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Minnesota's Northstar Commuter Rail project has received a clean bill of environmental health from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).



After three years of analysis, FTA approved the project's Final Environmental Impact Statement, concluding that Northstar commuter rail would have no significant negative impact on the environment — a decision that represents "another significant benchmark in the effort to reduce traffic congestion in the St. Cloud-to-Minneapolis corridor," said Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) Chairman Duane Grandy in a prepared statement.



Last year, FTA included the Northstar project as one of its 27 recommended transit projects for federal funding, and President Bush included funding for the commuter rail system in his 2003 budget. The preliminary engineering work for the rail route also has been completed.



Next up for NCDA officials: convincing Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Minnesota legislature to include funding for Northstar in this year's legislative session, Grandy said.



An 82-mile stretch along highways 10 and 47, the Northstar Corridor is Minnesota's fastest-growing area, according to NCDA, a joint powers board of 30 counties, cities, townships and regional railroad authorities along the corridor.