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Attachment A <br />September 2, 2008 _lane Trnnsit Qistritt <br />~ P.tl. Box 1~70 <br />To: Eugene City Council Eugene, 0~ 9740~-4470 <br />..~..n............~,_.....v .............._...,..._ ....~. <br />From: Tom Schwetz, LTD Director of Planning and Development ~541 ~ 68~-b100 (voitey <br />Subject: WEST EUGENE EMX EXTENSION (WEEE) PROJECT UPDATE {~41 y 58~-b1 l 1(~ax~ <br />Background <br />Since the Council last met with the LTD Board in November 2007, considerable ~ad~f ~~~-~g~~ ~~3 <br />progress has been made on the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) project. ~~~-~~ '~~~~-~~~.°° `'~°~°~°~-~` <br />This memorandum provides background on the status of the project in ~#~~~i~,org ~e-mail~ <br />preparation for the Council's briefing on September 8. .----.-~.- ~~~.- .-. .--~...---.--.--... <br />wv~w.ltd.org (Internet~ <br />Initiation of the WEEE Proiect <br />On October 9, 2006, the Eugene Ciry Council voted to recommend the West 11 `h corridor as the <br />next EmX line to study in Eugene. At its October 18, 2006, meeting, the LTD Board of Directors <br />endorsed the Eugene Ciry Council action. Based on this direction, staff began work on planning <br />for the West Eugene EmX Extension. <br />; On September 18, 2007, LTD formally initiated the process for the development of an <br />Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the West Eugene EmX Extension project. This process <br />is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for projects using federal funds. <br />Elements of NEPA Process <br />The elements of the NEPA process involve a series of activities leading to the selection of a <br />Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) and a finalization of the Environmental Impact Statement <br />(EIS). These activities include the following: <br />1. Project Initiation - Development of project purpose and need and project goals and objectives <br />development of a proposed range of alternatives <br />2. Project Scoping - Public and participating agency review and comment on the proposed <br />range of alternatives, project purpose and need/goals and objectives, range of environmental <br />concerns <br />3. Analysis of Alternatives and Development of Draft EIS - The range of reasonable alternatives <br />is evaluated to determine benefits, costs, and impacts on a broad range of environmental <br />concerns. This evaluation is documented in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which <br />is distributed for 60 days for public and participating agency review and comment. <br />4. Selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) - The Eugene City Council, the LTD Board <br />of Directors, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) consider public and participating <br />agency comment, advice from the WEEE Corridor Committee, and recommendations from the <br />EmX Steering Committee'in reaching a mutually agreed upon LPA. <br />5. Finalization of EIS - The Final EIS is prepared and published. The Final EIS includes <br />responses to public and agency comments on the Draft EIS. It also specifies commitment to <br />mitigate certain impacts. <br />6. FTA Record of Decision - FTA issues a Record of Decision upon its approval of the Final EIS. <br />This acceptance becomes the basis for funding the design and construction of the project. <br />