Environmental Process
Both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) require evaluation of major projects for their impacts on the environment. CEQA is the California law that requires State and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible. For this project, CEQA requires the completion of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). An EIR informs public agency decision–makers and the public of the significant environmental impacts of the proposed project and its alternatives. Currently the proposed project is going through the CEQA process.
NEPA spells out the federal requirements for a similar environmental assessment and review. BART will initiate the NEPA process after completion of the CEQA process.
Photo Credit, Keith Cuddeback, flickr, 2011.
BART and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
CEQA requires that one agency be designated as the Lead Agency for the environmental review process. For the BART to Livermore Extension Project, BART was the Lead Agency and the City of Livermore was a Responsible Agency. In accordance with the CEQA guidelines, a Draft EIR was prepared to evaluate the Proposed Project and the four alternatives. Click here to see the schedule for the EIR.
The Draft EIR evaluates the project’s potential environmental impacts and identifies ways to reduce those impacts to less-than-significant levels. Typically, project impacts are reduced or eliminated through the implementation of mitigation measures or avoided through the selection of alternatives to the proposed project.
The Draft EIR was released for public review on July 31, 2017. The public review period ended on October 16, 2017, and included two public hearings. After public review and comment, BART prepared the Final EIR. The Final EIR contains all the comments received on the Draft EIR and a written response to each substantive comment. The Final EIR was released on May 11, 2018. On May 24, 2018, the BART Board of Directors considered the Final EIR and the alternatives evaluated. Based on the Final EIR and public comment, the BART Board of Directors decided to not advance the BART to Livermore Project.
Notice of Availability (NOA) of Final Environmental Impact Report for the BART to Livermore Extension Project
Final Project Environmental Impact Report (FEIR)
Response to Comments Cover and Title Page
Response to Comments Table of Contents
BART to Livermore Acronym List
Response to Comments: List of Commenters
Response to Comments: Master Responses
Response to Comments: Organizations
Response to Comments: Individuals
Response to Comments: Public Hearings
Response to Comments: Draft EIR Revisions
Notice of Avaliability (NOA) of Draft EIR for the BART to Livermore Extension Project and Public Meetings
Draft Project Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)
Volume 1 (complete volume 1 for download)
- Volume 1 Cover Page and Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Project Description
- Environmental Analysis
- Transportation
- Land Use and Agricultural Resources
- Population and Housing
- Visual Quality
- Cultural Resources
- Geology, Soils, Seismicity, Mineral and Paleontological Resources
- Hydrology and Water Quality
Volume 2 (complete volume 2 for download)
- Volume 2 Cover Page and Table of Contents
- Biological Resources
- Noise and Vibration
- Air Quality
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Energy
- Public Health and Safety
- Community Services
- Utilities
- Other CEQA Considerations
- Project Merits
- List of Preparers and References
Volume 3 (complete volume 3 for download)
- Volume 3 Cover Page and Table of Contents
- Appendix A: Notice of Preparation
- Appendix B: Footprint Map Books
- Appendix C: Right-of-Way Information
- Appendix D: BART's Parking Management Toolkit
- Appendix E: Cumulative Projects List
- Appendix F1: Transportation
- Appendix F2: Transportation- Transit Ridership and Vehicle Miles Travelled Under Alternative Land Use Assumptions
- Appendix G: Noise Model Data
- Appendix H: Air Quality Technical Tables
- Appendix I: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Technical Tables
Comment Period. The public comment period for the DEIR began on July 31, 2017. The deadline for receipt of comments was 5:00 pm, October 16, 2017. The public comment period is closed.
Public Meetings. Two public meetings to receive public comments on the DEIR were held:
- Tuesday, August 22, 2017, Robert Livermore Community Center, 4448 Loyola Way, Livermore, CA 94550. 6:00 pm Open House/7:00 pm Meeting
- Tuesday, August 29, 2017, Shannon Community Center, 11600 Shannon Avenue, Dublin, CA 94568. 6:00 pm Open House/7:00 pm Meeting
Related Documents
- 2012 Notice of Preparation (NOP)
- 2012 Scoping Report
- 2012 Scoping Report Appendices A-F
- Preliminary Engineering Drawings- Conventional BART
- Preliminary Engineering Drawings- DMU/EMU
- Preliminary Engineering Drawings- Express Bus/BRT
Program EIR Completed 2010
Presentations
- Presentation to the BART Board of Directors- August 10, 2017
- Dublin Public Meeting- August 29, 2017
- Storage Yard and Maintenance Facility Presentation Oct 9, 2017
- Presentation to the BART Board of Directors- March 8, 2018
Photo Credit, John C. Bruckman, flickr, 2015.
NEPA
BART anticipates that a BART extension would require review under NEPA. A NEPA review would be required due to the proposed project’s modification of a interstate freeway (I-580), and because in all likelihood federal funds would be necessary for the project.