Action
Notice of intent to prepare Environmental Impact Statement.
Summary
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in cooperation with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to evaluate transportation improvements in the Houston metropolitan area (Harris County). The EIS will evaluate the following transit alternatives: a No Build Alternative, consisting of already planned improvements to the corridor, and a Build Alternative, consisting of a wide range of transit improvements. The type, location, and need for ancillary facilities, such as maintenance facilities, will also be considered for each alternative. Scoping will be accomplished with a series of public meetings, and through correspondence with interested persons, organizations, and Federal, State and local agencies. Depending on the outcome of the scoping process and the analysis of a wide range of transit alternatives, a Locally Preferred Investment Strategy (LPIS) will be selected and evaluated in the EIS. The EIS will evaluate the potential impacts of the selected investment strategy (the Build Alternative) and a No Build Alternative. The sequence of events for the planning and development for this project include the following major milestones: <bullet> Scoping Process--early opportunity for public input to the study scope and project alternatives. Scoping will be accomplished with a series of public meetings and through correspondence with interested persons, organizations, and Federal, State and local agencies. <bullet> Planning Studies--evaluation of proposed improvement alternatives, early consideration of environmental factors, concluding with the selection of a LPIS. <bullet> Conceptual Engineering and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)--conceptual definition of the alternatives including their physical features and potential impacts, consideration of mitigation measures, preparation and circulation of the Draft EIS, and public hearing(s). <bullet> Preliminary Engineering and Final EIS--detailed definition of the proposed alternative's physical features, assessment of potential impacts, development of selected mitigation measures, responses to comments offered during the Draft EIS comment period, and preparation of the Final EIS.