The Federal Transit Administration has issued a Record of Decision for the METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail Transit Project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement, the project office said today.
The Record of Decision means the FTA has signed off on the environmental review process for the project. The next step is for the Metropolitan Council as the Responsible Government Unit on Sept. 28 to determine the adequacy of the Final EIS. That will conclude the state environmental review process for the project under Minnesota Rules chapter 4410.
“The completion of the federal environmental review is an important milestone for the Blue Line Extension LRT Project,” Metropolitan Council Chair Adam Duininck said.
After the Met Council vote on Sept. 28, the project will ask the FTA to authorize the project’s entry into the engineering phase.
“The project will be poised then to advance the design over the next year and request federal funding in spring 2017,” Duininck said.
The Record of Decision and the Final EIS (including the Amended Draft Section 4(f) and Section 6(f) Evaluation, USACE Section 404 permit application, Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement, and all appendices), are available online.