The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is requiring a project-level Environmental Assessment (EA) under their regulations before the ARRA funding can be made available for construction of Phase 2. WSDOT anticipates completing the EA by mid 2013, followed by a finding issued by FRA.
The Washington State Department of Transportation issued a SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance on Aug. 1, 2008 for the Point Defiance Bypass Project. The SEPA documentation includes the adoption of the NEPA Documented Categorical Exclusion approved by the Federal Highway Administration on May 5, 2008. The SEPA documents are available below.
Pt Defiance Bypass FHWA-approved NEPA DCE (pdf 165k)
Pt Defiance Bypass SEPA Adoption of NEPA DCE (pdf 125k)
Pt Defiance Bypass SEPA DNS (pdf 106k)
Pt Defiance Bypass SEPA Supplemental Information for Adoption (pdf 380k)
WSDOT continues to consult with local tribes, the cities of Tacoma, DuPont and Lakewood, Pierce County, Camp Murray, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
For more information, the Point Defiance Bypass Environmental Summary (pdf 1.44m) is available for review.
For Point Defiance Bypass Environmental inquiries:
Larry Mattson
State Rail and Marine Office
larry.mattson@wsdot.wa.gov