Final Environmental Impact Report Chapter 5 – Response to Comments on the DEIR Chapter 5 – Response to Comments on the DEIR South Station Expansion June 2016 Massachusetts Department of Transportation Chapter 5 – Response to Comments on the DEIR Final Environmental Impact Report This Page Intentionally Left Blank June 2016 South Station Expansion Massachusetts Department of Transportation Final Environmental Impact Report Chapter 5 – Response to Comments on the DEIR 5.1. Introduction This Chapter presents comments received on the DEIR (EEA No. 15028). Section 5.2 includes the Certificate of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs dated December 31, 2014. Section 5.3 provides the original comment documents (including letters and emails) annotated with unique identifying codes for each comment. Section 5.3 provides responses to each comment in a tabular format. South Station Expansion June 2016 Massachusetts Department of Transportation Page 5-1 Chapter 5 – Response to Comments on the DEIR Final Environmental Impact Report This Page Intentionally Left Blank June 2016 South Station Expansion Page 5-2 Massachusetts Department of Transportation Final Environmental Impact Report Chapter 5 – Response to Comments on the DEIR 5.2. Secretary’s Certificate on the DEIR (December 31, 2014, EEA No. 15028) South Station Expansion June 2016 Massachusetts Department of Transportation Page 5-3 Chapter 5 – Response to Comments on the DEIR Final Environmental Impact Report This Page Intentionally Left Blank June 2016 South Station Expansion Page 5-4 Massachusetts Department of Transportation <Tlie Commonwea{t/i of Massacliusetts ~cutive Office of!Energy ana !Environmenta{}ljfairs 100 Cam6ricfge Street, Suite 900 <Boston, :M}l 02114 Deval L. Patrick GOVERNOR Tel: (617) 626-1000 Maeve Vallely Bartlett Fax: (617) 626-1181 http://www.mass.gov/envir SECRETARY December 31, 2014 CERTIFICATE OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ON THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT PROJECT NAME : South Station Expansion Project PROJECT MUNICIPALITY : Boston PROJECT WATERSHED : Boston Harbor EEANUMBER : 15028 PROJECT PROPONENT : Massachusetts Department of Transportation DATE NOTICED IN MONITOR : November 5, 2014 As Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, I hereby determine that the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) submitted on this project adequately and properly complies with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (M.G.L. c. 30, ss. 61-62I) and with its implementing regulations (301 CMR 11.00). The Proponent may prepare and submit for review a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) in response to the Scope provided below. Project Description As described in the DEIR, the project consists of an expansion of Boston's South Station by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The project, referred to as the South Station Expansion project, or SSX, is being undertaken to allow for expansion of intercity and high-speed rail (HSR) service into South Station and to improve existing rail operations and service delivery at South Station provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). MassDOT, the MBTA, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak have identified the expansion of rail capacity at South Station as a critical regional and national transportation need. According to MassDOT, this need has been extensively documented in State and regional transportation plans including Critical Infrastructure Needs on the Northeast Corridor (2013);The Northeast EEA# 15028 DEIR Certificate December 31, 2014 Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan (2010); The Amtrak Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor (2010); A Vision for the Northeast Corridor (2012); MassDOT's weMove Massachusetts: Planning/or Performance (the Commonwealth's 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan (2014); MassDOT's The Way Forward: a 21'' Century Transportation Plan (2013); MassDOT's Massachusetts State Rail Plan (2010); MassDOT's Massachusetts Freight Plan (2010); the MBTA's Program for Mass Transportation (2009); and the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO) Paths to a Sustainable Region, the long-range transportation plan for the metropolitan Boston region (2011). To date, MassDOT has received $32.5 million from the FRA and $10 million in additional State funding to complete preliminary engineering and environmental assessment and permitting for the project. No additional sources of federal or State funding have been allocated for final engineering or construction of SSX. South Station is the sixth busiest station in the national Amtrak system and is the terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC) service and Lake Shore