Notice To Rescind Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement: Lone Star Regional Rail Project, Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Hays, Caldwell, Comal Guadalupe and Bexar Counties, State of Texas

Topics:  Interstate Highway System

Michael T. Leary
Federal Highway Administration
24 January 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 8255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01544]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Notice To Rescind Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement: Lone Star Regional Rail Project, Williamson, Travis, 
Bastrop, Hays, Caldwell, Comal Guadalupe and Bexar Counties, State of 
Texas

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Rescind Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Lone Star Rail Project in Central Texas.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the 
Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the proposed Lone Star Rail 
transportation project to construct and operate a regional passenger 
rail service system along the IH-35 corridor connecting the greater 
Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas is rescinded. The Texas 
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will no longer prepare an EIS for 
the Lone Star Rail Project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Leary, Director of Planning 
and Program Development, Federal Highway Administration, 300 E. 8th 
Street, Room 826, Austin, Texas 78701, by telephone (512)536-5940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the TxDOT and 
the Lone Star Rail District (LSRD), published a Notice of Intent in the 
Federal Register on October 6, 2014 (Document Number 2014-23711, Pages 
60232 to 60323) to prepare an EIS for the proposed project to construct 
and operate the Lone Star Rail Project, a regional passenger rail 
service system along the IH-35 corridor connecting the greater Austin 
and San Antonio metropolitan areas anticipated to be operated by the 
LSRD. The proposed EIS was to evaluate the reasonable corridor 
alternatives.
    The LSRD conducted numerous studies and held public meetings to 
gather input from the public and other stakeholders to consider in the 
development of the DEIS. A Notice of Availability (NOA) for a DEIS was 
never published in the Federal Register. In October 2016, TxDOT 
requested preparation of the EIS be stopped and the Notice of Intent be 
rescinded. In January 2017 TxDOT provided information supporting their 
request to rescind the NOI.
    The request is based on a number of issues first being the decision 
by Union Pacific Railroad Company to cancel the UP/LSRD agreement for 
the possible use MOPAC corridor (the locally preferred alternative) 
which renders the alternate using of UP right of way nonviable. This 
action caused a cascade of additional actions by other entities. One of 
which was the removal the proposed project from the Capital Area 
Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO--Austin MPO) metropolitan 
transportation plan (MTP) and an ongoing effort to remove the project 
in the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (AAMPO--San 
Antonio MPO) MTP. As per current transportation planning regulations 23 
CFR450 the project could not advance to a NEPA decision without being 
in both MPO's metropolitan transportation plans. Further, TxDOT 
analyzed the other remaining initially reasonable alternatives and 
determined that:

--the use of I 35 corridor would not be financial feasible due to ROW 
constraints and ongoing I-35 improvements .
--the use of the State Highway 130 corridor as per LSRD 2008 fatal flaw 
analysis concluded the corridor would not support a commuter rail line 
and ridership and connectivity would make the corridor nonviable.
--other alternative combinations such as I 35 and UP rail line and a 
hybrid option lack viability.

    Further with an estimated cost of between $2 to $3 billion, funding 
anticipated by LSRD such as the State's Rail Relocation and Improvement 
Fund, Federal Railroad Administration grants and private investment 
have not been capitalized or funded at levels necessary needed to 
complete the project.
    Due to the request made by the lead State sponsor (TxDOT) and based 
on the above information with the UP rail line alternative no longer 
feasible, lack of viability of other reasonable alternatives, removal 
of the project from the CAMPO transportation plan and a lack of a 
capitalized financial plan to move the project forward, the further 
development of the DEIS is not warranted at this time. As a result, the 
above mentioned original Notice of Intent is rescinded.
    The FHWA concurs with the TxDOT that the information gathered 
during the LSRD EIS project can be used in future efforts to determine 
viable transportation options for the Austin San Antonio corridor.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway research, Planning and Construction. The regulations 
implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental 
consultation on Federal programs and activities apply to this 
program.)


    Authority:  23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48.

    Issued on January 13, 2017.
Michael T. Leary,
Director Planning and Program Development, FHWA, Texas Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-01544 Filed 1-23-17; 8:45 am]
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