Schedule

Steps of the Environmental Review Process

• Notice of Intent (NOI) – March 29, 2024
• Scoping – Second Quarter 2024
• Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – March 14, 2025
• Draft EIS Public and Agency Comment Period – Through June 2, 2025
• Final EIS – August 6, 2025
• Surface Transportation Board’s (Board) final decision and all required permits from other agencies – Prior to construction

Notice of Intent (NOI)

The NOI is a document that states the intent to prepare an EIS. The NOI provides information about the next steps of the environmental review process, including scoping meetings. The NOI for this project was published on March 29, 2024, in the Federal Register. View the Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS.

Scoping

Scoping is an open process for determining the breadth of environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS. The scoping process includes public and agency meetings to provide the opportunity to share comments, interests, and concerns. Members of the public and agencies can submit comments to the Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) during the scoping period. The scoping period ended on April 29, 2024. OEA reviewed all comments received and issued a Final Scope of Study for the EIS on July 8, 2024. The Final Scope contained a summary of the comments received and explained that, in addition to the No-Action Alternative, the Draft EIS would evaluate two build alternatives for the proposed line. The Final Scope also set forth a number of environmental issues to be examined in the EIS, as appropriate. Because of executive actions taken by the new administration, the EIS does not examine environmental justice. The Final Scope of Study is available on the Documents page.

Draft EIS

Following scoping, OEA prepared a Draft EIS that analyzed the impacts of two build alternatives (the Southern Rail Alternative and the Northern Rail Alternative) as well as the No-Action Alternative; identified the Southern Rail Alternative as OEA’s preliminary Preferred Alternative; and set forth OEA’s preliminary recommendations for environmental mitigation. OEA released the Draft EIS on March 14, 2025. The Draft EIS is available on the Documents page.

Final EIS

OEA prepared a Final EIS addressing the substantive comments received on the Draft EIS and setting forth OEA’s final recommended environmental mitigation. The Final EIS is available on the Documents page.

Issuance of the Final EIS completes OEA’s environmental review of the proposed rail line.

Next Steps

Surface Transportation Board’s Decision
The Board will consider the Draft EIS, the Final EIS, public comments, and the final environmental mitigation proposed by OEA, as well as the transportation merits, in reaching its decision on GER’s request for authority to construct and operate the line.