Limited service from Chicago via Albany; approximately 1.45 million Amtrak passengers used South Station facilities in 2012. From 2003 to 2012, the number of Amtrak passenger arrivals and departures through South Station increased by approximately 52 percent. South Station serves as the terminus for the western and southern lines of the MBTA's commuter rail system. There are nine main line approach tracks that currently converge in theSouth Station terminal area. Of these nine tracks, five arrive at South Station from the west, consisting of the NEC Main Line, which operate on tracks 1, 2, and 3, and the MBTA's Framingham/Worcester Line, which operates on tracks 5 and 7. The remaining four tracks arrive at South Station from the south, consisting of the MBTA's Fairmount Line, which operates on the Fairmount Line/Dorchester Branch tracks and the MBTA's Old Colony Line, which operates on the Old Colony tracks. Current weekday ridership at South Station includes an average of approximately 4, 100 Amtrak combined boardings and alightings, and 42,000 combined MBTA commuter rail boardings and alightings. South Station also provides connections to the MBTA's Red Line, Silver Line and local bus routes and intra-city bus routes run by private bus companies. Combined South Station boarding and alightings in 2012 include 54,000 on the Red Line, 12,700 on the Silver Line, 2,900 on local bus routes, and 12,200 on intercity/commuter bus routes. According to the DEIR, the project will provide numerous benefits by supporting improved rail service, improved passenger service, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, improved vehicular circulation, improved multimodal connections, and supporting regional and local economic development. The project will improve operational efficiencies in and out of South Station, upgrade facilities to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and life safety regulations, extend platform lengths to meet Amtrak and MBTA future berthing requirements, and enhance multimodal connections through this key transit hub. The project is expected to provide the ability to meet Amtrak's and the MBTA's established objectives of95 percent on­ time performance (OTP) for Acela and commuter rail service, and 90 percent for Amtrak Northeast Regional trains. 2 EEA# 15028 DEIR Certificate December 31, 2014 Currently, all 13 existing tracks and eight platforms are fully used by Amtrak and the MBTA, and both operators are constrained in their ability to increase service or offer new services due to the size and configuration of the station and terminal facilities. According to the DEIR, the daytime vehicle layover capacity for the MBTA's south side commuter rail service area is presently inadequate and unable to meet projected future demands. Additionally, South Station's passenger facilities, including platforms, waiting areas, and customer support services, do not meet preferred standards for passenger transit facilities. These deficiencies result in congestion and declining service reliability for Amtrak and the MBTA. The project is designed to reduce terminal capacity constraints, replace inadequate station facilities, and remedy problems associated with insufficient layover space. The project is part of an overall plan to improve intercity and future HSR service in the NEC, as stated in Amtrak's NEC Master Plan, its Vision for High Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, and its 2012 update. By the year 2035, Amtrak projects that daily intercity rail ridership at South Station will increase to approximately 5,500 combined boardings and alightings. South Station commuter rail boarding and alightings are projected to increase to 56,000 daily riders by 2035. Amtrak's 2030 plans call for increased service between Boston and New York City and additional trains to operate over an "inland route" connecting Boston, Worcester, Springfield and New Haven. South Station presently operates with a total of thirteen tracks, all of which are fully utilized by Amtrak and the MBTA resulting in increasing congestion and declining service reliability. 1 Furthermore, there is insufficient vehicle layover space to meet existing and future South Station operational requirements. Amtrak and the MBTA currently store trains in the South Station terminal while waiting for slots at the existing south side layover yards. The project is expected to improve the rail system's ability to absorb future demand along the MBTA's south side commuter rail lines and along the NEC. In the 2025 opening year, the project would support the projected increase in ridership of approximately 16,000 to 17,000 additional daily combined commuter rail and Amtrak intercity rail boardings and alightings at South Station over the No Build Alternative. By 2035, these numbers