSA–
2014–0013. Their exemptions are
effective as of April 30, 2016 and will
expire on April 30, 2018.
Each of the 47 drivers in the
aforementioned groups qualifies for a
renewal of the exemption. They have
maintained their required medical
monitoring and have not exhibited any
medical issues that would compromise
their ability to safely operate a CMV
during the previous 2-year exemption
period.
These factors provide an adequate
basis for predicting each driver’s ability
to continue to drive safely in interstate
commerce. Therefore, FMCSA
concludes that extending the exemption
for each of the 47 drivers for a period
of two years is likely to achieve a level
of safety equal to that existing without
the exemption. The drivers were
included in docket numbers FMCSA–
2011–0382; FMCSA–2011–0383;
FMCSA–2013–0194; FMCSA–2014–
0012; FMCSA–2014–0013.
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Request for Comments
FMCSA will review comments
received at any time concerning a
particular driver’s safety record and
determine if the continuation of the
exemption is consistent with the
requirements at 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and
31315. However, FMCSA requests that
interested parties with specific data
concerning the safety records of these
drivers submit comments by December
27, 2016.
FMCSA believes that the
requirements for a renewal of an
exemption under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and
31315 can be satisfied by initially
granting the renewal and then
requesting and evaluating, if needed,
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18:57 Nov 23, 2016
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subsequent comments submitted by
interested parties. As indicated above,
the Agency previously published
notices of final disposition announcing
its decision to exempt these 47
individuals from rule prohibiting
persons with ITDM from operating
CMVs in interstate commerce in 49 CFR
391.41(b)(3). The final decision to grant
an exemption to each of these
individuals was made on the merits of
each case and made only after careful
consideration of the comments received
to its notices of applications. The
notices of applications stated in detail
the medical condition of each applicant
for an exemption from rule prohibiting
persons with ITDM from operating
CMVs in interstate commerce. That
information is available by consulting
the above cited Federal Register
publications.
Interested parties or organizations
possessing information that would
otherwise show that any, or all, of these
drivers are not currently achieving the
statutory level of safety should
immediately notify FMCSA. The
Agency will evaluate any adverse
evidencesubmitted and, if safety is
being compromised or if continuation of
the exemption would not be consistent
with the goals and objectives of 49
U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA will
take immediate steps to revoke the
exemption of a driver.
Submitting Comments
You may submit your comments and
material online or by fax, mail, or hand
delivery, but please use only one of
these means. FMCSA recommends that
you include your name and a mailing
address, an email address, or a phone
number in the body of your document
so that FMCSA can contact you if there
are questions regarding your
submission.
To submit your comment online, go to
https://www.regulations.gov and in the
search box insert the docket numbers
FMCSA–2011–0382; FMCSA–2011–
0383; FMCSA–2013–0194; FMCSA–
2014–0012; FMCSA–2014–0013 and
click the search button. When the new
screen appears, click on the blue
‘‘Comment Now!’’ button on the right
hand side of the page. On the new page,
enter information required including the
specific section of this document to
which each comment applies, and
provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. If you submit your
comments by mail or hand delivery,
submit them in an unbound format, no
larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches, suitable for
copying and electronic filing. If you
submit comments by mail and would
like to know that they reached the
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85319
facility, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard or envelope.
We will consider all comments and
material received during the comment
period. FMCSA may issue a final
determination at any time after the close
of the comment period.
Viewing Comments and Documents
To view comments, as well as any
documents mentioned in this preamble,
go to https://www.regulations.gov and in
the search box insert the docket number
FMCSA–2011–0382; FMCSA–2011–
0383; FMCSA–2013–0194; FMCSA–
2014–0012; FMCSA–2014–0013 and
click ‘‘Search.’’ Next, click ‘‘Open
Docket Folder’’ and you will find all
documents and comments related to this
notice.
