HUMAN AND NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Strategic Outcomes:
▪ Improve the sustainability and livability of communities.
▪
Reduce the
adverse effects of transportation on ecosystems and the natural environment.
▪
Improve
the viability of ecosystems.
▪
Reduce
the adverse effects of transportation facilities on the natural environment.
▪
Improve
equity for low income and minority communities concerning the benefits and burdens
of transportation facilities and services.
▪
Reduce
the amount of pollution from transportation sources.
Transportation makes our communities more livable,
enhancing the quality of our lives and our society. However, transportation generates undesired consequences too,
such as pollution, noise, and the use of valuable land and degradation of
fishery habitat. No matter how much is
done to improve the capacity and efficiency of our transportation system, we
cannot consider our programs to be successful unless we also manage the effects
on our environment, and ultimately our quality of life.
DOT’s objective is to advance the benefits of
transportation while minimizing its negative environmental impacts. In FY 2002, DOT environmental programs
prevented as much harm as possible from being done to the environment by
transportation projects and operations.
|
|
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2002 Target |
Met |
Not Met |
|
Number
of significant domestic fishery violations found |
N/A |
308 |
400 |
392 |
273(r) |
92(r) |
113 |
133 |
ü |
|
|
Acres
of wetlands replaced for every acre affected by Federal-aid highway projects |
2.3 |
2.6 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
3.8 |
2.1 |
2.7 |
1.5 |
ü |
|
|
Percent
DOT facilities categorized as No Further Remedial Action Planned under
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act |
75 |
74 |
78 |
90 |
90 |
91 |
91 |
91 |
ü |
|
|
Monthly
average number of area transportation emissions conformity lapses |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
ü |
|
|
Gallons
of oil spilled by maritime sources per million gallons shipped |
7.2 |
1.6 |
3.1 |
2.6(r) |
2.8(r) |
3.4 |
0.4 |
2.6 |
ü |
|
|
Tons
of hazardous liquid materials spilled per pipeline million ton-miles shipped |
0.0232 |
0.0257 |
0.0119 |
0.0229 |
0.0131(r) |
0.0201 |
0.0109* |
0.0142 |
ü |
|
|
Number
of people in U.S. (in thousands) exposed to significant aircraft noise levels |
N/A |
N/A |
722 |
585 |
440 |
411(r) |
379* |
440 |
ü |
|
|
|
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2001 Target |
Met |
Not Met |
|
Percent
change in number of species designated as overfished |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
-9 |
N/A |
-1 |
|
|
N/A Not
available
* Preliminary estimate
Fishery Protection: The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone covers 3.36 million square miles
of ocean, providing a livelihood for commercial fishermen, a vast supply of
food, and recreation. Commercial and
recreational fisheries contribute about $50 billion annually to the U.S.
economy. The Sustainable Fisheries Act
(SFA) of 1996 mandates a reduction in the number of over-fished stocks. Responsible management and enforcement of
ocean resource management regimes is of critical importance as the demand for
fish protein grows.
Performance measure:
Number of significant domestic fishery
violations found.
1999 2000 2001 2002
Target: N/A N/A N/A 133
Actual: 392 273(r) 92(r) 113
(r) Revised.
2002
Results: DOT met the performance target.
However, significant violations arose from FY 2001,
reversing a significant downtrend.
Coast Guard enforcement presence on fishing grounds diminished at the
start of the fiscal year due to the need for coastal and seaport security in the
aftermath of 9/11. The Coast Guard has
since restored the fisheries enforcement effort and toward the end of FY 2002,
saw a significant decrease in violations of fisheries protection
regulations.
FY
2003 Performance Plan Evaluation:
DOT
cannot characterize Coast Guard performance for FY 2003, since the Coast Guard
will be a part of the new Department of Homeland Security.
Wetland Protection and Recovery: Wetlands
are an important natural resource. They
provide natural filtration of pollutants, and they store and slow down the
release of floodwaters, thereby reducing damage to downstream farms and
communities. Wetlands also provide an
essential habitat for biodiversity. But
many of the Nation’s wetlands have been lost to development over the years,
before their value was fully recognized.
Highways and transportation facilities (location, construction, and
operation) can be a significant factor affecting these ecosystems.
Performance measure:
On a program-wide basis, acres of wetlands replaced
for every acre affected by Federal-aid Highway projects (where impacts are
unavoidable).
1999 2000 2001 2002
Target: 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Actual: 2.3 3.8 2.1 2.7
2002
Results: DOT met the performance target.
Federal-aid
projects nationwide impacted approximately 1,896 acres of wetland, and provided
5,118 acres of compensatory mitigation.
