Item A: West Eugene EmX Update - Laserfiche WebLink

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being used for this project. City of Eugene staff, together with staff from Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and LTD, forms the technical advisory committee for the project. Proposed Process for the Locally Preferred Alternative Decision The decision-making process for the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) hinges on the timely review of project alternative analysis by several committees, who will in turn provide advice and give recommendations to the three decision-making bodies: the Eugene City Council, the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC), and the LTD Board of Directors. The proposed decision-making process for the LPA is illustrated in Attachment E and described in more detail below. The LPA decision making process actually starts prior to release of the DEIS. The public outreach to date, the focus of the work of the Corridor Committee, and reports to the Council, the LTD Board of Directors, and the MPC have been and will continue to be concentrated on preparing the community and decision makers for review and comment on the DEIS and the LPA. The proposed public involvement strategy for the period leading up to the release of the DEIS is described in Attachment F. DEIS Public Review Process The publication of the DEIS will kick off a formal 60-day public review process. The information on project alternatives contained in the DEIS, combined with public and agency review and comment, will form the basis for the selection of the LPA. A more detailed description of the process will be described at the September 30 work session. Public involvement, review and comment on the WEEE project alternatives analysis in the DEIS is a critical and required step in the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The DEIS will provide corridor-level evaluation and detailed environmental analysis of the alternatives. The alternatives were developed during the DEIS public scoping process to identify a range of reasonable alternatives that adequately address the project’s Purpose and Need Statement. NEPA and FTA generally require a minimum of 45 days and a maximum of 60 days for public review of the DEIS. A public hearing is required during this period and must take place no sooner than 15 days after release of the DEIS (between days 16 and 60 of the review period). Staff recommend that the required public hearing be held by the Joint LPA Committee (described below). All comments received during the formal review period will become a part of the record upon which the three LPA decision-making bodies will select a preferred alternative to move forward into development of the Final EIS. This opportunity to provide formal public comments on the DEIS, will be highlighted at each of the public outreach and engagement events held between now and the publication of the DEIS. All public comment received during the public comment period will be responded to in the Final EIS. As a participating agency in the DEIS process, the City of Eugene staff fill a key role in the planning and analysis of the WEEE project. Throughout the DEIS scoping and alternatives development, and continuing into the DEIS analysis, staff are providing ongoing feedback on all relevant aspects of the project. Eugene staff are members of the WEEE Project Management Group, which meets monthly to provide project guidance and direction. During the public review period for the DEIS, City staff also will provide important detailed review of the environmental analysis, which will help refine the project to best reflect the City’s overall vision and institutional knowledge of the physical, environmental, and social issues related to the project. 4