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Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning (2005)

Chapter: Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Incorporating Environmental Stewardship into Transportation Planning and Project Development." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13864.
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93 CHAPTER 5 INCORPORATING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Establishment of procedures for early and continual coor- dination and cooperation in developing mitigation plans will provide more cost effective and efficient mitigation, and ulti- mately, a higher level of protection and conservation of our valuable resources. (97) INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the lessons learned from this research and recommends steps that transportation agencies can take to integrate environmental considerations into their system plan- ning. To do so, the conceptual framework presented in Chap- ter 3 will be revisited; major findings (as determined from the literature search, surveys, and case studies) presented; institu- tional aspects of implementing change in organizations, with particular attention given to examples from this research that show how transportation agencies have successfully done so, discussed; and additional research needs identified. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK REVISITED This report began with the presentation of a conceptual framework that pointed to parts of transportation planning and project development where environmental factors could be more fully considered. Considering environmental factors early in planning could provide an important opportunity to discover potential environmental problems and build a working rela- tionship with those environmental resource agencies that would be likely to play key roles in project implementation. Figure 21 shows the conceptual framework that was used to guide this research and indicates where environmental fac- tors could be incorporated into system planning and project development. Table 16 describes the types of actions and activities that might be found in each of these steps. It seems likely that considering environmental factors in the different planning and project development steps indicated in Figure 21 would have varying degrees of benefit as perceived by dif- ferent participants. For example, including environmental concerns in the vision and goals/objectives/performance measures planning steps could be an important issue to plan- ners and environmental specialists. By so doing, the influ- ence of this important point of departure could permeate throughout planning and project development, resulting in better projects. However, it might not speed project develop- ment, an objective identified by many DOT officials as a reason for moving environmental concerns into systems planning. It seems clear from this research that the trans- portation and environmental participants’ joint identification of the benefits of moving environmental considerations early into planning is a prerequisite for successfully doing so. The concepts illustrated in Figure 21 and described in Table 16 can act as a checklist for agencies seeking ways to incorporate environmental considerations into agency oper- ations, especially into systems planning. For example, the following questions could serve as an assessment or audit tool for determining where additional steps were needed to implement an effective environmental stewardship program: 1. Has your agency included concern for the environment in its mission or vision statement? Have guidelines or standard operating procedures been developed to dis- seminate this vision throughout the agency? 2. Has transportation planning included environmental issues in the goals and objectives statement? 3. If your agency has defined a set of performance mea- sures relating to system or agency performance, are environmental measures a part of this list? 4. Does your agency collect data on environmental con- ditions on a systematic basis? Are sufficient resources available for continuing such data collection? 5. Has your state or region developed an inventory of sen- sitive environmental resources? If so, is this inventory used for planning or project development purposes, in particular, in efforts to avoid or minimize environmen- tal impacts caused by project implementation? 6. Does your state or metropolitan area’s transportation planning provide sufficient information that can be used in a determination of “need and purpose” for sub- sequent project development? 7. Does your agency systematically consider environ- mental factors in the definition of alternatives? Is at least one of the alternatives designed to minimize envi- ronmental impacts to the extent possible? 8. Has your agency defined project alternatives that both provide transportation benefits and enhance environ- mental quality? Does your agency actively pursue such project alternatives?

9. Do the criteria used to evaluate alternatives include the range of environmental concerns that are of most interest to the community and to environmental stake- holders? 10. Does your state or metropolitan transportation plan explicitly consider environmental factors in its description of desired future investments? 11. Has your agency entered into partnership arrange- ments with environmental resource agencies and environmental stakeholders in order to develop com- mon understandings of how environmental factors will be considered in system planning and project development? 12. Do your agency’s public involvement and outreach efforts specifically target environmental quality and its relationship to transportation system performance as an issue brought to public attention? This list of questions was applied to the metropolitan transportation planning process in the Atlanta metropolitan area to show how it could be used as an audit tool (see Table 17). The subjective assessment ratings for each question were determined through interviews with transportation planners and a selected set of key decision makers in the region. This effort was not intended to be a detailed assess- ment of the effectiveness of metropolitan transportation planning with respect to environmental issues, and thus the results below should not be construed as a rigorous evalua- tion. The ratings from 1 to 5 indicate an average assessment of those interviewed, with 1 indicating little or no effort 94 underway, and 5 representing a full-scale implementation of the concept. As shown in Table 17, regional planning has two strengths with respect to integrating environmental factors into sys- tems planning, but overall planning has many more areas in need of improvement. MAJOR FINDINGS This research has identified several important characteris- tics of efforts to move the consideration of environmental factors into system planning. States having strong environmental laws have under- taken more efforts to consider environmental factors in transportation systems planning. The survey results indi- cated that most agencies considered competing interests that detracted from environmental objectives as a major obstacle for addressing environmental factors in system planning. However, the survey results and the case studies showed that states with strong environmental laws—especially where the laws effect transportation decisions—have reshaped their transportation planning in response to these laws. Deciding which environmental factors are to be considered in planning is often left to the transportation agencies themselves, which presumably are best positioned to know what the major envi- ronmental concerns, needs, and opportunities are likely to be. However, in some cases such as Wisconsin, state law is fairly specific about which environmental factors need to be con- sidered. The system-plan environmental evaluation (SEE) Prosperity Data Analysis methods Alternative improvement strategies Evaluation criteria Other sources for project ideas System operations Goals and Objectives Social equity/ quality of life Environmental Quality Vision Performance Measures Project development TIP Plan Environment included in vision Environment explicitly stated in goals Data on environment collected Environmental performance measures or indicators Environment included in analysis Environmental strategies considered Environmental impacts part of criteria set Environmental mitigation part of project development Environment integrated within plan Environmental projects programmed Monitoring of environmental impacts of system operations Figure 21. Environmental factors in transportation planning and decision making.

