DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT/
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) announces the availability of the Palmdale to Burbank Project Section Draft Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). The Draft EIR/EIS has been prepared and is being made available pursuant to both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The Palmdale to Burbank Project Section Draft EIR/EIS and associated documents will be available to the public on September 02, 2022.

The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable federal environmental laws for this project are being or have been carried out by the State of California pursuant to 23 U.S. Code 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated July 23, 2019, and executed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the State of California. Under that MOU, the Authority is the project’s lead agency under NEPA. Prior to the July 23, 2019 MOU, the FRA was the federal lead agency. The Authority is also the lead agency under CEQA.

JUMP TO:

• PROPOSED PROJECT AND LOCATION
• ANTICIPATED IMPACTS
• HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES
• PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD
• OPEN HOUSE AND PUBLIC HEARING
• COPIES OF THE DRAFT EIR/EIS
• INTERPRETATIONS / TRANSLATIONS
• MAP (FIGURE 1)

PROPOSED PROJECT AND LOCATION

A Statewide Program (Tier 1) EIR/EIS was completed in November 2005 as the first phase of a tiered environmental review process for the proposed California High-Speed Rail (HSR) System planned to provide a reliable high-speed electric-powered rail system that links the major metropolitan areas of the state and that delivers predictable and consistent travel times. A further objective is to provide an interface with commercial airports, mass transit, and the highway network and to relieve capacity constraints of the existing transportation system as increases in intercity travel demand in California occur, in a manner sensitive to and protective of California’s unique natural resources.

The Authority has prepared a project-level (Tier 2) Draft EIR/EIS that further examines the Palmdale to Burbank Project Section. This approximately 31-38 mile project section would provide HSR service between the Palmdale Station and the Burbank Airport Station. The Draft EIR/EIS provides information regarding both the Palmdale Station and the Burbank Airport Station in various sections throughout Chapter 3, Affected Environment, Environmental Consequences, and Mitigation Measures. Both of these stations were approved by the Authority Board of Directors as part of other project sections. The Palmdale Station was approved by the Authority Board of Directors as part of the Bakersfield to Palmdale Project Section in August 2021, while the Burbank Airport Station was approved as part of the Burbank to Los Angeles Project Section in January 2022. In light of these prior approvals, commenters are encouraged to focus their comments on the Central Subsection of the Palmdale to Burbank Project Section as shown in Figure 1.

This Draft EIR/EIS evaluates the impacts and benefits of a No Project Alternative and six Build Alternatives (Figure 1) connecting the two approved stations. The Authority’s Preferred Alternative under NEPA, which serves as the proposed project for CEQA, is the SR14A Build Alternative. The Preferred Alternative would follow an alignment that heads southwest from the city of Palmdale through the Angeles National Forest, including the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, and then continues into the San Fernando Valley where it would connect with the approved HSR station at the Hollywood Burbank Airport.

ANTICIPATED IMPACTS

Significant pre-mitigation environmental effects resulting from the Palmdale to Burbank Build Alternatives are anticipated in the following resource areas: transportation (construction impacts); air quality and global climate change (construction impacts); noise and vibration (construction and operation impacts); electromagnetic fields and electromagnetic interference (construction and operation impacts); public utilities and energy (construction); biological and aquatic resources (construction and operation impacts); hydrology and water resources (construction impacts); geology, soils, seismicity, and paleontological resources (construction impacts); hazardous materials and wastes (construction and operation impacts); safety and security (operation impacts); socioeconomics and communities (construction and operation impacts); station planning, land use, and development (construction impacts); agricultural lands (construction impacts); parks, recreation, and open space (construction impacts); aesthetics and visual quality (construction impacts); and cultural resources (construction impacts). 

HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES

There are three sites identified on hazardous waste lists enumerated under Section 65962.5 of the California Government Code (Cortese List) that occur in proximity to the project. These sites are Crane Company (3000 Winona Avenue, Burbank, 91504), Holochem, Inc. (13546 Desmond Street, Pacoima, 91331), and Lubrication Company of America (12500 Lang Station Road, Santa Clarita, 91351).

PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD

The Authority is making this Draft EIR/EIS available in accordance with CEQA and NEPA for a minimum 45-day public review and comment period. During the comment period, written comments may be submitted in the following ways:

• By mail to Attn: “Palmdale to Burbank Draft EIR/EIS Comment”, California High-Speed Rail Authority, 355 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 2050 Los Angeles, CA 90071; 
• Through the Authority’s website (www.hsr.ca.gov); 
• By email to [email protected] with the subject line “Palmdale to Burbank Draft EIR/EIS Comment”;
• Verbal comment on the direct phone line for the Palmdale to Burbank Project Section at (800) 630-1039; and
• Oral testimony at the online Public Hearing to be held on October 18, 2022, from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The comment period begins on September 02, 2022, and ends on November 01, 2022. Comments must be received electronically or postmarked on or before 5:00 p.m. PDT November 01, 2022. 

After the public review period, the Authority will prepare a Final EIR/EIS, which will include responses to comments received during the comment period. The Authority may in its discretion opt to issue a single document that consists of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 304a(b) and 23 U.S.C. 139(n)(2). In evaluating whether to issue a combined Final Environmental Impact Statement/Record of Decision, the Authority will consider whether statutory criteria or practicability considerations preclude issuance of such a combined document.

OPEN HOUSE AND PUBLIC HEARING

The Authority invites you to attend the online Open House and the online Public Hearing listed below to obtain more information about the Draft EIR/EIS and the six Build Alternatives. The online Public Hearing will include a short Open House portion and presentation regarding the Draft EIR/EIS comment process, then an online Public Hearing during which members of the public can formally submit an oral comment on the Draft EIR/EIS. Due to public health and safety concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the public Open House meeting and Public Hearing will be held online and via telephone.

Intérpretes de español estarán en las reuniones. Other language requests and requests for reasonable accommodations must be submitted 72 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting date. Please contact (800) 630-1039 or the California Relay Service at 711 to request interpreters. A court reporter, who is fluent in Spanish, will be available at the Public Hearing to record oral comments in English and Spanish. 

Below is a list of the online Open House meeting and online Public Hearing dates:
 

Please check the Authority website (www.hsr.ca.gov) for more information, including up-to-date information on the planned Open House and Public Hearing and how to access them. 

COPIES OF THE DRAFT EIR/EIS

Please visit the Authority website (www.hsr.ca.gov) where you may view and download Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of the Draft EIR/EIS and other project materials. You may also request an electronic copy of the Draft EIR/EIS by calling (800) 630-1039. Electronic copies of the technical reports are also available on request by calling the Authority office at (800) 630-1039.

Printed and/or electronic copies of the Draft EIR/EIS will be available at the following repository locations during facility operating hours. Open days/hours may be reduced in compliance with COVID-19 public health and safety directives.

INTERPRETATIONS / TRANSLATIONS

MAP (FIGURE 1)