SEPA Addendum FAQ
Q: What is SEPA?
A: The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) applies to decisions by every state agency, county, city, port and special districts within Washington State. The process identifies and analyzes the environmental impacts associated with governmental action. As a SEPA lead agency responsible for environmental review, Sound Transit completed a SEPA Environmental Checklist and multiple technical reports for the Project. In March 2021, a SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) was issued. The DNS documents the SEPA official’s decision that the Project is unlikely to have significant adverse environmental impacts.
The 2021 SEPA Checklist described and analyzed the potential environmental effects of following Project components, based on the then-available conceptual design:
- Two BRT stations in Shoreline and Seattle, three in Lake Forest Park, three in Kenmore, and four in Bothell
- New park-and-ride garages in Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and Bothell
- Transit queue bypass, business access and transit (BAT), and bus-only lanes
- Transit signal priority (TSP) improvements at certain intersections
- Bicycle and pedestrian improvements
- New fleet of buses (10 battery electric, 2 diesel hybrid propulsion)
Q: Why was a SEPA Addendum prepared?
A: The addendum was prepared to address Project design changes and refinements between conceptual engineering and final design. Environmental resources were reviewed and additional analysis was conducted to determine whether Project impacts changed from what was documented in the 2021 SEPA Checklist. The SEPA addendum provides additional information and analysis about the Project and demonstrates that Project design changes since 2021 do not substantially change the analysis of impacts contained in the environmental documents.
Q: What was evaluated?
A: Final design plans were reviewed for refinements that warranted additional environmental analysis. The refinements evaluated were those with the potential to result in different or greater impacts than identified in the 2021 SEPA Checklist. For each jurisdiction, the changes to the conceptual design of retaining walls, stations, roadways and compensatory mitigation were assessed using the final Project design. The addendum evaluated the following environmental resources: Water, Plants, Noise, Land Use, Aesthetics, Historic and Cultural Preservation, and Transportation.
Q: What are the main changes to the Project since 2021?
A: The park-and-ride garages evaluated in the 2021 SEPA Checklist were deferred to 2044 for the Lake Forest Park garage and 2034 for the Kenmore and Bothell garages, per Sound Transit Resolution R2021-05 (August 2021). As the garage designs have not advanced past the conceptual design evaluated in the 2021 SEPA Checklist, there are no design refinements to evaluate; however, any changes to environmental effects for the interim condition, between the start of BRT service and the completion of the garages, are evaluated.
Q: What were the findings of the addendum?
A: Environmental impacts resulting from Project changes between the conceptual and final design phases were determined to be within the range of impacts previously disclosed. Overall, the impacts from the Project final design refinements are of similar type and magnitude to the impacts identified in the 2021 SEPA Checklist and DNS. The refinements would not result in new significant impacts. Impacts identified in the 2021 SEPA Checklist and in this additional analysis would be mitigated. Although some additional resources would be affected as a result of the Project refinements, potential impacts are minor, and they would be mitigated consistent with existing environmental commitments.
Q: What compensatory mitigation is proposed?
A: Mitigation measures intended to offset impacts were identified in the 2021 SEPA Checklist. The SEPA Addendum addresses refined measures for minor new impacts anticipated as a result of the Project refinements. Also described are the compensatory mitigation plans for impacts to critical areas, such as wetlands buffers and stream buffers. In Lake Forest Park, limitations within the right-of-way necessitated off-site compensatory mitigation at the newly identified, city-owned Pfingst Animal Acres Park at Brookside Boulevard NE and NE 178th Street. Planned activities would improve critical area functions, adding diverse plantings to provide more wildlife habitat functions than the smaller, fragmented habitat present in the areas impacted by the Project. In Bothell, an on-site mitigation plan has been refined to include Bothell Landing Park at 17800 Bothell Way NE. Areas of non-native vegetation are proposed for replacement with more diverse plant types to be added adjacent a large area of contiguous habitat along the Sammamish River, partially in overlapping stream buffer.
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