95 TABLE 16 Environmental factors in transportation planning Planning Step Consideration of Environmental Factors Visioning A community’s vision should include explicit consideration of desired environmental characteristics. This could include targeted resources (e.g., air or water quality), geographic areas (e.g., wetlands or habitats), or a more general quality-of-life consideration. Some MPOs that have used scenarios as a means of better defining desired community visions have included a “protection of environmental resource areas” as one of the scenarios. In such scenarios, economic development and consequent infrastructure provision for these areas are limited. Goals and Objectives In most cases, environmental factors are found in some form in a planning goals and objectives set. This most often takes the form of a specific statement as a goal or objective that expresses the intent of “minimizing the impact on the environment” or a qualifying phrase that modifies a more important goal to “maximize system performance in a way that minimizes environmental impacts.” Performance Measures This is one of the newest elements of transportation planning that puts in place a set of measures that is continuously monitored to identify the status of the transportation system and its linkages to other factors. One type of measure or indicator that could be included in this set is related to environmental quality. For example, several jurisdictions include air quality measures as part of their system measurement. Other indicators might relate to water quality, wetlands exposure, habitat reduction, historic and cultural resources, and archaeological sites. Data/Analysis Methods Given the importance of environmental considerations in the evaluation of plans and alternatives, data should be collected on environmental factors that are of concern to decision makers. Analysis capability using such data is needed to provide some sense of the environmental consequence of each alternative. At the systems planning level, the data and analysis methods might be very general, but would presumably become more specific as the analysis occurs on detailed project or plan alternatives. Alternative Improvement Strategies The actions adopted as part of the transportation plan could include strategies targeted at enhancing environmental quality. Certainly, the actions that fall out of such programs as the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) initiative would relate to improving air quality. Projects could also relate to Transportation Enhancements, strategies to reduce single- occupant vehicle use, actions aimed at environmental enhancement (e.g., brownfield developments), and water quality. At the systems planning level, where alternative plan configurations are considered, one scenario could be “environmental preservation,” which might focus on such things as minimizing development in river discharge basins. Evaluation The evaluation process is, in essence, a synthesis process that brings together all of the information that has been produced as part of the analysis process. The evaluation criteria structure how the information is presented to decision makers, and thus are important in raising decision-maker awareness to environmental issues. The evaluation criteria should include measures that relate to environmental impacts of proposed alternatives. Plan The transportation plan should reflect the results of the goals setting, analysis, and evaluation. As such, the plan should provide an explicit linkage to the environmental consequences of the proposed set of projects or of the selected alternative, if such was the focus of the study. In those cases where plan alternatives must be analyzed from an environmental perspective, the plan might include a section that shows the results of this analysis. TIP The transportation improvement program (TIP) reflects the types of projects that are recommended in the transportation plan. Therefore, it is likely that several projects aimed at enhancing environmental quality will be found in the TIP. Implementation of Projects/Strategies The implementation of projects and strategies will include the project development process as well as the mitigation strategies that are necessary as part of project implementation. Thus, project implementation could very well include such things as context-sensitive solutions, environmental mitigation, and efforts to minimize or avoid serious environmental impacts. System Operations The performance of the transportation system, otherwise known as system operations, will naturally include an emphasis on the ability of the transportation system to satisfy demand. However, it is important that the monitoring of system operations also keep track of the consequences of such operation on the natural and human environment. conducted for statewide plans in Wisconsin closely follows this format. California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is an even stronger law that states not only must environ- mental impacts be identified and considered in transportation plans, but they must be mitigated. All regional transportation plans in California go through this assessment. The scientific literature is increasingly identifying a systems-level perspective on environmental impact deter- mination as being the most appropriate. The environmen- tal science literature shows a significant trend toward increasing concern for environmental factors that can only be dealt with at a systems level of definition. This seems to be true in particular for environmental factors that are directly and indirectly affected by transportation investments. These environmental factors include such issues as ecosystem health, watershed effects, regional air quality, environmental

