|
You are here: Home | Environmental Review Process and Documents ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS AND DOCUMENTSThe National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process is intended to assist the Surface Transportation Board (Board) and the public in identifying and assessing the potential environmental consequences of a proposed action before a final decision on the proposed action is made. The Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) is responsible for ensuring that the Board complies with NEPA and related environmental statutes. OEA’s analysis is separate and distinct from any analyses the Applicant (ARRC) or Matanuska-Susitna Borough have done to date. The first stage of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process is scoping. Scoping is an open process for determining the scope of environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS. As part of the scoping process, OEA published in the Federal Register and mailed to the public on February 12, 2008, the Notice of Availability of Draft Scope of Study for the EIS, Notice of Scoping Meetings, and Request for Comments. The Draft Scope of Study for the EIS is available on this Web site. OEA also prepared and distributed to the public a fact sheet that introduced ARRC’s Port MacKenzie Rail Extension, announced OEA’s intent to prepare an EIS, requested comments, and gave notice of 6 public scoping meetings to citizens; elected officials; Federal, state, and local agencies; tribal organizations; and other potentially interested stakeholders. For more information on the public scoping meetings see the Public Involvement page. The scoping comment period concluded on March 21, 2008. The Final Scope of Study was published in the Federal Register on Friday, July 17, 2009 (74 FR 34859). The public may view the final scope on this Web site or, on STB’s main Web site at www.stb.dot.gov. OEA prepared a Draft EIS for the proposed Port MacKenzie Rail Extension. The Draft EIS addresses those environmental issues and concerns identified during the scoping process. It contains OEA’s preliminary recommendations for environmental mitigation measures. The Draft EIS was served on parties and delivered to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) on March 16, 2010. OEA encouraged the public and any interested parties to submit written comments on all aspects of the Draft EIS. OEA accepted comments on the Draft EIS during the 45-day public comment period, which began upon the USEPA’s issuance of a notice of availability in the Federal Register on March 26, 2010 and closed on May 10, 2010. In addition to receiving written comments on the Draft EIS, OEA hosted 6 public meetings on the Draft EIS during which interested parties were given the opportunity to make oral comments in a formal setting and/or submit written comments. For more information on how comments were submitted on the Draft EIS, and the public meetings on the Draft EIS, see the Public Involvement page. OEA received a total of approximately 162 written and oral comments during the Draft EIS comment period, which closed on May 10, 2010. Comments were received from elected officials; Federal, state, and local agencies; Tribes; organizations; and citizens. The Final EIS is based on OEA’s independent analyses; consultations with agencies; and careful consideration of all comments on the Draft EIS from agencies, elected officials, organizations, and members of the public. The document contains detailed responses to comments received on the Draft EIS and OEA’s recommendations for the alternative that should be constructed and operated should the Board grant final approval for the project. OEA’s recommended alternative is the Mac East Variant-Connector 3 Variant-Houston-Houston South Alternative. The Final EIS includes OEA’s final recommended environmental mitigation conditions, as applicable. Issuance of this Final EIS completes the Board’s environmental review process. The Board will consider the entire environmental record, including all public and agency comments, the Draft EIS, the Final EIS, and OEA’s environmental recommendations in making its final decision on whether to authorize the construction and operation of the proposed Port MacKenzie Rail Extension. 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. Port MacKenzie EIS milestones and documents Documents Available Now:
Documents Available in the Future:
|