Issued on: November 16, 2016.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016–28369 Filed 11–23–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Baltimore-Washington
Superconducting Maglev (SCMAGLEV)
Project, Between Baltimore, Maryland
and Washington, DC
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
AGENCY:
FRA announces its intent to
prepare an EIS for the BaltimoreWashington Superconducting Magnetic
Levitation (Maglev) (SCMAGLEV)
Project (Proposed Action) jointly with
the Maryland Department of
Transportation (MDOT). The Proposed
Action consists of the construction and
operation of a high-speed SCMAGLEV
train system between Washington, DC
and Baltimore, MD with an intermediate
stop at Baltimore/Washington
International Thurgood Marshall (BWI)
Airport. FRA and MDOT will develop
the EIS in compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
DATES: Written comments on the scope
of the Project EIS should be provided to
the address below by December 27,
2016. Public scoping meetings are
anticipated for December 2016 and
January 2017. Additional updated
information and scoping materials is
available through the Project Web site:
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 227 / Friday, November 25, 2016 / Notices
https://www.BaltimoreWashington
SCMaglevProject.com.
ADDRESSES: The public and other
interested parties are encouraged to
submit written scoping comments by
mail, by email, or in person at the
scoping meetings. Scoping comments
can be sent by mail to Bradley M. Smith,
Director of the Office of Freight and
Multimodalism, Maryland Department
of Transportation, 7201 Corporate
Center Drive, Hanover, Maryland 21076,
410–865–1097; or via email to:
bsmith9@mdot.state.md.us.
Comments may also be provided
orally or in writing at scoping meetings.
See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section for meeting times and addresses.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brandon Bratcher, Environmental
Protection Specialist, USDOT Federal
Railroad Administration, Office of
Program Delivery, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., MS–20, Washington, DC
20590; 202–493–0844;
brandon.bratcher@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA is an
operating administration of DOT and is
responsible for overseeing the safety of
railroad operations, including the safety
of any proposed rail ground
transportation system. FRA is also
authorized to provide, subject to
appropriations, funding for intercity
passenger rail and rail capital
investments. In 2016, FRA awarded
MDOT a grant to prepare an EIS for the
Proposed Action. No funding, however,
has been appropriated at this time to
fund construction of the Proposed
Action.
FRA is the lead Federal agency under
NEPA; MDOT is the joint lead agency
(40 CFR 1501.5(b) and 1506.2(a)). FRA
and MDOT will prepare the EIS in
compliance with: NEPA; the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations implementing NEPA (40
CFR parts 1500–1508); FRA Procedures
for Considering Environmental Impacts
(FRA’s Environmental Procedures) (64
FR 28545, May 26, 1999; 78 FR 2713,
Jan. 14, 2013); 23 U.S.C. 139; and 49
U.S.C. 24201. After release and
circulation of a Draft EIS for public
comment, FRA intends to issue a single
document that consists of the Final EIS
and Record of Decision under the
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century Act (MAP–21) (Pub. L. 112–
141, Section 1319(b)) unless it
determines the statutory criteria or
practicability considerations preclude
issuing a combined document.
The EIS will document compliance
with applicable Federal, state, and local
environmental laws and regulations,
including: Section 106 of the National
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Historic Preservation Act; the Clean Air
Act; the Clean Water Act; Section 4(f) of
the U.S. Department of Transportation
Act of 1966 (Section 4(f)); the
Endangered Species Act; Executive
Order 11988 and DOT Order 5650.2 on
Floodplain Management; Executive
Order 11990 on Protection of Wetlands;
the Magnuson-Stevens Act; the Coastal
Zone Management Act; and Executive
Order 12898 on Environmental Justice.
The EIS is intended to be a project-level
EIS and will serve as the NEPA
compliance for potential future funding
or other federal, state, and local
approvals of the Proposed Action as
appropriate.
Project Background
Sections 1101(a)(18) and 1307 of the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA–LU) (Pub. L. 109–59),
as amended by section 102 of the
SAFETEA–LU Technical Corrections
Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–244),
authorized funding for pre-construction
planning activities for eligible Maglev
transportation projects located east of
the Mississippi River and between Las
Vegas and Primm, Nevada. In 2016 FRA
awarded $27.8 million in SAFETEA–LU
Maglev funds to MDOT to prepare
preliminary engineering and a NEPA
analysis for the Proposed Action.
