The California State Transportation Agency and the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) renewed an agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to continue assuming the FRA’s federal environmental review responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The renewed agreement allows the state to continue to stand in the shoes of the FRA for certain duties under federal environmental law, thereby streamlining decision-making and providing for a more efficient environmental review process.

The Importance of the Agreement

Under the previous agreement with the FRA, California’s high-speed rail program was able to assume the role and responsibility of the FRA in making final determinations under NEPA for assigned projects, such as the project’s environmental clearance between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The state was granted NEPA authority in 2019 for an initial five-year duration. With FRA’s approval of this renewal, the state’s authority will now be extended for 10 years.

Renewal is granted only after federal review of the Authority’s performance in the past five years in assuming the role.

Additionally, with approval of this renewal, the state has flexibility to serve as NEPA lead agency for additional locally sponsored eligible railroad projects.

The Authority will also continue to act as lead agency for responsibilities under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Building in Earnest

The Authority has begun work to extend the 119 miles currently under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield.

There are currently more than 25 active construction sites in California’s Central Valley, with the Authority having also fully environmentally cleared 463 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to downtown Los Angeles.

Since the start of high-speed rail construction, the project has created more than 13,700 good paying construction jobs, a majority going to residents of the Central Valley. Nearly 1,500 workers are dispatched to a high-speed rail construction site daily.