Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Urban Rail Project Between the Fullerton Transportation Center and Irvine Transportation Center, Orange County, CA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Urban Rail Project

Between the Fullerton Transportation Center and Irvine Transportation

Center, Orange County, CA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

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

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as lead agency, and

the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) intend to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) on a proposal by OCTA to

further study the proposed implementation of an urban rail system

within a corridor 45 kilometers (28 miles) long and 9.7 kilometers (6

miles) wide between the Cities of Fullerton and Irvine, known as the

Orange County Urban Rail (Urban Rail) Project. In addition to NEPA, the

proposed project is subject to compliance with the California

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), therefore, a joint Environmental

Impact Report (EIR)/EIS will be prepared.

The EIR/EIS will evaluate the following alternatives: 1) The Local

Preferred Strategy (LPS) Alignment Alternative. This alternative would

follow the alignment identified in the Priority Corridor Major

Investment Study, June 1997, on an elevated guideway. 2) A Lower Cost

Alternative (LCA). This alternative would connect the Fullerton and

Irvine Transportation Centers and would serve many of the activity

centers in the Corridor along a route which minimizes the distance and

number of freeway crossings. The system would be primarily at grade on

local streets. 3) A No Build Alternative, which involves no change to

transportation services or facilities in the corridor beyond already

committed projects. Potential new feasible alternatives generated

through the scoping process will also be considered.

Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested

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persons, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies; and one

public scoping meeting

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives

and impacts to be considered should be submitted by June 22, 1998.

Written comments should be sent to Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South

Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863. Written comments may

also be made at the public scoping meeting scheduled below. Scoping

Meeting: The public scoping meeting will take place on: Thursday, June

4, 1998 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Fullerton Senior Center. See

ADDRESS below.

People with special needs should contact Cindy Krebs at OCTA at the

address below or by calling (714) 560-5740. A TDD number is also

available: (714) 636-4327. The building is accessible to people with

disabilities.

The meeting will be held in an ``open-house'' format, and

representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the

time periods given. Informational displays and written material will

also be available throughout the time periods given.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA,

550 South Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863. Written

comments may also be made at the public scoping meting as scheduled

below. The Scoping Meeting will take place at the following location:

Thursday, June 4, 1998 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Fullerton Senior

Center, 340 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main

Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714)

560-5794.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

FTA and OCTA invite interested individuals, organizations, and

Federal, State, and local agencies to participate in defining the

alternatives to be evaluated in the EIR/EIS and identifying any

significant social, economic, or environmental issues related to the

alternatives. An information packet describing the purpose of the

project, the location, the proposed alternatives, and the impact areas

to be evaluated is being mailed to affected Federal, State, and local

agencies. Others may request the scoping materials by contacting Ms.

Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA

92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714) 560-5794. Scoping comments may be

made in writing at the public scoping meeting. See the Scoping Meeting

section above for the location and time. During scoping, comments

should focus on identifying specific social, economic, or environmental

impacts to be evaluated and suggesting alternatives that are less

costly or less environmentally damaging while meeting the identified

mobility needs. Scoping is not the appropriate time to indicate a

preference for a particular alternative. Comments on preferences should

be communicated after the Draft EIR/EIS has been completed. If you wish

to be placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the

project develops, contact: Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main

Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714)

560-5794.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

The study area extends from the City of Fullerton in a general

southward direction through the Cities of Anaheim, Orange, Garden

Grove, Santa Ana, and Costa Mesa and then eastward to the City of

Irvine, California. The area is approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles)

long and 9.7 kilometers (6 miles) wide.

The study corridor contains key activity, employment, and

transportation facilities in Orange County such as: Fullerton College,

Downtown Fullerton, Fullerton Transportation Center, Orangefair Mall,

Downtown Anaheim, Disneyland, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim

Stadium (Edison Field), Anaheim Amtrak Station, the Arrowhead Pond, the

City Mills, the St. Joseph Children's Hospital, the Main Place Mall,

Santa Ana Transportation Center, Downtown Santa Ana, the Federal,

County and City Civic Center area, South Coast Plaza/Metro, Orange

Coast College, John Wayne Airport, UCI, the Irvine Spectrum and

Entertainment Center, and the Irvine Transportation Center.