justice, habitat preservation, and the public health effects associated with urban form and related transportation invest- ments. Each of these environmental topics, if addressed in a substantive way, must be examined at a systems level, even though individual project impacts could also be important. The concept of ecological carrying capacity, which relates to this idea of an environmental alternative, is one that has been receiving increased attention in the scientific literature. The case studies from Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe, North Car- olina, Pima County (Arizona) and Riverside County (Cali- fornia) illustrated the use of this concept. There is little doubt among scientists that urban development and other human activities influence the health of often-sensitive ecosystems. As urbanization continues with substantial increases in pop- ulation expected to live in metropolitan areas, it seems 96 reasonable to assume that this additional population will carry with it increasing burdens on the ecological systems that exist in urban areas. State and MPO officials expect increasing attention to the types of environmental impacts that are best addressed at a systems level. The survey of state and MPO officials asked which environmental factors would most likely be more important 10 years from now in connection to transportation systems planning. The types of factors having the largest jump in importance were those best analyzed at the systems level. For example, DOT officials suggested that the biggest increase would be for cultural, historic, energy, water quality, farmland conversion, and human health. The results from the MPO survey identified energy, water quan- tity, water quality, aesthetics, storm water runoff, farmland Criterion Assessment Comments Existence of mission and vision statement; guidelines 2 The region has fully integrated air quality concerns into system planning and project development, and is doing so for water quality as well. Other environmental factors are not explicitly found in mission or vision statements. Goals and objectives statements 3 Similar to above, air quality is an overriding issue in the region; general environmental quality is stated as a goal; regional development policies very much oriented to preserving environment. Performance measures 2 Air quality is monitored and reported on an annual basis; there are no other environmentally related performance measures. Data collection 2 Data are collected on air quality, water quality, and development patterns/trends. Less information is collected on other environmental factors. Inventory of sensitive environmental areas 2 This has been done for a major subarea study, however, not for the entire region. Inventories do exist for watersheds and historic sites. Information for need and purpose 1 The regional planning process has not connected system planning with more detailed project development efforts. Alternatives definition 2 The plan alternatives strongly consider air quality impacts, but do not include other environmental factors in a systematic way. Evaluation criteria 4 The evaluation criteria for plan and project evaluation come from extensive public outreach and comprehensively consider environmental impacts. Environmental consideration in plan 3 The region’s plan gives considerable attention to environmental issues. Partnerships 2 The regional agencies work together on plan and project development, but have not entered into formal arrangements concerning expedited review. Public involvement consideration of environmental factors 4 The region’s public involvement program covers all aspects of environmental quality, especially air quality. Public concerns with respect to the environment are incorporated into planning activities. TABLE 17 Assessment of Atlanta transportation system planning process for integration of environmental factors Note: 1 = little or no effort; 5 = fully implemented

conversion, and noise. Except for aesthetics and noise, all of these factors are best handled at a scale of analysis much greater than the project level. A few states and metropolitan areas have taken major steps in integrating environmental factors into trans- portation systems planning. Most states and MPOs have much experience with considering environmental factors in project-level planning. Only a few examples were found where transportation agencies were incorporating environ- mental concerns into systems planning. Case studies from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency; Cape Cod Commission; Pima County, Arizona; Riverside County, California; and FDOT provided the most advanced examples of a compre- hensive approach to doing so. In the first four cases, a fragile ecology provided the impetus for public intervention in the land development market and for a more targeted approach toward the provision of infrastructure. In the FDOT example, top management leadership provided the motivation to imple- ment arguably the most advanced transportation/environ- mental decision support system in the United States. NYSDOT has taken major steps to inculcating an envi- ronmental ethic in all of its activities. (It was not listed with the above five because it does not have a systems planning process as do the others.) However, such an organizational strategy represents an important step in the evolution toward a more comprehensive approach to linking environment and transportation decision making. One important issue that must be addressed in better involving environmental resource agencies in system plan- ning efforts is how to motivate such participation. Many states have provided resources to such agencies to support their participation, but this has been primarily at the permit review level. Getting agencies to participate in system plan- ning efforts will require, at a minimum, a top management commitment to participate; an understanding (usually codi- fied in a memorandum of understanding) of the roles that each participant will play; and as noted above, the commit- ment of resources. The importance to decision making of including envi- ronmental factors early in systems planning very much depends on the degree to which impacts can be defined at a level that allows an understanding of consequences. At the systems planning level, the degree to which environmen- tal analysis influences decisions seems to vary according to the level of information provided to the decision makers. If the “systems plan” is really nothing more than a policy doc- ument that outlines general directions for a state, regional, or metropolitan investment program, the level of environmen- tal analysis will not be very rigorous. If, however, the plan represents a detailed analysis of alternative futures and the desire to link infrastructure investment to community goals, then a more detailed level of environmental analysis is likely to present useful information to decision-making. Several case studies illustrate this concept. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s efforts in one of the most envi- 97 ronmentally sensitive areas in the country shows how impor- tant environmental impact information can be when provided at a very detailed level (and backed up with laws and regula- tions mandating such consideration). However, several states (e.g., Wisconsin and Washington) require that environmental analysis be conducted on all statewide transportation plans. In each case, the analysis was conducted at such a broad level that state and local officials felt that the information provided had very little influence on the selection of the preferred sys- tem plan. In Wisconsin, for example, state officials felt that the most important effect of the required environmental review of the state plan was that it brought the state’s natural resources agency into planning much earlier than would nor- mally occur. The state environmental officials were not as positive about this experience in that they felt there was little that could substantively be done at such an early stage of deci- sion making. The availability of powerful database management capabilities has spurred intensive efforts to identify sensitive environmental resources. It is not surprising that the five agencies mentioned previously as being some of the best examples of considering environmental factors in planning and project development are national leaders in the use of GIS for locating and labeling environmental resources. GIS is a critically important tool in that it pro- vides an efficient means of defining potential environmen- tal impacts. In the absence of a database that permits a quick examination of potential environmental impacts, it is likely that the “give-and-take” that so often characterizes the interactions with environmental resource agencies would be less successful. The revolution in data handling and data analysis capabili- ties that has occurred over the past 10 years in the United States has enabled a level of initial analysis of potential impacts that permits environmental agencies to participate in a more inclu- sive process without foregoing their statutory responsibilities. Serious attention to environmental factors early in systems planning will depend on the ability of transportation agencies, perhaps in cooperation with environmental resource agencies, to identify sensitive environmental resource areas. For exam- ple, efforts to develop statewide programs in historic preser- vation and archaeological sites would require some effort at identifying where such sites exist. The concept of assessing the level of environmental sen- sitivity of habitats, ecosystems, and watersheds has been used by several planning and transportation agencies as a starting point for comprehensive community planning. Some of the more comprehensive efforts at integrating envi- ronmental factors into community and infrastructure planning have started with a fairly detailed examination of environ- mental resources. Pima County, Arizona, and Riverside County, California, undertook extensive multispecies habitat studies to identify areas that needed to be preserved. The Cape Cod and NCDOT cases provided examples of a much broader assessment of ecosystem preservation, not habitat protection.

