3. Planning, Design & Environmental Review

ATP is advancing the Austin Light Rail Phase 1 project for federal grant funding and environmental clearance through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Learn more about NEPA

ATP and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officially completed the federal environmental review for Austin Light Rail in January 2026, a major milestone that is critical to secure billions of dollars in federal funding and begin construction.

Learn more: ATP Releases Final Environmental Impact Statement / Record of Decision

On January 10, 2025, ATP released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for Austin Light Rail Phase 1. The purpose of the Draft EIS is to understand how the light rail project will affect the current environment and to identify opportunities as well as the potential impacts to be mitigated. The release of the Draft EIS is an important step in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and is required to secure federal grant funding.

View ATP’s January 2025 progress update and Draft EIS

One of the requirements to receive federal grant funding is to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). As an early step, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and ATP conducted public Scoping meetings and other public involvement activities from January 19 through March 4, 2024. The full report describes the process and what we heard and the summary provides an overview.

Full Report (English | Spanish)

Executive Summary (English | Spanish)

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and ATP are completing an environmental review of Austin Light Rail Phase 1. FTA and ATP prepared this Coordination Plan which describes how the Lead Agencies have divided environmental review responsibilities. The Plan also describes how each agency will provide opportunity for agency and public participation in and comment on the environmental review process for the Austin Light Rail Phase 1 project.

Download the Coordination Plan

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and ATP issued this Notice of Intent to advise the public that they intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Phase 1 of the Austin Light Rail Project.

View the Notice of Intent