Previously, in 2003, FRA and the
Maryland Transit Administration (MTA)
prepared a Draft EIS and Section 4(f)
Evaluation (2003 Draft EIS) for a similar
proposed project authorized under the
Magnetic Levitation Transportation
Technology Deployment Program (23
U.S.C. 322). The 2003 Draft EIS studied
the potential impacts of construction of
a Maglev alignment between
Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, as
well as potential station locations: One
in downtown Washington, DC; one at
BWI; and one in downtown Baltimore,
MD. FRA and MTA published a Final
EIS in 2007 (2007 Final EIS), but FRA
did not issue a Record of Decision and
the project was not advanced further.
In November 2015, the Maryland
Public Service Commission approved
the Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail’s
(BWRR) application to acquire a
passenger railroad franchise to deploy a
SCMAGLEV system between Baltimore,
MD and Washington, DC. BWRR is a
private corporation and, as the Project
sponsor and developer of the proposed
SCMAGLEV service between Baltimore,
MD and Washington, DC, will work
with Federal and state agencies,
including FRA and MDOT, to carry out
the project.
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Project Description
FRA and MDOT will complete the
environmental and engineering studies
for a proposed Baltimore-Washington
SCMAGLEV train system between
Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD,
with an intermediate stop at BWI
Airport. FRA and MDOT anticipate the
study area will be approximately 40
miles long and 10 miles wide. The
proposed study area is roughly bounded
on the west by Interstate 95 and on the
east by the former WashingtonBaltimore & Annapolis Electric Railroad
alignment. It includes portions of the
City of Baltimore, Baltimore County,
Howard County, Anne Arundel County,
and Prince George’s County in
Maryland, and Washington, DC. BWRR
has indicated it wishes to develop a
SCMAGLEV system, potentially
extending as far north as Boston, MA
and south to Charlotte, NC. Such a
project or projects will not be addressed
in the EIS FRA and MDOT are
preparing, but could be subject to
separate NEPA review in the future, as
appropriate.
BWRR’s proposed SCMAGLEV system
would be designed to provide
approximately 15-minute service
between the new Baltimore and
Washington stations, and would run on
a new, high-quality guideway with bidirectional service, an automatic train
control system, and no at-grade
crossings. BWRR anticipates the project
would be funded by a mix of federal,
international, and private funding, and
would include construction of the new
SCMAGLEV guideway, stations, and
maintenance facilities.
Purpose and Need Statement
The purpose of BWRR’s Proposed
Action is to increase capacity, reduce
travel time, and improve both reliability
and mobility options between Baltimore
and Washington. The population in the
Baltimore-Washington area makes up
one of the largest and densest
population centers in the United States.
Over the next 30 years the population in
the area is projected to increase by
approximately 30 percent. Similarly, the
demand on the transportation
infrastructure between Baltimore and
Washington will continue to increase
along major roadways and railways
including Interstate 95, the BaltimoreWashington Parkway (MD 295), US 29,
US 1, and the Northeast Corridor (NEC)
thereby decreasing the level of service,
reliability, mobility, and potentially
decreasing safety.
The Baltimore-Washington area is
served by the NEC rail network that
runs parallel to Interstate 95 in the area
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 227 / Friday, November 25, 2016 / Notices
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and spans from Washington, DC to
Boston, MA. Amtrak, commuter
railroads, and freight railroads operate a
variety of services on the NEC. In the
Baltimore-Washington area, Amtrak
runs intercity passenger rail service,
Maryland Area Regional Commuter
operates commuter rail service, and CSX
Transportation and Norfolk Southern
Railway run freight trains during offpeak times over portions of the NEC
between Baltimore and Washington.
Each of these services competes for
operational times for service on the
existing NEC and demand continues to
increase.
Without additional transportation
improvements and capacity within the
Baltimore-Washington area, economic
development and growth opportunities
will be restricted. As congestion
increases on the NEC and on the
region’s highways, the demand for
continued economic development will
be impacted, including, for example,
tourism.