Each of these efforts was part of a much broader community development planning effort. Some planning efforts are defining transportation plan alternatives that focus on minimizing environmental impacts. Defining alternatives is an important step in trans- portation planning. One of the interesting aspects of planning that have seriously considered environmental factors in systems planning is the definition of plan alternatives or sce- narios that result in infrastructure policies and investment decisions that purposely avoid or minimize the negative impacts on environmental resources. Examples of this were found in Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe, and Atlanta. The use of scenarios in the formative stages of transporta- tion systems planning is an important approach for showing the significance of environmental factors in planning for the future. This approach not only provides important informa- tion on the likely environmental impacts of transportation investment, but it represents learning and education where participants gain an understanding of how important ecolog- ical health is to a community. This learning experience has been one of the benefits noted by participants in the few cases where this approach has been used. Successful consideration of environmental factors in system planning will require substantive public involve- ment and participation of environmental stakeholders. Efforts to advance environmental considerations early into systems planning most likely will require more extensive public involvement and the presentation of information in ways that makes such considerations understandable. According to opinion surveys, environmental quality, espe- cially at the local level, is one of the most important issues for the public. Serious attention given to environmental fac- tors in systems planning could mobilize many of the groups that traditionally become involved during project develop- ment. The approach toward planning may need to be differ- ent in cases where environmental assessment is now being conducted on system plans. For example, one might envision a public meeting for a transportation systems plan starting with general environmental data, maps of environmentally sensitive or community sensitive areas, and projections of the environmental health of the region. In addition, in the two cases where substantive environmental assessment was undertaken (Pima County, Arizona and Riverside County, California) environmental scientists were part of the habitat screening and evaluation. In both cases, representatives of each community served on the study steering committee. Moving environmental considerations early in planning requires the participation of environmental resource agencies in these early stages as well. The WisDOT example of under- taking an environmental assessment of systems plans sug- gests that, in fact, one of the benefits of doing so is getting environmental resource agencies involved. Other DOT exam- ples can be found in California, Florida, Maryland, North Car- olina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Whatever approach is used to incorporate environmental considerations into transporta- 98 tion systems planning, the role for public and environmental stakeholder involvement will be critical. By conducting environmental assessments earlier in systems planning, project development has been made more effective. One of the major motivations for state trans- portation agencies to consider environmental factors in sys- tems planning is a perception that environmental analysis requirements provide onerous delays in project development. If only contentious environmental issues could be dealt with earlier—and/or redundant consideration of environmental factors eliminated—project development could be more effi- cient and effective. In particular, if the definition of a proj- ect’s “need and purpose,” a federally required part of an environmental assessment or environmental impact state- ment, could be established in systems planning, it need not be repeated during project development. The counter argu- ment to this suggestion is that insufficient information is available in systems planning to provide enough substance to such a finding that would satisfy federal intent. This research found several instances where need and pur- pose statements were developed during systems planning. The best example of this was the ETDM process used by FDOT. However, the characteristics of the process in devel- oping this statement are important to understand. First, as noted previously, the ETDM process is supported by an extensive environmental database that is able to show poten- tial environmental problems in regions or corridors. Second, the environmental resource agencies have access to this data- base and all information pertaining to the study or project so that they can make their own judgment on the adequacy of the need and purpose statement. A summary of all comments on this statement is kept by the environmental screening tool. Third, the environmental resource agencies reserve the right to revisit the statement if circumstances change as a project goes from system planning to project development. This approach, in essence, is a “management by exception” strategy. By far, most projects will pass through this screen- ing with little delay or additional work on the statement. How- ever, in some cases, where circumstances change or more information becomes available, the statement might need to be reexamined. This is an appropriate response to such an instance. Therefore, this research suggests that linking system planning information to the development of a need and pur- pose statement in project-level environmental analysis is an important improvement to project development. DOTs are implementing other changes to agency oper- ations to expedite projects through project development. Several of the DOTs examined in this research have con- ducted internal studies of the delays that occur in project development. In almost every case, delays caused by deci- sions unrelated to environmental issues have been identified as being at least as important as those associated with envi- ronmental requirements. Changes in project scope, separate professional contracting for environmental and design ser- vices, poor project expediting, insufficient revenues to carry

