The environmental review of BART’s Earthquake Safety Program has four components:
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The Berkeley Hills Tunnel to Montgomery Station, which includes the highest priorities for strengthening (i.e, the Transbay Tube)
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Lake Merritt Administration (LMA) Dismantling Project
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Oakland Shops (OKS) Radio Site Project
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All remaining elements of the BART system that will be strengthened under the Earthquake Safety Program
Completed Environmental Reviews
Berkeley Hills Tunnel to Montgomery Station
In August 2005 BART, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to satisfy National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental clearance for the first portion of upgrade work.
In March 2006 BART issued a Response to Comments on the Environmental Assessment and received a Finding of No Significant Impact from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Download the document here:
Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3
Part 3 of 3
Aerial Structures and Stations Along the Concord, Daly City, Fremont and Richmond Lines
These projects are exempt by statute from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a condition of the exemption, BART held three workshops to ensure public awareness of the retrofit work.
In order for the project to use federal funds for some project components, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), as lead federal agency, determined that the project potentially qualified to proceed under a Categorical Exclusion (CE) from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). At FHWA's request, for purposes of making a final CE determination, BART prepared a series of environmental technical study reports. BART also held a public hearing on April 25, 2007, to obtain public comments.
On August 3, 2007, based on the final results of the technical studies, FHWA and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) determined that the project qualified for a CE, and the project received federal funding.
Last Updated: February 2, 2012
