Project update
Photo of Link light rail trains at Operations and Maintenance Facility South
Provide comments: OMF South NEPA Draft EIS 2023
Sound Transit, alongside the Federal Transit Agency (FTA), recently published the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) Draft / State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF) South project.
This milestone document evaluates near- and long-term impacts on the natural and built environment. In it, we assess how building on each possible site would affect air and water quality, historical and cultural resources, nearby properties, ecosystem resources, cost, schedule, and more.
The OMF South Draft EIS, published under the SEPA in 2021, analyzed three potential alternatives: the Midway Landfill, South 344th Street, and South 336th Street alternatives. After a public comment period (engagement summary, comment summary), the Sound Transit Board identified Federal Way’s South 336th Street site as the preferred alternative in December 2021.
We are publishing a NEPA Draft/SEPA Supplemental Draft EIS that evaluates these same alternatives to align federal and state processes. Based on its transit expertise and greater federal funding opportunities, the FTA is the lead federal agency. A joint NEPA/SEPA Final EIS will follow in 2024.
Learn more and provide comments
What’s an OMF?
An OMF is where Link light rail trains go for cleaning, storage, and maintenance, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Sound Transit needs four strategically located OMF facilities. A new OMF in the South Sound would receive, store, and service a larger train fleet in support of future light rail extensions to Tacoma and throughout the region. To build this new facility, it requires approximately 60-70 acres (for reference, one football field is 1.3 acres) near the Federal Way Link Extension.
Get involved
Community input is vital to this project. The 45-day formal comment period begins today, Sept. 22, and ends Nov. 6.
All comments that were provided on the SEPA Draft EIS in 2021 remain valid and do not need to be resubmitted. We will respond to all substantive comments from both comment periods in the Final EIS.
Ways to comment:
- Comment now using the online comment form.
- Email or voicemail: OMFSouthDEIS@Soundtransit.org or 206-257-2141.
- Attend a public hearing (see below).
- Submit your comment by mail: OMF South Project, c/o Elma Borbe, Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson St. Seattle, WA 98104.
Sound Transit will host the following upcoming public meetings:
These meetings are a great opportunity for project updates, questions for the project team, and providing comments via a public hearing process. The same information will be offered in both meetings, so attend whichever option works best for your schedule.
How to access the Draft EIS
The Draft EIS is available for public review in a variety of formats and locations.
- Online: www.soundtransit.org/system-expansion/operations-maintenance-facility-south/documents.
- Paper copies available for review at the following locations:
- Federal Way Library, 34200 1st Way S, Federal Way
- Federal Way 320th Library, 848 S 320th St, Federal Way
- Federal Way Community Center, 876 S 333rd Street, Federal Way
- Federal Way City Hall, 33325 8th Ave S, Federal Way, WA 98003
- Kent Library, 212 2nd Ave N, Kent
- Kent Commons Community Center, 525 4th Ave N, Kent
- Kent City Hall, 220 4th Avenue S, Kent
- Paper copies are also available for the costs listed below. To request paper copies or a flash drive of the documents, please contact Dominique Jones at (206) 689-4783 or email dominique.jones@soundtransit.org.
- Executive Summary - free
- EIS - $25.00
- Technical Reports and other appendices - $15.00 each
Resources for property owners
Final decisions on affected properties and acquisitions will follow the final design, which begins after the Final EIS and the Sound Transit Board selects the project to be built. Until then our project outreach team is available to help with questions every step of the way. To set up a property owner briefing with members of the project team, you can:
• Visit OMFSouthPropertyOwnerBriefings.as.me
• Leave a voicemail at 206-398-5453
• Email us at OMFSouth@soundtransit.org