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• i~ <br /> ATTACHMENT A <br /> September 2, 2008 1~t1~ Trunsl~ Rjs~rid <br /> ~!0. ~~ax ~'~~0 <br /> To: Eugene City Council <br /> From: Tom Schwetz, LTD Director of Planning and Development ~ r38~-61~ j~~$' <br /> Subject: WEST EUGENE EMX EXTENSION (WEEE),PROJECT UPDATE ~ ~ ~ ~~x) <br /> Background ~35~29~ j <br /> Since the Council last met with the LTD Board in November 2007, considerable <br /> progress has been made on the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) project. - ~,~,.-._.`M.......M°~'~' <br /> This memorandum provides background on the status of the project in ~tt~~~.ttCQ {8-mt~~~ <br /> preparation for the Council's briefing on September 8. ~..~.-.~...a.-y... <br /> t?.lid.org tlntrxnet~ <br /> Initiation of the WEEE Proiect <br /> On October 9, 2006, the Eugene City Council voted to recommend the West 11 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 City 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 /> <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 /> City Council Agenda page 7 <br /> <br />