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West Haven Railroad Station Final Environmental Impact Evaluation

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West Haven Railroad Station Final Environmental Impact Evaluation State Project No. 106-116 Final State Environmental Impact Evaluation New Railroad Station at City of West Haven or Town of Orange Connecticut Department of Transportation Newington, Connecticut June 2007 Connecticut Department of Transportation State Project 106-116 West Haven/Orange Railroad Station Final EIE Preface This document is the Final State Environmental Impact Evaluation (FEIE) prepared in accordance with the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA) for the three alternatives under consideration for a new railroad station between New Haven and Milford: no action, a station in West Haven, or a station in Orange. The FEIE comprises the combined Draft Federal Environmental Assessment (DEA) and Draft State Environmental Impact Evaluation (DEIE), public comments regarding the DEA/DEIE, responses to public comments, and the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (ConnDOT) selection of a preferred alternative. Appendices C through G have been added as part of the FEIE to report the additional work completed since the DEA/DEIE. The FEIE caps off many years of hard work and pulls together quantitative and qualitative environmental analysis with the concerns of local residents. This evaluation provides decision makers with the essential information they need to select the alternative that best meets the purpose and need of the proposed project. After an extensive review of the DEA/DEIE findings and all public comments on the DEA/DEIE, ConnDOT has selected the City of West Haven as the recommended location for a new commuter rail station. As part of this recommended action, ConnDOT has also decided to complete the project entirely with State funds. The decision to pursue construction of the West Haven station without federal assistance relieves the State of the need to complete the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) process. Constructing the new station entirely with State funds reflects the strong local, regional, and state commitment to this project and the desire to add an additional rail station on the Metro-North New Haven Line in the south-central Connecticut region as soon as possible. As a result of the change in funding strategy, a Federal EA is no longer required since federal funds are no longer being sought. Although the project will not be completed through the Federal process, the environmental impacts of the project have been fully assessed in the DEA/DEIE and environmental impacts of the project will be addressed through the State’s CEPA process. Since this environmental document began as a combined EA/EIE, the portions of this document consisting of the DEA/DEIE, public comments to the DEA/DEIE, and responses to those comments all still refer to the combined Federal and State assessment. Despite references to the DEA/DEIE throughout the document, in its final form this document is a Final Environmental Impact Evaluation completed for the State of Connecticut. i Preface Connecticut Department of Transportation State Project 106-116 West Haven/Orange Railroad Station Final EIE The recommendation of the West Haven site does not preclude the construction of a commuter railroad station at the Orange site in the future, as the demand for additional parking and service warrants, and as additional funding becomes available. If ConnDOT, in cooperation with state and local officials, as well as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), determines that it is prudent and feasible to proceed with the construction of a new railroad station at the Orange site, an appropriate environmental document will be prepared. If funding is provided from combined federal and state sources, joint NEPA/CEPA documentation will be prepared using the information presented in this document as the basis. ii Preface Connecticut Department of Transportation State Project 106-116 West Haven/Orange Railroad Station DEA/DEIE Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................. ES-1 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1-1 2.0 Purpose and Need............................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Project Purpose......................................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Project Need.............................................................................................. 2-1 2.3 Consistency with State and Regional Transportation Planning Objectives .................................................................................................. 2-4 3.0 Coordination, Consultation, and Permits ...................................................... 3-1 3.1 Federal, State, and Local Agency Coordination.................................. 3-1 3.2 Permits and Approvals Required.......................................................... 3-3 4.0 Alternatives.......................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Background............................................................................................... 4-1 4.2 Technical Evaluation ............................................................................... 4-3 4.3 No-Action Alternative............................................................................. 4-6 4.4 West Haven Alternative.......................................................................... 4-7 4.5 Orange Alternative ................................................................................ 4-14 4.6 Comparison of Alternatives ................................................................. 4-22 5.0 Environmental Consequences and Mitigation.............................................. 5-1 5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................. 5-1 5.2 Resources Eliminated from Further Consideration ............................ 5-1 5.3 Transportation.......................................................................................... 5-2 5.4 Air Quality .............................................................................................. 5-23 5.5 Noise ....................................................................................................... 5-33 5.6 Land Use/Social and Economic Impacts............................................ 5-42 5.7 Environmental Justice ........................................................................... 5-54 5.8 Visual Impacts ........................................................................................ 5-61 5.9 Archaeological Resources..................................................................... 5-63 5.10 Wetlands and Floodplains.................................................................... 5-65 5.11 Water Quality ......................................................................................... 5-74 5.12 Wildlife/Threatened and Endangered Species ................................. 5-79 5.13 Coastal Zone Consistency..................................................................... 5-87 5.14 Energy Analysis ..................................................................................... 5-89 5.15 Public Safety and Security .................................................................... 5-91 5.16 Hazardous Materials and Contaminated Soils/Sediments............ 5-93 5.17 Secondary Impacts................................................................................. 5-95 5.18 Cumulative Impacts .............................................................................. 5-96 iii Table of Contents H:\RMalloy\Boston project back up\WHO\FEIE\FEIE TofC.doc Connecticut Department of Transportation State Project 106-116 West Haven/Orange Railroad Station DEA/DEIE 5.19 Construction Impacts .......................................................................... 5-102 5.20 Summary ............................................................................................... 5-108 6.0 References............................................................................................................. 6-1 7.0 Glossary and Acronyms..................................................................................... 7-1 8.0 Distribution.......................................................................................................... 8-1 Appendices A Correspondence..................................................................................................A-1 B Box Turtle Habitat Assessment........................................................................B-1 C Index to Public Comments............................................................................... C-1 D Responses to Comments...................................................................................D-1 E Written Public Comments.................................................................................E-1 F Orange Public Hearing Transcript ..................................................................F-1 G West Haven Public Hearing Transcript.........................................................G-1 iv Table of Contents H:\RMalloy\Boston project back up\WHO\FEIE\FEIE TofC.doc Connecticut Department of Transportation State Project 106-116 West Haven/Orange Railroad Station DEA/DEIE List of Tables Table No. Description Page ES.5-1 Comparison of Alternatives............................................................ES-10
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