forward a project, changes in political administration, and lack of coordination between DOT units as a project pro- ceeds from one step to another have all been identified as important sources of delay. Changes to the organization, management oversight, and improved project information systems are being viewed as the most appropriate ways of dealing with this issue. Other types of strategies are being considered by imple- menting agencies to reduce the amount of time that projects spend in project development because of environmental reviews. These include: listing certain categories of projects in a programmatic permit approval, parallel processing of NEPA and engineering design, funding environmental resource staff to work on transportation projects, and estab- lishing interagency agreements that define the respective roles of the agencies participating in project development. A context-sensitive solutions (CSS) approach to project development is viewed by DOTs and MPOs as a mutually beneficial situation. Although not the same as considering environmental factors early in systems planning, the concept of CSS as an approach to project development was a notice- able policy directive in all of the DOTs visited, and was being encouraged by MPO officials as well. In some ways, CSS is being viewed in similar terms as incorporating envi- ronmental considerations early in systems planning. This approach to project development calls for early and contin- ual involvement of community stakeholders, a mutual definition of problems, and a collaborative development of solutions. If applied to systems planning, this is, in essence, the concept that was being explored in this research project. The response to CSS has been very positive. The projects that have been completed in the states visited were noted with pride by all involved as showing what can be accom- plished when everyone works together. The image of the DOT was enhanced, community support for projects was at much higher levels than for previous comparable projects, and engineers developed confidence in their abilities to meet the mobility needs of the community while providing a cre- ative design that received community accolades. The concept of CSS as an approach to project develop- ment can be linked closely with the early consideration of environmental factors in system planning. Not only can sys- tem planning identify areas where CSS might be very appro- priate (e.g., sensitive or historic areas), but system planning can also identify key participants who could play important roles as the project moves closer to reality. INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES TO IMPLEMENT CHANGE Throughout this research, each of the successful efforts to incorporate environmental factors into the policy, planning, or project development activities of a transportation agency was implemented with strategic deliberation and considera- tion of how such a change could best be carried out in the 99 organization. Although each of the case studies presented different aspects of incorporating environmental factors into organizational procedures or agency culture, the strategies usually had many common characteristics. These character- istics included • Top Management Support—In many cases, require- ments of state law provided an incentive for state trans- portation officials to consider environmental factors during systems planning. However, even in such cases, the level of commitment to this concept very much depended on the extent to which the secretary, commis- sioner, or chief engineer held a strong positive position on the policy. This continuing top management interest and support provided the motivation to continue facing the organizational barriers that often accompanied such efforts. In California, Florida, New York, and Pennsyl- vania, for example, the secretary of transportation was personally interested in seeing that the agency’s envi- ronmental or CSS efforts were successful. The concept of an internal champion to “push” new planning con- cepts was found in Mn/DOT where full-time staff were reassigned to develop the environmental streamlining strategy for the agency. Some the case studies also showed the importance of a political champion or leader in fostering more atten- tion to environmental issues in systems planning. For example, the governors of Pennsylvania and Maryland may be appropriately viewed as having been the cham- pions of environmentally sensitive development in their states through their leadership and endorsement of envi- ronmental and growth management laws. The consen- sus building and general public awareness that occurs during the passage of laws and the adoption of policies may begin to create a more supportive environment as a backdrop for planning activities in a state. It is not nec- essarily the case that this policy approach would readily carry over into agencies that are tasked with implemen- tation. They may not be prepared to take up the tasks associated with new laws, policies, and their associated regulations, or they may disagree with the intent. In Wisconsin, for example, the actual requirements of TRANS 400 were debated and legally challenged for over 10 years before the DOT finally agreed to the pres- ent form of implementation. However, where laws are passed and resources provided for their implementation, the legislative foundation serves as an enabler for accomplishing environmental goals. • Organizational Assessment—For those agencies that targeted the entire organization and its procedures for change, an organizational assessment was conducted to understand what functions provided opportunities for incorporating environmental factors into agency activi- ties. This often meant forming task forces or committees with a mandate to recommend changes. Table 18, for

example, shows the different working groups estab- lished in FDOT to assess where changes in internal procedures were appropriate. In many cases, represen- tatives of environmental resource agencies, regional planning organizations, and other concerned stakehold- ers were part of this process. • Internal Implementation Strategies—Some of the more comprehensive programs examined in this research included efforts to consider environmental factors in many aspects of an agency’s activities, thus influencing many different units within the organization. Successful implementation of these programs entailed a broad per- spective on the types of actions that different units would take to implement the program. Table 19, for example, shows Caltrans’ plan to implement CSS in the organization. Note that responsibilities for actions range from the director to public relations staff. Key units in the organization, such as district offices (which in most 100 state transportation agencies would have important implementation responsibilities) are targeted for special responsibilities. • Institutional Change in Standard Procedures—Many state transportation agencies rely on standard operating procedures to guide agency staff in their approach to standardized situations. Thus, many procedures relating to project design follow accepted practices that are pre- scribed in design manuals. Incorporating environmental factors into this prescribed practice is a good way of insti- tutionalizing such a process in the daily operations of the organization. This was certainly an important part of the strategy in the NYSDOT for institutionalizing its Envi- ronmental Initiative in all parts of the organization. • Resources—The most important obstacle cited by DOT and MPO officials as hindering the incorporation of environmental factors into transportation planning was “competing objectives that detract from environmental Task Work Group Objective Environmental Permits 1. Develop a process to obtain construction permits simultaneously with the NEPA Record of Decision 2. Achieve concurrent and simplified notices where feasible 3. Develop criteria for categorically excluding certain projects from permitting Two-Year State Transportation Improvement Program 1. Evaluate the feasibility of implementing a two-year STIP and a two- year TIP development cycle 2. Determine the steps required to implement this two-year planning cycle with FDOT Programming NEPA Projects 1. Develop a method for proceeding with environmental studies earlier in the FDOT Five-Year Work Program NEPA Decision-Making Process 1. Determine how project development will be accomplished in the ETDM process and create a linkage to project development 2. Describe the timing during the planning process, the content, and the audience for the documents Secondary and Cumulative Impacts 1. Create a framework in the ETDM process for conducting secondary and cumulative assessment that incorporates needed data from land use, transportation, and resource protection plans Bridge Program 1. Investigate and document how the FDOT Bridge Program enters the Five-Year Work Program 2. Recommend a method for interfacing the Bridge Program with the ETDM process Cultural Resources 1. Investigate and document how to complete archaeological and historical assessments for transportation projects more efficiently and earlier in the project development process 2. Ensure how appropriate identification, avoidance, minimization, and mitigation of Native American issues are considered and documented Community Impact Assessment (CIA) 1. Document how CIA and public involvement are accomplished in the ETDM process TABLE 18 Work groups formed by FDOT for the ETDM process Source: Florida Department of Transportation, 2002 (77).

