Planning and Environmental

Years before any construction can happen on the Phase II Project, a rigorous environmental process takes place to understand any impacts to the project corridor. The environmental phase of the project is complete; each step is explained below.

The Phase II Project is now in the Planning and Engineering Phase, and the Project team continues to refine the design and engineering so the project can receive federal funding and move into the construction phase.

VTA's BART Phase II Environmental Documents

The environmental process establishes the purpose and need for a project, examines the potential environmental impacts to the project corridor, and includes measures to mitigate those impacts.

FTA and VTA have prepared a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) /Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) and Section 4(f) Evaluation (SEIS/SEIR) to address environmental effects of VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project (Project). The draft and final SEIS/SEIR is available below.

2018 Final SEIS/SEIR

2016 Draft SEIS/SEIR

The Draft SEIS/SEIR was released in December 2016, and the Final SEIS/SEIR was released on February 21, 2018 and published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2018.

Previous Environmental Documents

VTA's Project Approval

On April 5, 2018, the VTA Board of Directors approved VTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project through the following actions:

Certified that the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) met the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); represents the independent judgement of the Lead Agency; and was presented to, and reviewed and considered by, the VTA Board of Directors prior to making its decision on the Phase II Project.
Adopted the Findings; Facts in Support of the Findings; and Statement of Overriding Considerations.
Adopted the Mitigation Monitoring and Report Program (MMRP).
Adopted the Recommended Project Description and approved the Phase II Project that consists of the BART Extension with Transit-Oriented Joint Development (TOJD) Alternative.
Adopted the Recommended Project Description, which included the following options: Downtown San Jose Station - West Option, the Diridon Station - North Option, and the Tunneling Methodology - Single-Bore Option.
April 5, 2018 Board Packet

The April 5, 2018 VTA Board meeting agenda and April 5, 2018 meeting minutes are available on the VTA Board of Directors Website. The Notice of Determination (NOD) was filed at the Santa Clara County Clerk Recorder's Office and filed at the State Clearinghouse on April 6, 2018.

BART's Project Approval

On April 26, 2018, the BART Board approved the Project with the following actions:

Accepted the Project SEIR;
Adopted VTA's Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations for the SEIR
Pursuant to the Comprehensive Agreement, approved the Project.

The agenda and meeting minutes are available at the BART Board Website.

FTA's Project Approval

FTA issued the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Project on June 4, 2018, which is the federal environmental approval for the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) Process.

Attachments

Attachment A: Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program

Attachment B: Summary of Comments and Responses to Comments on the Final SEIS/SEIR

Attachment C: Section 106 Programmatic Agreement

Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program (MMRP)

VTA committed to a number of mitigations in the Phase II environmental documents. Through the Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program (MMRP), VTA tracked its progress on those commitments. MMRP quarterly reports are available below.

Planning and Environmental

Previous Environmental Documents

Attachments

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018