To address these issues, in 2012 FRA
launched the NEC FUTURE program to
consider the role of rail passenger
service in the context of current and
future transportation demands and to
evaluate the appropriate level of
capacity improvements to make across
the NEC. Through NEC FUTURE, FRA
will determine a long-term vision and
investment program for the NEC
documented in a Tier 1 EIS and Service
Development Plan. FRA published a
Tier 1 Draft EIS in November 2015;
however, the Draft EIS evaluated steelwheel technologies as a way to serve the
passenger rail needs of the region. It left
open the possibility and did not
preclude the study of and investment in
advanced guideway and other new
technologies, such as SCMAGLEV, to
meet the transportation needs of the
Northeast, including the BaltimoreWashington area. Additional
information on the NEC FUTURE
Program is available at: https://
www.necfuture.com/.
Proposed Alternatives To Consider
The EIS evaluating the SCMAGLEV
proposal will consider a range of
reasonable alternatives that FRA and
MDOT will develop based on the
purpose and need for the Proposed
Action, information obtained through
the scoping process, and previous
studies, including the 2003 Draft EIS
and 2007 Final EIS. The 2003 Draft EIS
identified three concepts that FRA and
MDOT have included in the initial
range of alternatives to be considered in
the EIS. FRA and MDOT will evaluate
and screen those earlier concepts as
well as additional options for
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elimination or further refinement during
the NEPA process. Alternatives will
include a no-build alternative and a
reasonable range of build alternatives.
Each build alternative will include
alignments that serve Washington, DC,
Baltimore, MD, and BWI Airport. A final
alignment has not been determined.
Possible Effects
The EIS will analyze the potential
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects
of the alternatives on the social,
economic, and environmental resources
in the study area. This analysis will
include identification of study areas
appropriate for each resource,
documentation of the affected
environment, and identification of
measures to avoid and/or mitigate
significant adverse impacts.
FRA and MDOT will evaluate the
impacts of the Proposed Action using
data and field analyses. The analysis of
resources will be consistent with NEPA,
CEQ regulations and FRA’s
Environmental Procedures.
Scoping, Public Involvement, and
Agency Coordination
This Notice initiates the scoping
process under NEPA. FRA and MDOT
invite comments from the public and
encourage broad public participation
throughout the NEPA process. In
particular, FRA and MDOT invite
comments from the public, Federal,
state, and local agencies, and all
interested parties on the scope of the
EIS including: The purpose and need for
the Project; alternatives to study; the
selection of alternatives; environmental
effects to consider and evaluate;
methodologies to use for evaluating
effects; the approach for public and
agency involvement; and mitigation
measures associated with the potential
future construction, operation, and
maintenance of the Proposed Action.
This will ensure all relevant issues,
constraints, and reasonable alternatives
are addressed early in the development
of the EIS. FRA and MDOT will contact
directly the appropriate Federal, state,
and local agencies as well as private
organizations with a known interest in
the Proposed Action. FRA and MDOT
will request federal agencies with
jurisdiction by law or special expertise
with respect to potential environmental
issues to act as a cooperating agency in
accordance with 40 CFR 1501.16.
At various milestones during the
development of the EIS, FRA and
MDOT will provide additional
opportunities for public involvement,
such as public meetings and hearings,
open houses, and requests for comment
on the Draft EIS.
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85321
Currently, scoping meetings for this
Project are scheduled for the dates and
locations below:
December 10, 2016: 10 a.m.–12 p.m.,
Lindale Middle School, 415 Andover
Rd., Linthicum Heights, MD
December 12, 2016: 5 p.m.–7 p.m.,
Arundel Middle School, 1179
Hammond Ln., Odenton, MD
December 13, 2016: 5 p.m.–7 p.m., Du
Burns Coppermine Fieldhouse, 3100
Boston St., Baltimore, MD
December 14, 2016: 5 p.m.–7 p.m.,
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Library, 901 G St. NW., Washington,
DC
Additional information, including
updated meeting schedule, is located on
the Project Web site (https://
www.BaltimoreWashington
SCMaglevProject.com).
