The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) examines the potential environmental effects of the Metro Rail Expansion, and where adverse impacts are identified, it discusses measures to mitigate them.

Public hearings were held on February 25 and February 26, 2020, to provide an opportunity to reach the public and solicit input in response to the DEIS. The presentation from the hearings is available on the Public Events page of this website.

In August 2021, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as lead Federal agency, issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for the Project, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This decision was based on the likelihood the NFTA would apply for federal capital funding to support the Project. The findings of the SEQR DEIS, the written and oral comments received during the SEQR public hearings, and comments received during the SEQR DEIS document public comment period that ended on March 24, 2020, are being used to inform the development of a new Draft EIS prepared pursuant to NEPA.