101 P Focus Strategy Technique Responsibility Schedule Academies/train- ing/tools • Provide focused training for staff regarding CSS concepts and applications • Provide specific tools and applications for implementation • • Develop CSS guidelines • Include CSS modules in existing functional academies Share technical case studies/lessons learned •Develop and distribute tools and applications • Districts and divisions will organize CSS training and guides districtwide and departmentwide • Districts will contribute CSS case studies and lessons learned • HQ divisions will lead tools and application development with districts Now District system management plan (DSMP) • Use DSMP as Caltrans policy-level system planning document to communicate CSS as department policy • Include CSS considerations in DSMPs, particularly under the stated policies and strategies • Districts will include CSS concepts in DSMP • DOTP will incorporate CSS support and info in DSMP guidelines Now Transportation corridor report (TCR) • Long-range Caltrans concepts for state highways must address CSS • Include CSS considerations in TCRs TCR should include a route/corridor context for use in project documents • District planning will include CSS strategies in TCRs • DOTP will revise system planning guidelines to include CSS Now Transportation system development program (TSDP) • TSDP, as project information element in Systems Planning process, must address CSS • Include CSS element in TSDPs • Districts will include CSS elements in each TSDP • DOTP will include CSS in guidelines Now Transportation planning grants • Use DOTP discretionary planning grants as stimulus for CSS considerations by planning and local agencies • Incorporate CSS support in grant guidelines • Include information in grant criteria to encourage CSS • DOTP will include CSS support in grant guidelines • Districts will facilitate consideration of CSS strategies in all grant applications Now Project initiation documents (PIDs) • CSS as part of project initiation becomes an integral part of all projects • Include CSS strategies in PID guidelines • Include CSS consideration in all PIDs • Include "Statement of Context" in all project reviews • Districts will include CSS strategies in PIDs • Districts will facilitate the involvement of CSS stakeholders in the development of PIDs • HQ Design will enhance CSS concepts in PD M Now Project reports • Projects final scope of work; cost estimates and time-lines should consider and, if appropriate, incorporate CSS • Include strategies in project review guidelines • Include CSS consideration in project reports • Include “Statement of Context” in all project reports • Districts will include CSS strategies in project reports • Districts will facilitate the involvement of CSS stakeholders in the development of project reports • HQ Design will enhance CSS concepts in design manual Now Intergovernmental review • Use reviews as opportunities to advocate CSS regarding local development proposals • Include CSS review and, if appropriate, recommendations in Caltrans intergovernmental review process • District planning functions will include CSS strategies in intergovernmental review program Now California transportation plan/interregion- al transportation strategic plan/regional plans • Reflect department’s commitment to CSS in Plan • • Include CSS description and support strategies in Plan Include CSS strategies in state plan development guidelines • Include CSS strategies in regional plan development guidelines • DOTP • Districts will recommend CSS strategies during the development and review of regional transportation plans • HQ Programming to provide CSS criteria in program themes Now TABLE 19 Caltrans implementation strategy for CSS (continued )

considerations.” In one sense, this could be interpreted as a resource allocation problem (i.e., a lack of sufficient resources to consider environmental factors in plan- ning). If a state perceives that an environmental problem is serious or important enough—such as the deteriora- tion of the Chesapeake Bay in the case of Maryland—it will pass the laws necessary to address the problem. Enabling legislation for environmental analysis is prob- ably the most important motivator for transportation agencies in considering environmental factors in trans- portation planning. Many of the case studies in this research indicate that the early consideration of environmental factors can consume a great deal of time and resources. Transporta- tion agency staff must often spend considerable time with environmental resource agencies explaining the rationale for a particular project and the actions to be taken by the DOT in environmental mitigation. The expectation is that the extra time spent early in the process will result in greater progress in moving the project through project development when it reaches that stage. The case studies illustrated the level of support that was deemed necessary to assure success. In New York, the DOT hired environmental managers for every district in the state to act as catalysts for the Environmental Initia- tive. In Minnesota, the DOT dedicated full-time staff in the effort to change the internal procedures of the organi- zation. In Florida, millions of dollars have been spent on the environmental screening tool that serves as the foun- dation of the ETDM process. All of these efforts were crit- ical to the success of the initiatives in each agency. • External Implementation Strategies—Much of the suc- cess in considering environmental factors in systems planning relies on establishing agreements with envi- ronmental resource agencies that articulate the respec- tive roles of each actor in planning and project develop- ment. The usual means of doing this is through memoranda of understanding, or in the case of FDOT’s ETDM process, agency operating agreements. 102 An example of such an agreement can be found in California. California’s state transportation agencies have been national leaders in establishing formal partnership relationships with environmental resource agencies. California’s Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency has recently entered into a partnership agreement with the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources Agency to identify program areas in which additional cooperation will result in a more suc- cessful integration of statewide mobility goals with envi- ronmental protection. This Tri-Agency Partnership, which realigns institutional relationships to improve the scope and pace at which environmental considerations are incorporated into transportation planning, identifies two purposes for the partnership. First, the partnership is designed to foster cooperative interactions among the three agencies. Second, the result of this cooperation is the timely planning and implementation of transportation projects that protect or restore environmental resources. The specific goals of this partnership included – Identifying and sharing information on transporta- tion and environmental priorities; – Developing transportation and environmental per- formance criteria to evaluate transportation proj- ects and to improve their selection and design; – Ensuring the timely development of environmentally beneficial transportation plans and projects that rec- ognize the priorities of livable communities, the prin- ciples of environmental justice, regional planning, cultural and natural resource conservation, and envi- ronmental protection; – Ensuring compliance with all applicable environ- mental laws, rules and regulations, permits and policies while reducing the time required to develop and implement transportation policies; – Encouraging early and continuous participation of effected state, federal, and local agencies, public interest groups, and the public throughout the local land-use planning, resource conservation planning, Regional overall work programs (OWPs) • Promulgate CSS through regional planning efforts • Include strategies in OWP guidelines • Recommend CSS-related activities in OWP • Districts will work with regional agency OWP staff Now Environmental assessments • Highlight CSS considerations in Caltrans environmental program • Include CSS in all environmental documentation, including initial studies and full impact reports • Environmental Programs to highlight CSS considerations in documents and meetings Now Maintenance and operations • Integrate CSS in maintenance and operations • Review routine maintenance and operations activities to identify opportunities for minimizing impacts to communities and the environment • Each program area Now Focus Strategy Technique Responsibility Schedule TABLE 19 (Continued) Caltrans implementation strategy for CSS Source: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), 2002 (99).

