Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement
California HST – Fresno to Bakersfield
FRA is circulating for public review the project-level Fresno to Bakersfield High Speed Train (HST) Project Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Revised DEIR/ Supplemental DEIS). In response to stakeholder, agency, and public feedback on the HST alignment alternatives, FRA determined it would revise the Draft EIR/EIS that was released in August 2011 to include additional route and station options. The Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS for the Fresno Bakersfield section includes new alignment alternatives and station locations west of Hanford, an additional alternative through Bakersfield, and refinements to the existing Fresno to Bakersfield alternative alignments. The Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS includes the development of preliminary engineering designs and the identification and analysis of the potential environmental effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST system, including track structures, ancillary facilities, and stations.
The Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS has incorporated changes to address comments received during the 2011 Draft EIR/EIS public comment period. Changes from the August 2011 Draft EIR/EIS are shaded in grey to facilitate public and agency review. Public comments are being accepted on the Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS from July 20, 2012 to October 19, 2012. The public comment period was extended an additional 30 days. The Final EIR/EIS, which is anticipated for release in early 2013, will provide responses to comments from both public comment periods.
The Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS presents the Project’s purpose and need, identifies all reasonable alternatives including track alignments, stations, and heavy maintenance facilities as well as the no action alternative, describes the affected environment, analyzes the potential environmental impacts of all the reasonable alternatives and the no action alternative, and identifies appropriate mitigation measures to minimize the potential environmental impacts.
Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS Federal Notice of Availability
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers served as a cooperating agency on this Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS. The Corps is the agency responsible for issuing permits for discharge of dredged or fill material within Waters of the U. S. [Fresno to Bakersfield U.S. Army Corps 404 Notice , Attachment]
Public Hearings
Public Hearings on the Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS will be held:
- In Bakersfield on August 27, 2012, from 3 pm to 8 pm at the Beale Memorial Library (701 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301)
- In Hanford on August 28, 2012, from 3 pm to 8 pm at the Hanford Fraternal Hall (1015 N. 10th Avenue, Hanford, CA 93230)
- In Fresno on August 29, 2012, from 3 pm to 8 pm at the Fresno Convention Center, Exhibit Hall III (848 M Street, Fresno, CA 93721)
Comments
Please provide your comments to the California High-Speed Rail Authority by September 20, 2012.
- Regular Mail
Fresno to Bakersfield Revised Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS Comment
770 L Street, Suite 800
Sacramento, CA 95814
- Email
Fresno_Bakersfield@hsr.ca.gov
Subject line: Revised Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS Comment
- Website
See official comment box on California High Speed Rail Authority website
Fresno to Bakersfield Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS documents for download:
The following documents are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format, which is available for download at no cost on the Internet. (Note: many of these files are very large and could take up to several minutes to download.) Technical appendices that are part of the project record for the Fresno to Bakersfield EIS are available on the California High Speed Rail Authority website. Parts of the Revised DEIR/Supplemental DEIS that have changed from the August 2011 Draft EIR/EIS are shaded in grey to facilitate public and agency review.
In the preliminary Section 4(f)/6(f) evaluation, a potential resource was inadvertently reported to be within the “footprint” of disturbance for the BNSF Alternative through Bakersfield. In fact, this resource is located approximately 400 feet south of the BNSF Alternative, within the footprint of disturbance of the Bakersfield South Alternative. Because of the importance of the Section 4(f) determination, the preliminary 4(f)/6(f) evaluation contained in Chapter 4.0 of the Revised Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS has been corrected to indicate that the affected potential resource in Bakersfield would be impacted by the Bakersfield South Alternative. The copies of the Revised Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS available at public locations in the project area are being updated to include the corrected Chapter 4.0.