CHSRA, CalSTA Renew Environmental Review Agreement With FRA
According to CHSRA, the renewal streamlines decision-making and provides for a “more efficient” environmental review process.
Under the previous agreement with FRA, California’s high-speed rail program was able to assume the role and responsibility of the FRA in making final determinations under NEPA for assigned projects such as environmental clearance between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The state was granted NEPA authority in 2019 for an initial five years; with FRA’s approval of this renewal, the state’s authority will be extended by 10 years.
“Renewal is granted only after federal review of the Authority’s performance in the past five years in assuming the role,” CHSRA reported. “Additionally, with approval of this renewal, the state has flexibility to serve as NEPA lead agency for additional locally sponsored eligible railroad projects,” including the Stockton Diamond Grade Separation and Link U.S. project at Los Angeles Union Station. CHSRA said it will also continue to act as lead agency for responsibilities under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Why does this matter for California? According to CHSRA:
- “California is the only state with ‘NEPA Assignment’ for rail projects.”
- “The agreement allows for fewer layers of review for environmental projects.”
- “The agreement aligns with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-8-23, further complementing recent legislation aimed at accelerating critical infrastructure projects across California to build more, faster.”
- “The agreement will allow the Authority to expedite review on projects such as the Los Angeles to Anaheim high-speed rail section environmental documents, the Link U.S. project at Los Angeles Union Station and the ACEforward project in Northern California [Stockton Diamond project].”
“We are pleased to continue our partnership with the state of California and the California High-Speed Rail Authority on the renewal of this agreement,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said. “Initiatives like this are essential to keep the project’s momentum going.”
“The partnership and work that California and the FRA continue to do is essential to our goal of building clean infrastructure faster,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “By streamlining permitting and cutting red tape, we’re working to maximize taxpayer dollars and accelerate timelines—to get passengers on California high-speed rail trains as quickly as possible.”
CHSRA reported that it has begun work to extend the 119 miles currently under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail service from Merced to Bakersfield (see map, right). There are now more than 25 active construction sites in the Central Valley. The 494-mile, Phase I system will operate from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim; the Authority has already environmentally cleared 463 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to downtown Los Angeles. The system could eventually extend to Sacramento and San Diego, totaling 800 miles with up to 24 stations.
