Howard Street Tunnel Finding of No Significant Impact
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Federal Railroad Administration Howard Street Tunnel Project FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT June 2021 Prepared Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4332 (2)(c) By the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration and Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1 2. Study Area .................................................................................................................................2 2.1. Maryland ....................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2. Delaware ....................................................................................................................................... 4 2.3. Pennsylvania ................................................................................................................................. 4 3. Purpose and Need Statement .....................................................................................................5 3.1. Purpose of the Project .................................................................................................................. 6 3.2. Need for the Project...................................................................................................................... 6 4. Alternatives ...............................................................................................................................7 4.1. No-Build Alternative...................................................................................................................... 7 4.2. Build Alternative ........................................................................................................................... 7 5. Selected Alternative ...................................................................................................................9 6. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences .......................................................... 10 7. Commitments and Mitigation Measures ................................................................................... 13 8. Coordination and Consultation ................................................................................................. 14 8.1. Stakeholder Involvement ............................................................................................................ 14 8.2. Public Involvement and Participation ......................................................................................... 14 8.3. Agency Coordination ................................................................................................................... 15 9. Determinations and Findings Regarding Other Laws .................................................................. 16 9.1. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 .................................................. 16 9.2. Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966 ........................................... 16 10. Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................17 Appendix A: Comment Letters and Responses to Comments Received on the EA ............................. A-1 Appendix B: Errata to the EA .......................................................................................................... B-1 Appendix C: Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement .................................................................... C-1 Appendix D: Supplemental Environmental Justice Analysis ............................................................. D-1 Appendix E: General Conformity Applicability Analysis .................................................................... E-1 References .........................................................................................................................................1 i | Page Finding of No Significant Impact Howard Street Tunnel Project June 2021 1. Introduction The United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Maryland Port Administration (MPA), prepared an Environmental Assessment1 (EA) for the Howard Street Tunnel (HST) Project (Project) to evaluate potential impacts to the human and natural environment from construction and operation of the Project. The EA was developed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), FHWA/FTA/FRA joint regulations implementing NEPA, and related laws and requirements. The Project proposes to improve clearance at the HST in Baltimore City and 22 other obstruction locations in three states along the existing CSX Transportation (CSX) Interstate 95 (I-95) Rail Corridor between Baltimore, Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The proposed improvements will remove all obstructions that restrict passage of modern double-stack intermodal trains along the corridor and will add resiliency to CSX’s rail network. Funding for the Project is being provided by USDOT through its Infrastructure for The proposed action is a double-stack rail clearance Rebuilding American (INFRA) grant program, and resiliency project along the existing CSX MDOT, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (CSX) I-95 Rail Corridor between Transportation, and CSX. FRA is the lead Baltimore and Philadelphia. federal agency under NEPA for the EA. MDOT MPA is the recipient of the INFRA grant funding; CSX is the rail owner and operator and is responsible for managing and designing the HST Project, including carrying out the preliminary engineering, final design and construction, and coordinating with MDOT MPA and FRA for the Project. This Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) has been prepared to comply with NEPA, as amended, 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) §§ 4321 et seq. and its implementing regulations, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1500-1508; FHWA/FTA/FRA joint regulations implementing NEPA's (23 CFR Part 771); Section 4(f) of the United States Department of Transportation Act (49 USC §303) and FHWA/FTA/FRA joint implementing regulations (23 CFR Part 774); and related laws. FRA has made this FONSI based on information included in the EA. This FONSI incorporates the EA by reference. The EA was made available to the public for review and comment from March 1 through April 13, 2021. 1 FRA and MPA. 2021. Environmental Assessment for the Howard Street Tunnel Project. Signed February 26, 2021. 1 | Page Finding of No Significant Impact Howard Street Tunnel Project June 2021 2. Study Area The Project, which consists of tunnel modifications, bridge replacement/modification, and track lowering, will be constructed primarily within existing rail corridor rights-of-way. The Study Area includes the HST, 11 bridge locations in Baltimore City, Maryland; 2 bridge locations in Wilmington, Delaware; and 1 tunnel and 8 bridge locations in Pennsylvania (Figure 1). Additional Project location mapping is included in Appendix A of the EA. 2 | Page Finding of No Significant Impact Howard Street Tunnel Project June 2021 Figure 1: CSX HST Project Overview 3 | Page Finding of No Significant Impact Howard Street Tunnel Project June 2021 Work site access locations and other additional staging areas are to be determined, with the goal of prioritizing the use of CSX owned land for staging areas and accessing work areas via existing roads and access points along existing CSX right of way. Determination of any additional staging areas and/or access points will be made once final engineering is complete. The locations and proposed actions (Project Sites) that comprise the HST Project are listed below: 2.1. Maryland • HST – Tunnel Modification – Baltimore City, MD • Mount Royal Avenue – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • MTA Bridge – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • North Avenue Bridge – Bridge Modification – Baltimore City, MD • Sisson Street – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • Huntington Avenue – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • Charles Street – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • St. Paul/Calvert Street – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • Guilford Avenue – Bridge Replacement – Baltimore City, MD • Barclay Street – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • Greenmount Avenue – Track Lowering – Baltimore City, MD • Harford Road – Bridge Replacement – Baltimore City, MD 2.2. Delaware • Lancaster Avenue – Track Lowering – Wilmington, New Castle County, DE • 4th Street – Track Lowering – Wilmington, New Castle County, DE 2.3. Pennsylvania • Chichester Avenue – Track Lowering – Boothwyn, Delaware County, PA • Crum Lynne Road – Track Lowering – Ridley Park, Delaware County, PA • Clifton Avenue – Track Lowering – Sharon Hill, Delaware County, PA • Boone Tunnel – Tunnel Modification – Sharon Hill, Delaware County, PA • 68th Street – Track Lowering – Philadelphia, PA • 65th Street – Track Lowering – Philadelphia, PA • Cemetery Avenue – Track Lowering – Philadelphia, PA • 61st Street – Track Lowering – Philadelphia, PA • Woodland Avenue – Track Lowering – Philadelphia, PA 4 | Page Finding of No Significant Impact Howard Street Tunnel Project June 2021 3. Purpose and Need Statement The purpose of the HST Project is to complete clearance improvements to allow for double-stack train (DST) service on CSX’s I-95 Rail