transportation planning, project development, and regulatory approval; and – Establishing an interagency issue resolution process with appropriate timeliness for comple- tion. The agencies have agreed to share and develop resources to support their objectives, including the use of shared training and interagency staff rotational assignments, as well as the development and deploy- ment of a GIS and data to facilitate the analysis of the environmental impacts of proposed planning and proj- ect alternatives. One of the issues raised by the resource agencies is the lack of sufficient data to support project- level decisions and to consider environmental conse- quences in the early stages of planning. • Defining Benefit—Changing organizational procedures in, and approaches to, transportation planning and proj- ect development could require significant changes in the attitudes and mindsets of agency staff. Convincing environmental resource agencies to change their stan- dard procedures and approaches similarly require such changes. The case studies indicated that one of the nec- essary first steps in bringing about such change is clearly articulating what benefits will occur when a new approach is adopted. All participants, especially when the process relates to a regulatory procedure, must per- ceive the benefits. Some of the benefits of early consid- eration of environmental factors include – Increased opportunities to avoid adverse impacts to natural resources; – The opportunity to provide “in place” and func- tioning compensation and eliminate the lag time between loss and replacement of resource values; – The opportunity to integrate the mitigation into regional environmental goals and preservation objectives; – The establishment of more efficient and effective monitoring and evaluation procedures; – The ability to provide the greatest resource benefit for the expenditure of mitigation funds; – Swift utilization of the diminishing opportunities for habitat conservation and preservation; and – The reduction in the potential for delays in project approval due to mitigation concurrence and permit processing (98). • Partnership Benefits—Environmental resource agen- cies often hesitate to participate in a process where envi- ronmental factors are considered early in system plan- ning. Primarily, this hesitation is caused by a concern that such early participation could be construed as approval of a project long before some of the specific impacts are known. State transportation agencies that have successfully formed partnerships with their respec- tive resource agencies have done so by promising to consider seriously the likely effect of transportation 103 projects on the environmental factor at issue, and often supporting environmental staff review of the agency’s projects. Many states (e.g., Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and California) have agreed to fund environ- mental resource agency staff for their efforts at project review. For example, Caltrans signed a memorandum of agreement with the state’s Department of Fish and Game in 1990 concerning expedited review of trans- portation projects. The intent of this agreement was “to (1) foster the early consideration of biological impacts in transportation systems planning, (2) provide continu- ous coordination and early consultation between the transportation agencies and the resource protection agencies, (3) replace valuable habitat unavoidably lost through the creation of high-quality habitat before impact, and (4) exercise creativity within an atmosphere of mutual respect.” (98) Figure 22 shows the typical types of actions that resource and transportation agen- cies agree to in such arrangements. Appendix D, which is contained in NCHRP Web-Only Document 77, presents an example of a mem- orandum of understanding among transportation and environmental resource agencies in Minnesota. FUTURE RESEARCH In many ways, this research project suggests a rethinking of the way systems planning is conducted in the United States. At the very least, it suggests a different mindset among most transportation planners and engineers of how environmental factors should be considered during planning. It also focuses attention on the types of environmental issues that are likely to be faced in the future, and the types of exper- tise that will be necessary if these issues are to be dealt with in a serious way. The ability of transportation agencies to adapt to a new approach toward planning will, to a large extent, depend on their understanding of the importance of the issues and on how system planning can best incorporate these concerns from a process and technical point of view. The following proposed research topics are designed to get the transporta- tion profession to this point. Understanding the systems effects of ecosystems, human development, and transportation investment. Scientists have been focusing on ecosystem health for many decades and are just now beginning to understand many of the complexities that characterize ecosystem health. Some attention has been given to the negative impacts of human activity on ecosystems, although most of this research has been at the macro level (e.g., number of wetlands and wet- land functionality lost). Very little attention has been given to the relationship between ecosystem health and transporta-

