At the beginning
of any complex infrastructure undertaking such as the expansion of South
Station, the proponent - MassDOT in
this case - must get its arms around the environmental consequences of the
proposed project. This multi-part
process - which includes planning, public outreach, and technical analysis, as
well as other activities - is collectively known as the ‘environmental review
process.’
The South Station Expansion project (photo copyright Andy Ryan) is particularly complicated, involving a
large urban site tightly bounded by natural topography, residential
neighborhoods, and rail and roadway infrastructure. The station site, which has been in railroad
use for more than a century, occupies approximately 49 acres near Chinatown,
Fort Point Channel, and the Innovation District/South Boston Waterfront. The site includes not only rail
infrastructure but also the South Station Bus Terminal and a U.S. Postal
Service mail distribution facility, which fronts on Dorchester Avenue.
The
issues to be considered during the planning and environmental review process
for the South Station Expansion project include the expansion of rail facilities,
the demolition of the adjacent Postal facility and the opening of Dorchester
Avenue to public use, potential joint/private development next to or around the
expanded station, and storage for trains during non-peak hours. The MassDOT project team is looking at all of
these elements, assessing how they relate to each other, measuring their
impacts on the environment, and considering the effects of other projects
proposed for the area. One
of the first milestones in the planning/environmental review process is the
submittal of an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) to the
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office. The ENF outlines the environmental
consequences MassDOT anticipates from the construction of the South Station
Expansion project. To ultimately secure
the permits it will need to advance the project toward construction, MassDOT
will have to demonstrate how it plans to avoid, minimize, and mitigate any measurable
damage to the environment. The Environmental
Notification Form asks and answers several questions about the South Station
Expansion project site, including:
- Does it include any structure, site, or district listed in the
State Registry of Historic Places?
- What are the stormwater and waste water impacts of the project?
- Has it been or is it currently regulated under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan?
- Will the project generate solid waste during demolition or
construction?
- How much traffic will be generated by the project?
- What will be the greenhouse gas emissions from the project?
- How does the project comply with Harbor planning and public access
to the waterfront?
After
the Environmental Notification Form is filed, the MEPA Office conducts a scoping
session and welcomes public review and comment.
The Secretary of Environmental Affairs will then provide a scope
outlining any additional environmental investigations that MassDOT should
undertake to gain a full understanding of the potential impacts - positive and
negative - of the South Station Expansion project.
Right now, the
MassDOT team is working on the Environmental Notification
Form for the South Station Expansion project. It will be published in the Environmental Monitor and we will continue to provide updates here and through the project email list.
Once the ENF is published, you will also be able to access the document
on the South Station Expansion website.
Coming soon: Information about how to provide comment and
how to attend the scoping session for the South Station Expansion project
Environmental Notification Form.
