Action
Notice of Availability.
Summary
Pursuant to the Council of Environmental Quality's regulations and FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts, the FRA announces the availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for the Magnetic Levitation Transportation Technology Deployment Program (Maglev Deployment Program). This DPEIS has been prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Magnetic levitation (Maglev) is an advanced transportation technology in which magnetic forces lift, propel, and guide a vehicle over a specially designed guideway. The Maglev Deployment Program was established in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) with the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of maglev technology. Through a nation-wide competition, FRA selected seven states or state designated authorities, from a pool of eleven, to receive grants for pre-construction planning. The projects proposed by those seven participants are considered the action alternatives in this DPEIS. This document has been prepared to afford the public an opportunity to comment on the potential for environmental impact associated with each of the seven action-alternatives as well as for the no-action alternative.