This EIR/EIS is the logical next step in transportation planning

and project development following OCTA's completion of a Major

Investment Study (MIS) of the mobility needs in the study area. This

MIS employed a far-reaching public involvement program, continuous

coordination with affected and interested agencies, and a detailed

evaluation of a wide range of alternatives to meet the identified

mobility needs. As the MIS process was mode-neutral in nature, the

public identified a comprehensive set of bus, road, and urban rail

alternatives. Detailed analysis at a conceptual engineering level was

completed for a set of alternatives to identify project cost,

ridership, cost-effectiveness measurements, and environmental benefits

and impacts. The results led to the development of a Locally Preferred

Strategy (LPS) that includes: (1) optimization of the present system

through expanded bus service and increased Metrolink commuter rail

service seats and (2) continued study of a light rail system between

the Fullerton and Irvine Transportation Centers. This EIS focuses on

the light rail alternative.

An effective multi-modal transportation network within the project

study area is necessary to meet the future mobility needs of businesses

and residents in Orange County. By the year 2020, despite current and

planned transportation system improvements, the magnitude and nature of

the County's population and employment growth trends are projected to

result in continuing transportation challenges in the corridor area as

evidenced by: increasing travel--approximately 1.8 million more daily

trips; growing transit-reliant population--doubling of senior

population; continuing freeway congestion--73 percent of the freeway

system will operate at 30 m.p.h. or less during morning and evening

peak periods; increasing arterial congestion--major intersections with

delay will grow from four percent to 27 percent; and limited travel

options--congested freeway and street system, and financially

constrained bus and Metrolink service.

III. Alternatives

The alternatives proposed for evaluation include: (1) LPS Alignment

Alternative. This alternative would follow the alignment identified in

the Priority Corridor Major Investment Study (June, 1997), which

provided for an elevated guideway from end to end within the arterial

corridors. The elevated guideway would typically be supported on

columns within the median. (2) A Lower Cost Alternative (LCA). This

alternative would connect the Fullerton and Irvine Transportation

Centers and would serve many of the activity centers in the Corridor

along a route which minimizes the distance and number of freeway

crossings. The system would be primarily at grade on local streets. (3)

A No Build Alternative, which involves no change to transportation

services or facilities in the corridor beyond already committed

projects. Potential new feasible alternatives generated through the

scoping process will also be considered.

IV. Probable Effects

FTA and OCTA will evaluate, in the EIR/EIS, all significant social,

economic,

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and environmental impacts of the alternatives. The previous MIS study

evaluated these impacts at a corridor level of detail for the LPS

Alternative alignment. These issues will be evaluated at a project

level of detail in the Draft EIR/EIS. Among the primary transit issues

to be evaluated are the expected increase in transit ridership, the

expected increase in mobility for the corridor's transit dependent, the

support of the region's air quality goals, the capital outlays needed

to construct the project, the cost of operating and maintaining the

facilities created by the project, and the financial impacts on the

funding agencies. Potentially affected environmental and social

resources proposed for analysis include land use and neighborhood

impacts, residential and business displacements and relocations,

traffic and parking impacts near stations, traffic circulation, visual

impacts, impacts on cultural and archaeological resources, and noise

and vibration impacts. Impacts on air and water quality, groundwater,

hazardous waste sites, and water resources will also be covered. The

impacts will be evaluated both for the construction period and for the

long-term period of operation. Measures to mitigate significant adverse

impacts will be considered.

V. FTA Procedures

The EIR/EIS and the conceptual engineering for the Urban Rail

project will be prepared simultaneously. The EIR/EIS/conceptual

engineering process will assess the social, economic, and environmental

impacts of the proposed alternatives while refining their design to

minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts. After its publication, the

Draft EIR/EIS will be available for public and agency review and

comment, and a public hearing will be held. On the basis on the Draft

EIR/EIS and comments received, OCTA will select a preferred alternative

to carry forward into the Final EIR/EIS and complete engineering.

Following this action by OCTA, OCTA will request FTA authorization to

proceed with the Final EIS/EIR and complete engineering.

Issued: May 15, 1998.

Leslie Rogers,

Regional Administrator Federal Transit Administration Region IX.

[FR Doc. 98-13438 Filed 5-19-98; 8:45 am]

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