Jamie Rennert,
Director, Office of Program Delivery.
[FR Doc. 2016–28285 Filed 11–23–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket Number FRA–2016–0002–N–27]
Proposed Agency Information
Collection Activities; Comment
Request
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice
announces that the renewals and
reinstatements of the information
collection requests (ICRs) abstracted
below are being forwarded to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and comment. The ICRs describe
the information collections and their
expected burden. On September 23,
2016, FRA published a notice providing
a 60-day period for public comment on
the ICRs.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before December 27, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Robert Brogan, Information Collection
Clearance Officer, Office of Railroad
Safety, Safety Regulatory Analysis
Division, RRS–21, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Mail Stop 25, Washington,
DC 20590, (202) 493–6292, or Ms.
Kimberly Toone, Information Collection
Clearance Officer, Office of
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 227 (Friday, November 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85319-85321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28285]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Environmental Impact Statement for the Baltimore-Washington
Superconducting Maglev (SCMAGLEV) Project, Between Baltimore, Maryland
and Washington, DC
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FRA announces its intent to prepare an EIS for the Baltimore-
Washington Superconducting Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) (SCMAGLEV)
Project (Proposed Action) jointly with the Maryland Department of
Transportation (MDOT). The Proposed Action consists of the construction
and operation of a high-speed SCMAGLEV train system between Washington,
DC and Baltimore, MD with an intermediate stop at Baltimore/Washington
International Thurgood Marshall (BWI) Airport. FRA and MDOT will
develop the EIS in compliance with the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the Project EIS should be
provided to the address below by December 27, 2016. Public scoping
meetings are anticipated for December 2016 and January 2017. Additional
updated information and scoping materials is available through the
Project Web site:
[[Page 85320]]
https://www.BaltimoreWashingtonSCMaglevProject.com.
ADDRESSES: The public and other interested parties are encouraged to
submit written scoping comments by mail, by email, or in person at the
scoping meetings. Scoping comments can be sent by mail to Bradley M.
Smith, Director of the Office of Freight and Multimodalism, Maryland
Department of Transportation, 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover,
Maryland 21076, 410-865-1097; or via email to:
bsmith9@mdot.state.md.us.
Comments may also be provided orally or in writing at scoping
meetings. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting times
and addresses.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandon Bratcher, Environmental
Protection Specialist, USDOT Federal Railroad Administration, Office of
Program Delivery, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., MS-20, Washington, DC
20590; 202-493-0844; brandon.bratcher@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA is an operating administration of DOT
and is responsible for overseeing the safety of railroad operations,
including the safety of any proposed rail ground transportation system.
FRA is also authorized to provide, subject to appropriations, funding
for intercity passenger rail and rail capital investments. In 2016, FRA
awarded MDOT a grant to prepare an EIS for the Proposed Action. No
funding, however, has been appropriated at this time to fund
construction of the Proposed Action.
FRA is the lead Federal agency under NEPA; MDOT is the joint lead
agency (40 CFR 1501.5(b) and 1506.2(a)). FRA and MDOT will prepare the
EIS in compliance with: NEPA; the Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); FRA
Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts (FRA's Environmental
Procedures) (64 FR 28545, May 26, 1999; 78 FR 2713, Jan. 14, 2013); 23
U.S.C. 139; and 49 U.S.C. 24201. After release and circulation of a
Draft EIS for public comment, FRA intends to issue a single document
that consists of the Final EIS and Record of Decision under the Moving
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) (Pub. L. 112-141,
Section 1319(b)) unless it determines the statutory criteria or
practicability considerations preclude issuing a combined document.
The EIS will document compliance with applicable Federal, state,
and local environmental laws and regulations, including: Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act; the Clean Air Act; the Clean
Water Act; Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of
1966 (Section 4(f)); the Endangered Species Act; Executive Order 11988
and DOT Order 5650.2 on Floodplain Management; Executive Order 11990 on
Protection of Wetlands; the Magnuson-Stevens Act; the Coastal Zone
Management Act; and Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice. The
EIS is intended to be a project-level EIS and will serve as the NEPA
compliance for potential future funding or other federal, state, and
local approvals of the Proposed Action as appropriate.
