Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Capital Metro Orange Line Project in Austin, Texas, 27941-27942 [2021-10865]

Agencies

• Federal Transit Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 98 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27941-27942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10865]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Capital 
Metro Orange Line Project in Austin, Texas

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

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

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as lead Federal 
agency, and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital 
Metro), as local project sponsor and joint lead agency, issue this 
notice to advise the public that they intend to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the Orange Line Project (the 
Project) in Austin, Texas. The Project is a proposed light rail transit 
(LRT) line that would extend approximately 20 miles from the Tech Ridge 
Park & Ride on the northern end of the corridor, through downtown 
Austin, to just north of Slaughter Lane on the southern end of the 
corridor. FTA has determined that the Project is sufficiently developed 
to allow for meaningful public comment and requires an EIS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 23, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to: Capital 
Metro, Orange Line LRT Project, 2910 E Fifth Street, Austin, TX 78702; 
or via email at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For FTA: Mr. Terence Plaskon, Federal 
Transit Administration, Region VI, 819 Taylor Street, Fort Worth, TX 
76102, at (817) 978-0573 or [email protected]. For Capital Metro: 
Mr. Jacob Calhoun, Capital Metro, 2910 E Fifth Street, Austin, TX 
78702, at (512) 369-6501 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FTA and Capital Metro (the Agencies) will 
prepare the EIS in accordance with NEPA and its implementing 
regulations. The EIS will evaluate two alternatives: A Build 
Alternative and a No Build Alternative. After circulation of the draft 
EIS and consideration of comments received, FTA intends to issue a 
combined final EIS/Record of Decision (ROD) document pursuant to 23 
U.S.C. 139(n)(2), unless statutory criteria (i.e., the final EIS makes 
substantial changes to the proposed action that are relevant to 
environmental or safety concerns or there is a significant new 
circumstance or information relevant to environmental concerns that 
affect the proposed action or its impacts) preclude issuance of a 
combined document.

I. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The Project is part of Capital Metro's 2018 Project Connect Long-
Term Vision Plan (Project Connect), amended in 2020. Project Connect 
presents a regional vision for high-capacity transit (HCT) investments 
that would add mobility options for the Central Texas region. Capital 
Metro began developing Project Connect in 2016 to create a system of 
HCT options along with enhancing and expanding existing services. 
Capital Metro conducted extensive outreach to the public, stakeholders, 
and government agencies to gain their input. The Project Connect area 
includes the five-county metropolitan statistical area of Bastrop, 
Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties.
    Capital Metro began preparing the Project Connect Program in 2016, 
following Federal guidance on the Planning and Environmental Linkages 
(PEL) process. In 2019 and 2020, Capital Metro completed a PEL study 
for the Project. The PEL study documented Capital Metro's alternatives 
analysis, the Project's purpose and need, public and stakeholder 
outreach, and informed selection of the Locally Preferred Alternative 
(LPA). Capital Metro and the Austin City Council approved the LPA in 
June 2020. For reference purposes, Capital Metro continues to make the 
PEL study available at https://projectconnect.com/orange-environment.
    As documented in the PEL study, the purpose of the Project is to 
meet growing corridor travel demand with a reliable, safe, cost-
effective, time competitive, state-of-the-art HCT option that is 
congestion proof.
    The lack of transportation options and limited roadway capacity to 
accommodate growth in Central Texas may hinder the continued vitality 
and economic health of the City of Austin and surrounding areas in the 
future. Inadequate transit access for many city residents coupled with 
rising travel demand have resulted in longer travel times, decreased 
mobility, and additional travel costs for residents and businesses. As 
documented in the PEL study, Capital Metro identified several needs 
within the Project study area:
     Sustainably support Austin's population and economic 
growth;
     Increase transportation network capacity to meet 
increasing travel demand;
     Improve transit access between affordable housing and 
jobs; and
     Support growth of and connectivity to regional activity 
centers.

II. Description of Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Capital Metro applied a phased screening process to select the 
proposed action. As documented in the PEL study and alternatives 
analysis report, the process was structured as a tiered screening, 
where alternatives were defined, evaluated, and refined or eliminated 
in each step of the process. The result is that the EIS will evaluate 
two alternatives, a Build Alternative and a No Build Alternative. The 
Build Alternative is a 20-mile proposed LRT system currently served by 
Capital Metro's MetroRapid 801-N Lamar S Congress bus route from the 
Tech Ridge Park & Ride on the northern end of the corridor, through 
downtown Austin, to just north of Slaughter Lane on the southern end of 
the corridor. The Project would involve new track mostly within 
existing, publicly owned right-of-way, running at street level 
(primarily center-running) and is planned to be elevated in three 
sections--at I-35 north of Parmer Lane at Rundberg, at Airport Blvd. 
and Lamar intersection, and at US 290/SH 71. The proposed transitway 
would include a tunnel through downtown from approximately MLK 
Boulevard to South Congress (south of Lady Bird Lake), approximately 
two miles. Station locations would include: Tech Ridge, Parmer, Braker, 
Rundberg, North Lamar Transit Center, Crestview, Koenig, Triangle, Hyde 
Park, Hemphill Park, UT West Mall, Capitol West, Government Center, 
Republic Square, Auditorium Shores, SoCo, Oltorf, St. Edward's, South 
Congress Transit Center, Stassney, William Cannon, and Slaughter 
Transit Center. The Project's transitway and station locations will be 
further refined during the EIS process, working in close coordination 
with the public, agencies, and key stakeholders. The No Build 
Alternative is defined as the existing transportation system and 
includes other planned transit investments included in the Capital Area 
Metropolitan Planning Organization's 2045 Regional Transportation Plan 
(e.g., the Blue Line Project and bus rapid transit projects, as part of 
Project Connect), except the Orange Line. The No Build Alternative 
serves as a benchmark from which to compare the effects of the Project.

