Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Capital Metro Blue Line Project in Austin, Texas, 27942-27944 [2021-10866]

Agencies

• Federal Transit Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 98 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27942-27944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10866]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Capital 
Metro Blue 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 Blue Line Project (the Project) 
in Austin, Texas. The Project is a proposed light rail transit (LRT) 
line that would extend approximately 8.2 miles from Republic Square in 
downtown Austin to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). 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, Blue 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.

[[Page 27943]]

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/blue-environment.
    As documented in the PEL study, the purpose of the Project is to 
provide improved HCT that operates faster; has better reliability; 
provides improved connectivity to affordable housing, employment, 
activity centers, and the AUS; and links other future transit 
corridors.
    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;
     Provide better transit options linking affordable housing 
and jobs;
     Support growth of and connectivity to activity centers; 
and
     Support Austin-Bergstrom International Airport growth in 
air travel.

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 an 8.2-mile proposed LRT line from Republic Square 
in Downtown Austin to AUS. The Project would involve new track mostly 
within existing publicly owned right-of-way, running at street level 
(primarily center running) and elevated in two sections--across Lady 
Bird Lake (Colorado River) and at AUS. The proposed transitway would 
include an approximate 0.8-mile tunnel between the Downtown and 
Republic Square stations. Additional potential stations include: Emma 
S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center/Rainey, Waterfront, 
Travis Heights, Lakeshore, Riverside, Faro, Montopolis, Metro Center, 
and AUS. Blue Line trains would ultimately connect with the proposed 
Orange Line Project. Possible station locations in Downtown Austin 
could ultimately serve both the proposed Blue Line and Orange Line 
projects. The Project's transitway and station locations will be 
further refined during the environmental review 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 Orange Line Project and bus rapid transit projects, as 
part of Project Connect), except the Blue Line Project. 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 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 waterways; adjacent 
wetlands and watersheds; mitigating conflict with adjacent roadways; 
preserving the ability to develop AUS property for aviation operations 
while providing a high-quality station area; minimizing impacts to 
downtown roadways; property acquisitions; 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.

[[Page 27944]]

V. Schedule for the 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/blue-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 scoping 
presentation online at https://projectconnect.com/blue-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 Analyses

    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. 2021-10866 Filed 5-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P