Project Background
Sections 1101(a)(18) and 1307 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)
(Pub. L. 109-59), as amended by section 102 of the SAFETEA-LU Technical
Corrections Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-244), authorized funding for pre-
construction planning activities for eligible Maglev transportation
projects located east of the Mississippi River and between Las Vegas
and Primm, Nevada. In 2016 FRA awarded $27.8 million in SAFETEA-LU
Maglev funds to MDOT to prepare preliminary engineering and a NEPA
analysis for the Proposed Action.
Previously, in 2003, FRA and the Maryland Transit Administration
(MTA) prepared a Draft EIS and Section 4(f) Evaluation (2003 Draft EIS)
for a similar proposed project authorized under the Magnetic Levitation
Transportation Technology Deployment Program (23 U.S.C. 322). The 2003
Draft EIS studied the potential impacts of construction of a Maglev
alignment between Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, as well as
potential station locations: One in downtown Washington, DC; one at
BWI; and one in downtown Baltimore, MD. FRA and MTA published a Final
EIS in 2007 (2007 Final EIS), but FRA did not issue a Record of
Decision and the project was not advanced further.
In November 2015, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved
the Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail's (BWRR) application to acquire a
passenger railroad franchise to deploy a SCMAGLEV system between
Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. BWRR is a private corporation and, as
the Project sponsor and developer of the proposed SCMAGLEV service
between Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC, will work with Federal and
state agencies, including FRA and MDOT, to carry out the project.
Project Description
FRA and MDOT will complete the environmental and engineering
studies for a proposed Baltimore-Washington SCMAGLEV train system
between Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, with an intermediate stop at
BWI Airport. FRA and MDOT anticipate the study area will be
approximately 40 miles long and 10 miles wide. The proposed study area
is roughly bounded on the west by Interstate 95 and on the east by the
former Washington-Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railroad alignment. It
includes portions of the City of Baltimore, Baltimore County, Howard
County, Anne Arundel County, and Prince George's County in Maryland,
and Washington, DC. BWRR has indicated it wishes to develop a SCMAGLEV
system, potentially extending as far north as Boston, MA and south to
Charlotte, NC. Such a project or projects will not be addressed in the
EIS FRA and MDOT are preparing, but could be subject to separate NEPA
review in the future, as appropriate.
BWRR's proposed SCMAGLEV system would be designed to provide
approximately 15-minute service between the new Baltimore and
Washington stations, and would run on a new, high-quality guideway with
bi-directional service, an automatic train control system, and no at-
grade crossings. BWRR anticipates the project would be funded by a mix
of federal, international, and private funding, and would include
construction of the new SCMAGLEV guideway, stations, and maintenance
facilities.
Purpose and Need Statement
The purpose of BWRR's Proposed Action is to increase capacity,
reduce travel time, and improve both reliability and mobility options
between Baltimore and Washington. The population in the Baltimore-
Washington area makes up one of the largest and densest population
centers in the United States. Over the next 30 years the population in
the area is projected to increase by approximately 30 percent.
Similarly, the demand on the transportation infrastructure between
Baltimore and Washington will continue to increase along major roadways
and railways including Interstate 95, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway
(MD 295), US 29, US 1, and the Northeast Corridor (NEC) thereby
decreasing the level of service, reliability, mobility, and potentially
decreasing safety.
The Baltimore-Washington area is served by the NEC rail network
that runs parallel to Interstate 95 in the area
[[Page 85321]]
and spans from Washington, DC to Boston, MA. Amtrak, commuter
railroads, and freight railroads operate a variety of services on the
NEC. In the Baltimore-Washington area, Amtrak runs intercity passenger
rail service, Maryland Area Regional Commuter operates commuter rail
service, and CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway run
freight trains during off-peak times over portions of the NEC between
Baltimore and Washington. Each of these services competes for
operational times for service on the existing NEC and demand continues
to increase.
