June 25, 2014, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced it would be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for a High Speed Passenger Rail Corridor between Dallas and Houston Texas (79 Fed. Reg. 36123).  The proposed action that requires the FRA oversight and NEPA analysis is “for the impacts of constructing and operating a dedicated high-speed rail (HSR) system.”  The project was proposed by a private company, Texas Central High Speed Railway (TCR), which was formed in 2009, for the purpose of bringing HSR to Texas.

The Waller County Sub-Regional Planning Commission (WCSRPC) was formed for the purpose of planning the future development of their community, including the planning of transportation systems within their jurisdiction.  The federal  NEPA and Texas Code 391.009(c) require that the High Speed Rail project and environmental study be coordinated with the WCSRPC.  The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) initially attended one coordination meeting in February of 2015.  They refused to attend a second meeting after the FRA instructed them to “refrain from participating,” in future meetings until the Draft EIS was released.

The WCSRPC filed suit against TXDOT for failing to coordinate as directed by state law. January 5, 2017, the District Court in Travis County, Texas ordered the agency to coordinate with the planning commission “to the greatest extent feasible.”  Following this decision TXDOT participated in a second coordination meeting May of 2017.

The FRA has published three reports that began with an assessment of four build corridors, and has been narrowed down into a single alignment through the WCSRPC jurisdiction, all before initiating their NEPA analysis.  The WCSRPC has maintained that the FRA and TXDOT are preparing an environmental study to justify the predetermined route, a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.