III. Summary of Expected Impacts

    The Agencies will evaluate potential direct, indirect, and 
cumulative impacts of the Build and No Build Alternatives to the 
natural, built, and social environments. Impacts evaluated will

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include those that are reasonably foreseeable. As a tunnel is proposed 
for the Project, potential above- and below-ground impacts will be 
considered. Potential impacts include transportation, land use, 
socioeconomics and economic development, parklands and recreational 
facilities, neighborhoods and community facilities, environmental 
justice, noise and vibration, hazardous materials, ecosystems, water 
resources, and short-term construction impacts. The EIS will also 
address displacements and relocations, historic and archaeological 
resources, visual quality, vegetation, geotechnical conditions, air 
quality (including greenhouse gas emissions), and energy. The potential 
impact to these resources will be evaluated for the short-term 
construction period and long-term operation of each alternative. 
Measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate impacts will be evaluated and 
proposed, as necessary.
    The Agencies have identified several potential impact areas and 
project considerations, including: The crossing of major transportation 
thoroughfares; impacts to downtown roadways; property acquisitions; 
impacts to historic resources; and preserving the ability to develop 
station areas for transit-oriented development and affordable housing.

IV. Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations

    The EIS will list Federal permits, licenses, and other 
authorizations that must be obtained in implementing the Project. The 
Agencies anticipate that required permits and other authorizations may 
include:
     U.S. Department of Interior approval under Section 6(f) of 
the Land and Water Conservation Act;
     Memorandum of Agreement with the State Historic 
Preservation Officer under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act; and
     U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval under Section 404 of 
the Clean Water Act and/or Section 10 of the River and Harbors Act.

V. Schedule for Decision-Making Process

    The Agencies intend to complete the EIS for the Project within two 
years, measured from the date of the issuance of this notice to the 
date a ROD is signed. Capital Metro will accept public comments on the 
scope of the EIS (i.e., the information presented in this notice and at 
https://projectconnect.com/orange-environment) through June 23, 2021. 
The Agencies will then consider those comments as they prepare the 
draft EIS. The Agencies will announce the availability of the draft EIS 
in the Federal Register and via local media outlets. Capital Metro 
expects the draft EIS will be available for a minimum 45-day public 
comment period by Spring 2022. The Agencies will consider substantive 
comments timely submitted during the public comment period and then 
prepare a combined final EIS/ROD by Winter 2022/2023. The Agencies 
expect that all Federal environmental authorization decisions for the 
construction of the Project will be completed within a reasonable 
period following issuance of the ROD.

VI. Description of Scoping Process

    In accordance with NEPA and its implementing regulations, and after 
FTA determined that the Project was sufficiently developed for agency 
and public consideration, the Agencies used an early and open process 
to determine the scope of issues for analysis in the EIS. On April 19, 
2019, FTA published in the Federal Register a Notice of Early Scoping 
for the Project. Since that time, Capital Metro has extensively engaged 
the public and stakeholder agencies to identify significant 
environmental issues deserving of study, thereby narrowing the scope of 
the EIS to the relevant impacts. As part of the scoping process, FTA 
invited the participation of likely affected Federal, State, Tribal, 
and local agencies and governments, and other likely affected or 
interested persons. From January 2021 to March 2021, Capital Metro held 
public and agency virtual scoping meetings, published scoping 
information (e.g., alternatives analysis), and used other means to 
communicate with persons or agencies who may be interested or affected 
by the Project. Capital Metro has posted a self-guided public scoping 
presentation online at https://projectconnect.com/orange-environment.
    The Agencies identified partner agencies that potentially have an 
interest in the Project, including those agencies with authorization 
decisions, and invited them to serve as a participating or cooperating 
agency to the EIS.

VII. Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, 
and Analysis

    The Agencies invite all State, Tribal, local governments, and the 
public to comment on potential alternatives, information, and analyses 
to be considered in the EIS.

Gail Lyssy,
Regional Administrator, FTA Region VI.
[FR Doc. 2021-10865 Filed 5-21-21; 8:45 am]
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