Alaska Railroad - Northern Rail Extension

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Alaska Railroad - Northern Rail Extension

Alaska Railroad - Northern Rail Extension Abstract

On July 6, 2007, the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC or the Applicant) filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board (STB or the Board) pursuant to 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) 10502 for the authority to construct and operate a new rail line between North Pole, Alaska, and Delta Junction, Alaska. In the petition, the Applicant proposed the construction of approximately 80 miles of new rail line, known as the Northern Rail Extension.

The Board’s Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Northern Rail Extension. SEA prepared the Final EIS in cooperation with eight agencies – the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District; the U.S. Department of Defense, Alaskan Command; the U.S. Air Force 354 th Fighter Wing, Eielson Air Force Base; the Federal Transit Administration; the Federal Railroad Administration; the U.S. Coast Guard, Seventeenth District; and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

The Final EIS is based on SEA’s independent analyses; consultations with agencies, elected officials, organizations, and members of the public; and careful consideration of all comments on the Draft EIS. The document contains detailed responses to comments received on the Draft EIS, and SEA’s recommendations for alternatives that should be constructed and operated should the Board grant final approval for the project. SEA’s recommendations for alternatives include the North Common Segment, any one of three Eielson alternative segments, Salcha Alternative Segment 1, Connector Segment B, Central Alternative Segment 2, Connector Segment E (as needed), either of the Donnelly alternative segments, South Common Segment, and Delta Alternative Segment 1.

Last, the Final EIS sets SEA’s final recommendations for mitigating potential environmental impacts. SEA recommends that the Board impose the 51 voluntary mitigation measures the Applicant developed and the 72 additional mitigation measures SEA developed (see Chapter 2 of the Final EIS).

The Final EIS is organized consistent with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and is intended to be read in conjunction with the Draft EIS, which was issued for public review and comment on December 12, 2008. The Draft EIS provides more detailed information on the Proposed Action and Alternatives to agency decisionmakers and the public. The Draft EIS describes the project’s purpose and need, the Proposed Action and Alternatives, existing environmental conditions, the potential environmental impacts associated with the Proposed Action and alternatives, and mitigation. The Final EIS reflects additional consultation and coordination activities and revisions to the document’s content since publication of the Draft EIS.

Next Steps

Issuance of the Final EIS completes the Board’s environmental review process. The Board now will make a final decision on the proposed project. In accordance with Council on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA, no agency decision on the proposed action may be made until 30 days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability for the Final EIS. (Note: SEA anticipates that EPA will publish a notice of availability of the Final EIS in the Federal Register on September 25, 2009. Congress has not established a statutory time frame within which the Board must issue its final decision, and the Board has not announced a date for issuance of the final decision. However, in the interest of bringing this matter to closure, the Board will act as promptly as possible.

In making its final decision on the proposed project, the Board will consider the entire environmental record, including all public comments, the Draft EIS, the Final EIS, and SEA’s final recommended environmental mitigation. No project-related construction may begin until the Board’s final decision has been issued and has become effective. Parties who wish to file an administrative appeal of the Board’s final decision may do so within 20 days of that decision, as provided in the Board’s rules. The Board will consider any administrative appeals in a subsequent decision. The cooperating agencies will also issue decisions, as needed, under their own governing statutes.

SEA has mailed the entire Final EIS to Federal, state, and local agencies, elected officials, organizations, and other interested parties. To receive a hard copy of the Final EIS, call SEA’s toll-free Environmental Hotline at 1-800-359-5142. The Final EIS is also available to all interested persons for review in the reference section of three public libraries in the project area, listed below:

Delta Community Library
2288 Deborah Street
Delta Junction, AK 99737
(907) 895-4656

Noel Wein Public Library
1215 Cowles Street
Fairbanks, AK 99701
(907) 459-1020

North Pole Branch Library
601 Snowman Lane
North Pole, AK 99705
(907) 488-6101

Links to the Draft EIS and Final EIS are provided below:

September 18, 2009 Final Environmental Impact Statement

December 12, 2008 Draft Environmental Impact Statement