104 The Resource Agencies Agree to: • Commit or redirect staff and resources to accomplish early planning and coordination goals; • Assist Caltrans in evaluating impacts of future transportation improvement projects during the early planning stages and respond to requests for information, recommendations, and coordination in a timely manner; • Identify the natural resources of concern within the area of potential impact and recommend measures to avoid, or minimize and compensate, impacts to natural resources; • Explore all appropriate mitigation and enhancement options consistent with the policies and guidelines of the agencies; • Assist in developing mitigation proposals that take into account the extent of the project impacts, the effected habitat values, benefits to the ecosystem, cost effectiveness and opportunities for coordinating with other conservation efforts; and • Consider application of excess compensation for future projects and permit “banking” when an appropriate opportunity exists. Caltrans and FHWA Agree to: • Pursue a policy of proactive consideration of environmental issues and concerns in which the sequencing principles of avoidance, minimization, and compensation are applied to natural resources; • Incorporate all feasible and practical features of project design which avoid and minimize adverse project impacts before employing compensation measures; • Where mitigation is required, achieve on-site and in-kind compensation whenever feasible and recommended by resource agencies; • Implement compensation in advance of project impacts whenever feasible and appropriate; • Explore opportunities for natural resource enhancement during project development; • Keep all agencies updated on planning and project development activities; • Provide for monitoring and periodic evaluation to determine if modifications are necessary to ensure that project compensation measures meet the overall planned mitigation goal and permit requirements; • In addition, Caltrans agrees to provide for the sustained maintenance and operation of the compensation sites and habitat values sufficient to offset the unavoidable losses; and • To the extent that such activities are not part of regularly funded planning assistance and review, fund on a reimbursable basis as needed and mutually agreeable, the resource agencies to provide technical assistance, technical studies, and expedited review as part of early mitigation planning. Figure 22. Principles of Agreement in a Memorandum of Understanding between Caltrans and the state’s Department of Fish and Game. Source: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), 1990 (97).

tion investment. Such research would examine the basic sci- ence involved with this relationship and develop methods and tools that can be used to investigate ways of reducing the influence of transportation-induced disruptions. This research would have to be truly multidisciplinary to bring the scientists that are knowledgeable about ecosystems together with engineers and planners who understand the construction and operational characteristics of transportation system performance. Understanding the political, social, and land-use con- texts for transportation planning, and how they influence the opportunities for, and constraints on, considering environmental factors during systems planning. This research has identified several cases where initial steps have been taken to integrate community planning, infrastructure provision, and environmental assessment. In many cases, these planning activities have evolved in separate institu- tional constructs, and it is only through the intervention of community activists, political leadership, or legislative man- date that such integration has been attempted. Research is needed to better understand the different social and political contexts that foster such coordinated planning and those that serve as a hindrance. Developing tools for integrated environmental/trans- portation systems planning. Although the survey of MPO officials indicated that the inadequacy of analysis tools for addressing environmental problems at the systems level was not considered a serious constraint, it is likely that these offi- cials did not have the integrated concept proposed in this research in mind. It is very clear from this research that one of the prerequisites for getting mutually beneficial participa- tion from the environmental and transportation communities in systems planning is to have an analysis capability that pro- vides important indications of potential problems. This was shown in Florida to be one of the key determinants for envi- ronmental resource agency participation. Although GIS capabilities are important points of departure for identifying sensitive environmental areas, additional analysis tools and methods are needed to develop a level of comfort at the sys- tems level that the decisions being made are done so with good information. Investigating the use of monitoring and surveillance technologies. The sensitivity of ecosystem health to disrup- tion is often so fragile that minor changes in conditions can have significant negative impacts. If environmental quality is an important planning concern, then systems planning should include the continuous monitoring of the environmental 105 health of the state or region. This could entail the use of satel- lite imagery, environmental sensors, biological indicators, and community quality-of-life measures. Mn/DOT’s move- ment toward environmental indicators as part of its family of performance measures is indicative of the types of direction that DOTs and MPOs might take. Developing environmental resource protection/conser- vation plans. Such plans are not new to environmental pro- fessionals, but they are new to transportation officials. This research project would examine the process used to develop such plans and answer questions such as the following: What are the goals of such studies? Who is involved? What are the typical results? What have been the factors of success and failure? What are the data needs? How do the results relate to transportation systems planning? Given the principles of ecosystem management that have come to the fore in envi- ronmental policy, the transportation community needs to know more about what these types of studies mean to trans- portation systems planning. Developing performance measures to track progress toward environmental goals. Various experiences with sus- tainable transportation planning, both in this country and internationally, suggest that performance measurement and public reporting are critical components of demonstrating agency accountability and credible progress toward environ- mental goals. Although a comprehensive set of performance measures and indicators may not have been identified by any particular agency, several agencies (including ODOT, WSDOT, PennDOT and Eugene/Lane COG) have under- taken programmatic initiatives on performance measurement and reporting. The research will examine the linkages between environmental goals/objectives and measures/indicators of performance, appropriate scopes of measures for tracking how well agencies are achieving predefined goals, the need for a dynamic set of measures to reflect changing emphases on various environmental issues, and best practices of per- formance measurement for considering the environment in transportation planning. Assessing organizational strategies for environmental stewardship. Except for NYSDOT, few transportation agen- cies have examined all of their activities from the point of view of environmental stewardship. This research project would develop guidelines on how an organization could con- duct such an analysis (different for the ISO 14001 approach). All of the organizational activities would be examined and strategies developed to foster greater consideration of envi- ronmental factors in all aspects of an agency’s daily functions.

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TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 541: Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning examines processes, procedures, and methods for integrating environmental factors in transportation systems planning and decision making at the statewide, regional, and metropolitan levels. The appendixes to NCHRP Report 541 have been published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 77.

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