NEWS RELEASE: High-Speed Rail Authority and Grassland Water District Reach Settlement Agreement

August 30, 2024

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) and the Grassland Water District, Grassland Resource Conservation District, and Grassland Fund (Grassland) have reached an agreement that releases Grassland’s potential California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) claims regarding the Authority’s adoption of environmental review documents for the San Jose to Merced portion of the high-speed rail project.

The agreement fosters a collaborative partnership between Grassland and the Authority as it works to connect the high-speed rail system from the Central Valley to the Bay Area while further building on its commitments to avoid and reduce impacts in the sensitive Grassland Ecological Area.

“This settlement reflects the hard work of state and local public agencies striving to protect natural resources and provide the public with new, state-of-the-art transportation that is clean, sustainable, and reduces our collective carbon footprint. This agreement further reflects our organizations’ understanding that the best way to deliver these services is through collaboration.”

– Brian Kelly, Authority CEO

“The Grassland entities have worked with the High-Speed Rail Authority for almost two decades to better anticipate and reduce the effects of the project on our important wetland complex. This settlement reflects an important milestone in achieving acceptable mitigation.”

– Ric Ortega, Grassland’s General Manager

In sensitive wildlife areas along the planned high-speed rail corridor, such as Coyote Valley, Pacheco Pass, and the Grassland Ecological Area, the Authority has incorporated project elements to allow for wildlife movement and protect the natural environment in its Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) (approved in 2022), which included wildlife crossings, an avian enclosure, and noise barriers.

The settlement further commits the Authority and Grassland to a collaborative process during advanced design and construction in the Grassland Ecological Area, consistent with commitments in the Authority’s Final EIR/EIS. The agreement provides additional environmental protections by including measures to address the impact of noise, visual disturbances, and wildlife movement by adding an extended sound wall near the Volta Wildlife Area, additional measures to reduce disturbance of wildlife during construction, and a process to consider the placement of the avian enclosure during advanced design.

The Authority and Grassland will also work in good faith to identify opportunities for conservation easements and other areas where mutual support would be beneficial, including, but not limited to, the pursuit of grant or legislative funding opportunities.

The Authority has begun work to extend the 119 miles under construction to 171 miles of electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. Since the start of construction, the Authority has created nearly 14,000 construction jobs, with more than 70 percent going to residents from disadvantaged communities.

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