Final report needed for Green Line extension to proceed
Hundreds of people who submitted comments and concerns to the state Environmental Protection Agency regarding the proposed Green Line extension will receive answers from the state Department of Transportation in a Final Environmental Impact Report ordered by state Environmental Secretary Ian Bowles.
On Friday, Bowles issued a certificate approving the draft environmental impact report submitted by DOT last October, but requested that a final report be drawn up to address public comments regarding the proposed Yard 8 maintenance facility in Somerville and concerns related to station integration and public involvement. The FEIR must be completed before the project can move forward, although no deadline was specified in the ruling.
“Although I recognize that [the FEIR] will not address every issue raised by project commenters, I am confident that resolution of these remaining details will allow MassDOT to demonstrate that the project has fully complied with the requirements of [the state Environmental Protection Agency,]” Bowles wrote.
The final report will include further discussion of the proposed maintenance facility, which prompted negative feedback from many commenters concerned about the draft report's placement of the structure in the Yard 8 section of Somerville. Neighborhood activists complained that putting the facility in Yard 8 would destroy local businesses, limit opportunities for new development, and bring noise and light pollution.
Given the “widespread lack of support” for the proposed Yard 8 location, Bowles requested a complete environmental analysis of two alternative sites in the final report in addition to an expanded evaluation of the Yard 8 site and further design exploration to possibly reduce the structure's land footprint. The two sites to be further explored are the Mirror H location, which straddles the InnerBelt area of Somerville and the North Point area of Cambridge, and Option L, which is located immediately adjacent to the MBTA's Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility at the Boston Engine Terminal.
Complaints regarding the impact associated with the College Avenue Station operating temporarily as a terminus station and the integration of the transplanted Lechmere Station into the surrounding neighborhood will also be addressed, along with clarification on the draft report's air quality assumptions. The final report also will provide a public involvement plan to “facilitate robust community participation beyond the conclusion of the MEPA process,” as well as a plan for mitigating noise and vibration during the project's construction.
Over 400 comments were sent to the state Environmental Protection Agency regarding the proposed $932 million extension of the Green Line, in addition to two petitions and 175 signed form letters.
Karen Wood, Communications Director for The Conservation Law Foundation in Boston, said she was glad to see public input taken seriously. The foundation submitted comments asking for an additional report including clarification on air quality and storm water issues and further evaluation of alternative maintenance facility sites. All three of the requests were included in Bowles' decision.
“We are pleased that our request for an abbreviated FEIR has been granted and that the Secretary has asked MassDOT to do additional analysis on some key areas on concern,” Woods wrote in an e-mail. “These steps will help ensure that the project gets done right and within the required timeframe.”
DOT spokesman Colin Durant said transportation officials need to review the ruling before a time frame for completing the FEIR can be determined.
"MassDOT looks forward to reviewing Secretary Bowles' decision and will continue our extensive community engagement process to move this transit project forward on the required timeline," he wrote in an email.
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