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[CNJRoss]

CHSRA news release

California High-Speed Rail Authority Releases Draft Environmental Document for First Segment into Los Angeles County

 

Feb 25 2020 Sacramento

 

 

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is releasing the first Draft Environmental Document for a significant project section into Los Angeles County. The document, which covers the 80-mile stretch of the project from Bakersfield to Palmdale, will be open for public comment starting on Friday, February 28th.

The Bakersfield to Palmdale Project Section will provide a connection from the Central Valley to the Antelope Valley and Los Angeles County, closing the existing passenger rail gap between Northern and Southern California through the Tehachapi Mountains, as well as providing new opportunities for economic development and revitalization in the cities along this corridor.

The approximately 80-mile project section will travel through or near the communities of Bakersfield, Edison, Tehachapi, Rosamond, Lancaster and Palmdale with stations in Bakersfield and Palmdale. The approved Bakersfield Station and the proposed Palmdale Station would maximize ridership, work in coordination with of local land use planning and provide multi-modal transportation options, including potential connection with Brightline Trains in Palmdale.

With the release of this Bakersfield to Palmdale Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS), the Authority remains on track to complete environmental clearance for the full Phase 1 system by the federally mandated 2022 deadline. From Friday, February 28, 2020 through Friday, April 13, 2020, the Bakersfield to Palmdale Project Section Draft EIR/EIS is available for a 45-day CEQA and NEPA review and public comment period.

In conjunction with the public review period for the document, the Authority will hold a public hearing to take public comment. Comments received regarding environmental issues will be reviewed and responded to as required by law. The final EIR/EIS document for Bakersfield to Palmdale will be issued in 2021.

Public Hearing is scheduled on:

April 9, 2020, 3-8 p.m.

Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park

Stanley Kleiner Activity Building

43063 North 10^th St. West

Lancaster, CA 93534

 

Public meetings are scheduled on:

 

Lancaster Open House Meeting:
March 4, 2020
5:30-7:30 p.m.

Jane Reynolds Park Activity Center
716 Oldfield Street
Lancaster, CA 93534

 

Bakersfield Open House Meeting:
March 5, 2020
5:30-7:30 p.m.

Edison Middle School Gym
721 S. Edison Road
Bakersfield, CA 93307

 

Rosamond Community Event:
March 26, 2020
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Rosamond Public Library
3611 Rosamond Blvd.,
Rosamond, CA 93560

 

 

The Authority is issuing this document as lead agency under CEQA, and also under NEPA pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) effective as of July 23, 2019, between the State of California and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under a program commonly known as NEPA assignment (the MOU assigned FRA’s NEPA responsibilities for the project to the State of California). After the comment period closes on April 13, 2020 and the comments received have been evaluated, staff will prepare and issue the Final EIR/EIS document and present it to the Board to consider certification and project approval under CEQA and NEPA.

There are several ways to submit a comment regarding the Draft EIR/EIS for the Bakersfield to Palmdale Project Section including:

• At one of the four meetings detailed above
• Online via the Authority’s website (www.hsr.ca.gov)
• Via email at Bakersfield_palmdale@hsr.ca.gov with the subject line “Bakersfield to Palmdale Draft EIR/EIS Comment”
• Via mail at the address below:

Attn: Bakersfield to Palmdale: Draft EIR/EIS
California High-Speed Rail Authority
770 L Street, Suite 620 MS-1

Sacramento, CA 95814

 

To view the contents of the Draft EIR/EIS, please visit our website starting February 28, 2020: www.hsr.ca.gov.

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[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading,2/26/20
 

CHSRA to release draft environmental report for Bakersfield-Palmdale segment

 

The Bakersfield-to-Palmdale high-speed rail route will connect riders from the Central Valley to the Antelope Valley and Los Angeles County. Photo – CHSRA

 

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) on Friday will release a draft environmental impact report and statement (EIR/EIS) for an 80-mile segment of the state's high-speed rail project between Bakersfield and Palmdale.

 

CHSRA will host four public meetings in March and April to gather public comment on the document. The agency will also accept comments online and by email and mail between Feb. 28 and April 13.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Los Angeles Times 2/29/20
 

Bullet train plan for Tehachapi passage would cost $18.1 billion over 82 miles

 

 

The future California bullet train would barrel out of Bakersfield and shoot up 4,000 feet over the Tehachapi Mountains en route to Palmdale, an engineering feat that would cost $18.1 billion and impose significant impacts — including the loss of low-cost housing, a homeless shelter and a high school, according to new details.

 

The impacts are outlined in a draft environmental statement released Thursday by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It selects a preferred route that would include 9.3 miles of tunnels and 15.8 miles of elevated structures, representing about 30% of the entire passage between the two cities.

 

The rail segment is a crucial link in California’s ultimate plan of running bullet trains from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and beyond.  .  .  .

