Project Description

In September 1997, the North Carolina Department of Transportation proposed a project for a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Charlotte, NC - Washington, DC high-speed rail corridor. Cooperative agreement DTFRDV-97-H-60023 costs totaled $500,000, with Federal funding of $200,000 and State funding of $300,000. The agreement was valid through July 2001.

The Secretary of Transportation, pursuant to Section 1010 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, 23 U.S.C. 104(d)(2)), designated a corridor from Charlotte, N.C., through Richmond, VA, to Washington, D.C. as a high-speed rail corridor. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VADRPT) have been progressing the development of this corridor through design activities and technology demonstrations. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in consultation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the State agencies, decided to initiate more detailed environmental assessment activities associated with compliance, with the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, and related laws, regulations, and orders (NEPA).

The project involves environmental screening of the high-speed corridor to identify those types of actions likely to be undertaken and reasonable alternatives that could have an impact on the environment. The screening also estimates the relative significance of such actions and those environmental analyses appropriate for the assessment of such actions. Previous planning by NCDOT included environmental screening of potential actions between Charlotte and Raleigh, but this project will update this information, as appropriate, and extend this environmental screening to include the Raleigh to Washington segment of the high-speed rail corridor.

The environmental screening provides information for required NEPA documentation, which is determined by the joint lead Federal agencies. Based upon the NEPA documentation determination, NCDOT will prepare a strategy for undertaking the necessary environmental analyses and preparing the appropriate documentation required by that determination.

If the joint lead Federal agencies conclude than the proposed action requires an environmental impact statement, a full and open process for determining the scope of the analysis to be included in the NEPA documentation, involving agencies, private groups, and entities with an interest in the proposed action, as well as the general public, will be undertaken. The scoping process shall be conducted consistent with procedures approved by the joint lead Federal agencies and shall be fully documented.

FRA, acting through its Passenger Programs Division, and FHWA, acting through its North Carolina Division, are the joint lead Federal agencies for the preparation of the required NEPA documentation. The State of North Carolina, acting through NCDOT, serves as the lead State agency.