Feds OK Downeaster layover facility
The Amtrak Downeaster’s proposed train layover facility in Brunswick cleared a major hurdle after receiving final approval from the Federal Railroad Administration.
The FRA last week said the proposed 60,000-square-foot, $12 million facility would not significantly impact its surrounding environment, including a residential neighborhood, as first reported by The Times Record. The Finding Of No Significant Impact statement means the Downeaster’s operator, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, can move ahead with construction of the facility.
In a 22-page document issued last week, the FRA said the layover facility “satisfies the requirements of [the National Environmental Policy Act], Council on Environmental Quality regulations, FRA’s Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts and FRA’s Update to NEPA Implementing Procedures.”
“The project will have no foreseeable significant impact on the quality of the human or natural environment,” the FRA said in its concluding statement, “provided it is implemented in accordance with the commitments identified in this FONSI.”
The facility’s proposed location has faced fierce opposition from an adjacent neighborhood group that asserts the facility would have a significant impact on its area, calling for the FRA to conduct an in-depth investigation of its environmental impact. In March, the group gained Gov. Paul LePage’s support in asking for a “significant and thorough review,” with the governor saying there are more viable locations options to support the local economy.
The Amtrak Downeaster expanded its service to Freeport and Brunswick in November 2012.
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