Status Report on Priority Projects
A detailed status report was provided and verbal updates were given on the following priority projects.
- CETAP-California
- US 93-Montana
- Interstate 80-Nebraska
- Stillwater Bridge-Wisconsin/Minnesota
- Philadelphia International Airport-Pennsylvania
Joel Szabat, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy made the presentation on the Community and Environmental Transportation Acceptability Process (CETAP) project. The project has primarily been centered on the adequacy and level of information needed for a tiered planning document. The agencies agreed that the north-south Winchester to Temecula corridor study would be carried forward to a final EIS. The Final EIS has been made available for public comment. The comment period closed on July 21, 2003 and a Record of Decision is scheduled for completion in August 2003.
On June 11, 2003, the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) voted to terminate the Tier 1 EIS for the Hemet to Corona-Lake Elsinore corridor. They voted to proceed with a project-specific EIS to examine a range of east to west alternatives in the northern part of the county. The RCTC has requested environmental streamlining funding for the new east-west corridor, tentatively called the Cajalco-Ramona Corridor. A new, more focused purpose and need statement will be developed and will be presented to the resource agencies for input as the first major milestone in the project development process.
Kirk Starks, USACE, made the presentation on the US 93 project. The USACE has proposed a resolution that requires placing a wetlands reserve agreement before the Tribal Council of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) for approval. The resolution would identify wetland mitigation as the highest and best use in perpetuity for the parcel. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) would have to place notice in the title record for the site regarding the perpetual designation. The specific actions that BIA would take to protect wetland sites will have to be defined along with some agreed to mechanism to inform the Montana Department of Transportation and the USACE if any land use change occurs at these sites. The USACE, MDT, BIA and the CSKT will work together to draft an agreement for protection of mitigation sites owned by the Tribes.
In addition, Joel Szabat, DOT-OST, attended a two-day tour of the US 93 corridor project sponsored by the Montana Department of Transportation. Participants included representatives from the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), US Forest Service (USFS), Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). During the tour, the agencies discussed opportunities to do corridor wide ecosystem planning and restoration along the entire 280-mile US 93 Highway corridor and agreed they should seek mitigation opportunities that have a high benefit to cost ratio.
Fred Skaer, FHWA, made the presentation on the Interstate 80 project. A preliminary version of the Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) was circulated to all NEPA/404 merge agencies. All reviewing agencies concurred with the Preliminary FEA. As the result of that concurrence, FHWA approved a Finding on No Significant Impact (FONSI) for this project on June 25, 2003. The selection of this project for oversight by the Task Force facilitated the resolution of issues and expedited project review within the framework of environmental laws and regulations as set forth in the EO.
Michael O'Malley, DOT-OST, made the presentation on the Stillwater Bridge project. The principal issues remaining to be resolved are the disposition of the historic lift bridge and mitigation for the new bridge crossing. FHWA recently retained the services of a facilitator, Resolve, Inc. that will work with all parties and develop a schedule and process for decision-making. The first meeting of the Stakeholders Problem Solving Process being guided by Resolve, Inc. occurred on June 10, 2003. All federal, state and local agencies, along with the various stakeholder groups, concurred in the recommended process for problem solving and decision-making on the project, including an "Operating Agreement" and proposed schedule. The second facilitated meeting, which occurred on June 30, 2003, included a discussion on purpose and need for the project, requests for additional data needs and the development of a list of seven suggested potential alternatives for solving the transportation problem. The participants at these meetings determined that the remaining issues would require consensus building among approximately 20 agencies and stakeholders and agreed on December 2004 as the projected date for a Record of Decision (ROD) to close the NEPA review.
Ben DeLeon, FAA, made the presentation on the Philadelphia International Airport project. He stated that the EIS process is in the early planning stages. The DOT Champion, Woodie Woodward, Associate Administrator for Airports, attended and hosted an Environmental Streamlining Leadership Conference with regional leaders of federal and state environmental review agencies. The purpose of the Conference was to agree on general principles of streamlining. The Agency leaders have been asked to assign a senior decision maker to the Environmental Streamlining Steering Committee, who, during the week of August 11, 2003, will participate collaboratively in developing a project-specific Interagency Streamlining Agreement.
Before moving forward in the agenda, Mary Peters, Administrator-Federal Highway Administration, stated that at the last Task Force Meeting, a brief overview of CEQ's Guidance on Purpose and Need was introduced and currently FHWA and FTA have co-authored interim guidance on Purpose and Need to assist field office personnel in coordinating the development of Purpose and Need statements with State Departments of Transportation, other joint lead agencies, cooperating agencies and other agencies involved in the preparation and review of NEPA documents. The Council on Environmental Quality was provided a copy of the final draft for information and the distribution of the guidance was coordinated with CEQ. This guidance was not developed to substitute what CEQ developed but to only assist the field offices in interpreting the CEQ Guidance until such time that more comprehensive guidance on Purpose and Need statements is issued by the EO Task Force as a result of the work being done by the Purpose and Need working group. At the request of Jim Connaughton, Chairman of CEQ, the Department is determining the best route for Secretary Mineta to distribute the FHWA/FTA co-authored interim guidance on Purpose and Need to his counterparts at the other Federal Agencies. Further information on the status of this initiative will be forthcoming.
Discussion of Future Issues
Joel Szabat, DOT-OST, introduced two items of importance. The items being:
- Annual Executive Order Task Force Meeting
- Report to the President
The Annual Executive Order Task Force Meeting is tentatively scheduled during the week of September 22, 2003, at which time announcements of successes over the past year will be made. No date, time or location has been confirmed at this time. In addition, a "Priority Project Watch List" to track those projects that are removed from the active priority project list will be developed.
As required by the Executive Order, the EO Task Force will be responsible for developing a Report to the President. The report will highlight the accomplishments of the Task Force over the past year (CEQ Guidance on Purpose and Need, etc.) and provide potential changes to existing policies. The schedule calls for a draft to be provided for public comment at the close of the calendar year. A final report will be forwarded to the President, after coordination with CEQ in early 2004.
