[Federal Register: September 8, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 173)]
[Notices]               
[Page 54694-54695]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08se10-140]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

 
Notice of Availability of a Supplemental Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement for the DesertXpress High-Speed Passenger Rail Project

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), United States Department 
of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a 
Supplemental Draft EIS has been prepared for the DesertXpress High-
Speed Passenger Train Project (Project). FRA is the lead agency for the 
environmental review process and has prepared the Supplemental Draft 
EIS consistent with the provisions of Section 102(2)(c) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 
Counsel of Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA 
(40 CFR parts 1500 et seq.) and FRA's Procedures for Considering 
Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545; May 26, 1999).
    DesertXpress Enterprises Inc., the Project proponent, proposes to 
construct and operate a fully grade-separated, dedicated double-track, 
passenger-only railroad along an approximately 200-mile corridor, from 
Victorville, CA, to Las Vegas, NV. After publication of the Draft EIS 
and in response to substantive comments submitted by interested 
agencies and the public, the Project proponent proposed several project 
modifications and additions. After reviewing the proposed project 
modifications and additions, FRA determined a Supplemental Draft EIS 
describing the potential environmental effects of the modifications and 
additions was necessary to fulfill its responsibility under NEPA.

DATES: Written comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS for the 
DesertXpress Project should be provided to FRA on or before October 18 
2010. Public hearings are scheduled on October 13 and October 14, 2010, 
at the times and dates listed in the Addresses Section below in Las 
Vegas, NV and Barstow, CA.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS should be 
sent to Ms. Wendy Messenger, Environmental Protection Specialist, 
Office of Railroad Policy and Development, ATTN: DesertXpress EIS, 
Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., MS-20, Washington, DC 20590 or via e-mail 
with the subject line DesertXpress EIS to Wendy.Messenger@dot.gov. 
Comments may also be provided orally or in writing at the public 
hearings scheduled at the following locations:
     Las Vegas, NV, Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 5:30 to 8 p. 
m., Hampton Inn Tropicana, SW. Event Center B, 4975 Dean Martin Drive, 
Las Vegas, NV; and
     Barstow, CA, Thursday, October 14, 2010, 5:30 to 8 p.m., 
Lenwood Hampton Inn, Jackrabbit Room 1, 2710 Lenwood Road, Barstow, CA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Wendy Messenger, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Office of Railroad Policy and Development, 
Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., MS-20, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 
202-493-6396).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Following the March 18, 2009 publication of 
the Draft EIS on the Project, several project modifications and 
additions were proposed to address substantive comments received during 
public and agency review of the Draft EIS and to reduce or avoid 
significant environmental effects. After evaluating the proposed 
project modifications and additions, FRA determined, pursuant to 40 CFR 
1502.9, that it was necessary to prepare a supplement to the Draft EIS 
analyzing the potential environmental impacts that might result from 
those modifications and additions. Therefore, in compliance with CEQ's 
regulations and FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts, 
FRA, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Surface 
Transportation Board (STB), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and 
the National Park Service (NPS), and with the added participation of 
the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Nevada 
Department of Transportation (NDOT), prepared a Supplemental Draft EIS.
    The Project would involve the construction and operation of an 
interstate high-speed passenger train system between Victorville, CA 
and Las Vegas, NV, along an approximately 200-mile corridor. The 
project proponent proposes to construct nearly the entire fully grade-
separated, dedicated double-track, passenger-only railroad either in 
the median of, or immediately alongside, Interstate-15 (I-15).
    The proposed project modifications and additions do not in any way 
change the underlying purpose of, or need for, the project. The need 
for high-speed passenger rail service arises from several factors, 
including high and increasing travel demand with limited increases in 
capacity on I-15, constraints to the expansion of air travel, and 
frequent highway vehicle accidents on the I-15 corridor. The 
DesertXpress high-speed passenger train is intended to provide reliable 
and safe passenger rail transportation using proven high-speed rail 
technology that would be a convenient alternative to automobile travel 
on I-15 or air travel to and from Las Vegas, and that would add 
transportation capacity along the I-15 corridor.
    Consistent with the requirements of NEPA, the Supplemental Draft 
EIS evaluates the environmental effects of the proposed modifications 
and additions, which include a new Victorville passenger station option 
at Dale Evans Parkway, a rail alignment through the Barstow area 
following the I-15 freeway corridor from Lenwood through Yermo, CA, a 
new rail alignment through the Clark Mountains near the Mojave National 
Preserve, new sites for maintenance and operation facilities in 
unincorporated Clark County, NV, relocation of portions of the rail 
alignment in metropolitan Las Vegas from the immediate I-15 corridor to 
the Industrial Road/Dean Martin Drive corridor, and several alignment 
modifications to reduce or avoid environmental impacts, improve 
operating characteristics, or avoid conflicts with other planned 
projects.
    Copies of both the Supplemental Draft EIS and Draft EIS are 
available online at FRA's Web site: http://www.fra.dot.gov; they are 
also available for viewing at the following locations near the planned 
rail system:
     Victorville City Library, 15011 Circle Drive, Victorville, 
CA 92395;
     Barstow Library, 304 East Buena Vista, Barstow, CA 92311;
     Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 
89119; and
     Las Vegas Library, 833 Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas, NV 
80101.


[[Page 54695]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 1, 2010.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Policy & Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-22246 Filed 9-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P