Item B: West Eugene EmX Extension Update

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6. FTA Record of Decision – FTA issues a Record of Decision upon its approval of the Final EIS. This acceptance becomes the basis for funding the design and construction of the project. The overall timeline for the project is provided as Attachment 1. Decision-Making for the WEEE Project Given the Council’s central role in the WEEE project decision-making, it is worth outlining the underlying purpose of the NEPA process being conducted. Overall, the process is focused on supporting the decision-making process for large capital projects like the WEEE. The underlying purpose of this process includes the following: Consideration of a broad range of alternatives ? Assessing the impacts of those alternatives on a broad scope of environmental concerns ? Providing for a process of extensive public engagement ? The primary decision made as part of this process is selection of the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). The comprehensive set of impacts being evaluated means that there will likely be a complex and interrelated set of tradeoffs to consider when selecting the LPA. The environmental process is oriented to support that decision through a series of deliberate steps (the elements described above). The LPA decision is regional in nature and involves the Eugene City Council, the LTD Board of Directors, and the MPC (acting as the Metropolitan Planning Organization) working toward selection of a common alternative. LTD has established a committee structure to support the LPA decision-making. The EmX Steering Committee is a standing committee established by the LTD Board of Directors to advise the Board on EmX implementation. The committee is composed of Board members, elected officials from other agencies (including Councilor Polling), and members of the public. The West Eugene EmX Extension Corridor Committee was established to bring decision-makers (LTD Board of Directors and Eugene City Council members) together with members of the public who have a stake in the corridor. The Corridor Committee provides advice to both the LTD Board of Directors and the EmX Steering Committee. The Project Management Group, a committee of executive-level staff from LTD, Eugene, and LCOG, has also been formed to help coordinate the project and direct more detailed aspects of the project. The membership lists for these committees are attached. In addition to the local decision-making process, there is a public agency coordination process involving federal, state, and local agencies who have a regulatory or infrastructure stake in the project planning. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) plays a unique role among the public agencies involved in that it is the Federal Lead Agency for the project and will ultimately be approving the Environmental Impact Statement and issuing a Record of Decision. As described above, one of the foundational elements of the decision-making process is the extensive public engagement. This process is described in more detail in the remaining sections of this memo. Progress to Date To date, the project has moved through the Initiation and Scoping phases and is entering into the analysis of alternatives and preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The primary products of the Project Initiation phase were a draft Purpose and Need and Goal and Objectives statement, and a proposed set of alternatives to take into the Scoping phase. Also produced was a Coordination Plan outlining the agency coordination for the project and a Public Involvement Plan (PIP). 2