Without additional transportation improvements and capacity within
the Baltimore-Washington area, economic development and growth
opportunities will be restricted. As congestion increases on the NEC
and on the region's highways, the demand for continued economic
development will be impacted, including, for example, tourism.
To address these issues, in 2012 FRA launched the NEC FUTURE
program to consider the role of rail passenger service in the context
of current and future transportation demands and to evaluate the
appropriate level of capacity improvements to make across the NEC.
Through NEC FUTURE, FRA will determine a long-term vision and
investment program for the NEC documented in a Tier 1 EIS and Service
Development Plan. FRA published a Tier 1 Draft EIS in November 2015;
however, the Draft EIS evaluated steel-wheel technologies as a way to
serve the passenger rail needs of the region. It left open the
possibility and did not preclude the study of and investment in
advanced guideway and other new technologies, such as SCMAGLEV, to meet
the transportation needs of the Northeast, including the Baltimore-
Washington area. Additional information on the NEC FUTURE Program is
available at: https://www.necfuture.com/.
Proposed Alternatives To Consider
The EIS evaluating the SCMAGLEV proposal will consider a range of
reasonable alternatives that FRA and MDOT will develop based on the
purpose and need for the Proposed Action, information obtained through
the scoping process, and previous studies, including the 2003 Draft EIS
and 2007 Final EIS. The 2003 Draft EIS identified three concepts that
FRA and MDOT have included in the initial range of alternatives to be
considered in the EIS. FRA and MDOT will evaluate and screen those
earlier concepts as well as additional options for elimination or
further refinement during the NEPA process. Alternatives will include a
no-build alternative and a reasonable range of build alternatives. Each
build alternative will include alignments that serve Washington, DC,
Baltimore, MD, and BWI Airport. A final alignment has not been
determined.
Possible Effects
The EIS will analyze the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative
effects of the alternatives on the social, economic, and environmental
resources in the study area. This analysis will include identification
of study areas appropriate for each resource, documentation of the
affected environment, and identification of measures to avoid and/or
mitigate significant adverse impacts.
FRA and MDOT will evaluate the impacts of the Proposed Action using
data and field analyses. The analysis of resources will be consistent
with NEPA, CEQ regulations and FRA's Environmental Procedures.
Scoping, Public Involvement, and Agency Coordination
This Notice initiates the scoping process under NEPA. FRA and MDOT
invite comments from the public and encourage broad public
participation throughout the NEPA process. In particular, FRA and MDOT
invite comments from the public, Federal, state, and local agencies,
and all interested parties on the scope of the EIS including: The
purpose and need for the Project; alternatives to study; the selection
of alternatives; environmental effects to consider and evaluate;
methodologies to use for evaluating effects; the approach for public
and agency involvement; and mitigation measures associated with the
potential future construction, operation, and maintenance of the
Proposed Action. This will ensure all relevant issues, constraints, and
reasonable alternatives are addressed early in the development of the
EIS. FRA and MDOT will contact directly the appropriate Federal, state,
and local agencies as well as private organizations with a known
interest in the Proposed Action. FRA and MDOT will request federal
agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to
potential environmental issues to act as a cooperating agency in
accordance with 40 CFR 1501.16.
At various milestones during the development of the EIS, FRA and
MDOT will provide additional opportunities for public involvement, such
as public meetings and hearings, open houses, and requests for comment
on the Draft EIS.
Currently, scoping meetings for this Project are scheduled for the
dates and locations below:
December 10, 2016: 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Lindale Middle School, 415 Andover
Rd., Linthicum Heights, MD
December 12, 2016: 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Arundel Middle School, 1179 Hammond
Ln., Odenton, MD
December 13, 2016: 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Du Burns Coppermine Fieldhouse, 3100
Boston St., Baltimore, MD
December 14, 2016: 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Library, 901 G St. NW., Washington, DC
Additional information, including updated meeting schedule, is
located on the Project Web site (https://www.BaltimoreWashingtonSCMaglevProject.com).
Jamie Rennert,
Director, Office of Program Delivery.
[FR Doc. 2016-28285 Filed 11-23-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