 

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[CNJRoss]

KGET-TV Bakersfield, CA via youTube
 

 

High Speed Rail Authority releases final environmental impact report on Bakersfield-Palmdale route

 

Jun 25, 2021

 

High Speed Rail Authority releases final environmental impact report on Bakersfield-Palmdale route

 

[CNJRoss]

CHSRA news release  6/25/21
 

California High-Speed Rail Passes Key Environmental Milestone in Southern California Region

 

 

Los Angeles – The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) today released the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIR/EIS) for the approximately 80-mile Bakersfield to Palmdale project section of the California high-speed rail system, moving the Authority one step closer to approving its third environmental document in two years. The document will be presented to the Authority’s Board of Directors for approval during a two-day board meeting August 18-19.

 

If approved, the Bakersfield to Palmdale project section will be the first high-speed rail segment in Southern California to be environmentally cleared. In addition, this milestone moves the project section closer to being “shovel ready” for when preconstruction and construction funding become available.

 

“This environmental document is a culmination of thoughtful study and collaboration with partner agencies, city and county leaders, community members, and other stakeholders,” said Authority CEO Brian Kelly. “With this effort, California will have 300 of the 500-mile high-speed rail system environmentally cleared, paving the way for future construction progress into Los Angeles County.”

 

In February 2020, the Authority released the Draft EIR/EIS for public review. The Authority served as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). Earlier this year in February, the Authority released a Revised Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS for public review to expand its analysis of measures to protect biological resources and endangered species candidates. The Authority has since responded to the comments received during the public review periods and these responses are documented in the Final EIR/EIS.

 

This Final EIR/EIS evaluates four build alternatives from Bakersfield to Palmdale and two design options near the César E. Chávez National Monument (CCNM). The Authority has selected Alternative 2 with the Refined CCNM Design Option as its Preferred Alternative under CEQA and NEPA.

 

Last fall, the Authority’s Board of Directors approved the final document for the approximately 50-mile project alignment section referred to as the “Central Valley Wye” part of the Merced to Fresno Station. That action, along with the 2018  issuance of the Record of Decision for the  final “Locally Generated Alternative,” a 23-mile route between Shafter and Bakersfield in the Central Valley, provided for full environmental clearance for 171 miles of the high-speed rail alignment between Merced and Bakersfield.

 

The Final EIR/EIS can be found on the Authority’s website, www.hsr.ca.gov. In addition to the  website, printed and/or electronic copies of the Final EIR/EIS, as well as the previously published Draft EIR/EIS and Revised Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS, have been placed at the following public libraries and can be viewed during hours the facilities are open.

 

Bakersfield

• Kern County Library, Beale Memorial Branch, 701 Truxtun Avenue
• Kern County Library, Rathbun Branch, 200 W China Grade Loop
• Kern County Library, Baker Branch, 1400 Baker Street
• Bakersfield College, Grace Van Dyke Bird Library, 1801 Panorama Drive
• California State University, Bakersfield, Walter W. Stiern Library, 9001 Stockdale Highway
• Kern County Library, Wilson Branch, 1901 Wilson Road
• Kern County Library, Holloway-Gonzales Branch, 506 E Brundage Lane
• Kern County Library, Northeast Branch, 3725 Columbus Street
• Kern County Library, Southwest Branch, 8301 Ming Avenue

Lancaster

• Antelope Valley College Library, 3041 W Avenue K, County of Los Angeles Public Library, Lancaster Branch, 601 W Lancaster Boulevard

Mojave

• Kern County Library, Mojave Branch, 15555 O Street

Palmdale

• County of Los Angeles Public Library, Lake Los Angeles Branch, 16921 E Avenue O [#A]
  Palmdale City Library, 700 E Palmdale Boulevard

Quartz Hill

• County of Los Angeles Public Library, Quartz Hill Branch, 5040 W Avenue M 2

Rosamond

• Kern County Library, Wanda Kirk Branch, 3611 Rosamond Boulevard

Tehachapi

• Kern County Library, Tehachapi Branch, 212 S Green Street

Printed and electronic copies of the Bakersfield to Palmdale Final EIR/EIS, along with electronic copies of the previously published environmental documents and associated technical reports, are also available for review during business hours at the Authority’s office at 770 L Street, Suite 620 MS-1, Sacramento; and by appointment at the Authority’s Southern California Regional Office at 355 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 2050, Los Angeles. To make an appointment to view the documents, please call (323) 610-2819.

 

California’s high-speed rail project is under active construction in the Central Valley along 119 miles at 35 different construction sites with an average of 1,100 workers daily. For more on progress visit www.buildhsr.comExternal Link

 

 

[CNJRoss]

Railway Age, 8/20/21

 

CHSRA Board Greenlights Bakersfield-Palmdale Segment

 

 

The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board has certified the Bakersfield to Palmdale Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) and approved the approximately 80-mile segment of the Phase 1 high speed rail system connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim.

 

CHSRA reported on Aug. 19 that the move will allow it to “begin preconstruction work as funding becomes available,” and marks the first California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) certification of an environment document in the Southern California region. (CHSRA is the lead agency for both CEQA and the National Environmental Policy Act/NEPA.) In June, CHSRA prepared and released the Final EIR/EIS for the Board’s review and approval this summer.

 

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