With other agencies, FHWA continued to conduct joint
research, and develop revised standards for wetlands, highway runoff water
quality, and wildlife habitat. In
cooperation with AASHTO, FHWA conducted a technology scanning tour of five
countries in Europe to examine ways to reduce wildlife mortality along
highways. Results of the scan were
developed into an implementation plan for the U.S. FHWA also developed new training courses on highway runoff water
quality and stream ecosystem restoration with the National Highway Institute.
FY
2003 Performance Plan Evaluation:
DOT will
meet the targets in FY 2003.
Dot Facility Cleanup: DOT has a special responsibility to ensure that its own
facilities are compliant with environmental laws and regulations. Restoration activities involve identifying,
investigating, and cleaning up contaminated sites. Compliance activities include the operation of facilities,
equipment, and vessels in accordance with environmental requirements. Pollution prevention activities involve
preventing future cleanup activities by avoiding the generation of pollutants
in our operations or facilities. MARAD is the U.S. Government’s disposal agent
for merchant type vessels weighing 1,500 gross tons or more, and is required by
law to dispose of obsolete ships in the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF)
by the end of FY 2006. Due to the
presence of hazardous substances such as asbestos and solid and liquid
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and concerns raised by the EPA about the
export of PCBs, sales for overseas disposal were halted in 1995. Additional ships will be added to the
inventory as other merchant type Federal Government vessels become obsolete. Leaks from some of the ships in the NDRF
have already occurred and the risk of environmental damage associated with the
deteriorating ships continues to increase.
Performance measure:
Percentage of DOT facilities categorized as No
Further Remedial Action Planned (NFRAP) under the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act (SARA).
1999 2000 2001 2002
Target: 80 82 91 91
Actual: 90 90 91 91
2002
Results: DOT
met the performance target.
Facility cleanup complies with the SARA process and
with the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. Working with States, local governments, and
the EPA, DOT used a “worst first” prioritization system to attack the overall
problem presented by DOT facilities where significant pollution problems
present themselves.
The Coast Guard continued cleanup activities at its
Kodiak, Alaska and Elizabeth City, North Carolina industrial facilities. In September 2002, EPA added the Coast Guard
Yard in Baltimore, Maryland to its National Priority List, and the Coast Guard
will conduct cleanup activities at the Yard for the next several years.
FAA continued cleanup activities in several Alaskan
locations, at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, and at
the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. FAA is also continuing to replace outdated
underground storage tanks with newer, regulatory-compliant tanks, as well as
cleaning or removing unused tanks at decommissioned facilities.
EPA removed FRA’s formerly-owned and contaminated
site in Anchorage, Alaska from the National Priority List in September 2002,
thus concluding all FRA’s SARA cleanup efforts.
FHWA continued work at one facility to meet State
requirements.
FY
2003 Performance Plan Evaluation:
DOT will
meet the target in FY 2003.
Management Challenge – Ship Disposal (IG/GAO)
Ship disposal is a management challenge
separate from DOT’s goal to clean up its shore facilities. MARAD is the U.S. Government’s disposal
agent for merchant-type vessels of 1,500 gross tons or more. As of March 2002, 133 ships await disposal.
Since 1994, environmental concerns and
hazardous material regulatory obstacles have prevented exporting ships, which
had been a disposal option that maximized financial returns to the
Government. Legislation in 2001 allowed
MARAD to purchase scrapping services as an expedient means to remove the most
deteriorated ships and provided $10 million for this purpose. Eleven obsolete vessels have been removed
from the fleets for disposal through a combination of payment for scrapping
services, prior year vessel sales and artificial reefing. In addition to scrapping obsolete ships,
MARAD will dispose of them by any or all of the following means:
▪
artificial
reefing (including the establishment of national remediation standards through
a joint effort with the EPA and the Navy);
▪
soliciting
for the sale of recyclable obsolete vessels having a material value to
recycling companies; and
▪
pursuing
legislative changes to expedite ship disposal or create new opportunities.
MARAD is also pursuing the following
alternatives:
▪
export
of ships for recycling (teaming with the EPA and the State Department to
resolve environmental and worker health/safety issues);
▪
soliciting
innovative proposals from industry for ship disposal solutions; and
▪
seeking
additional funding sources and partnerships (domestic and international) for
ship disposal based upon the environmental, safety and training aspects of the
program.
Each of the above alternatives has the
potential to realize cost savings (compared to paid ship scrapping) and
increase the number of vessel disposals.
However, potential results for these alternatives cannot yet be
accurately quantified. If MARAD is to
meet the legislative deadline for eliminating the current inventory of obsolete
ships, approximately 43 ships a year must be disposed of during the FY
2004-2006 timeframe.
Mobile Source Emissions: The National Ambient Air Quality Standards target six major
pollutants as among the most serious airborne threats to human health. Transportation is a major contributor to
some of the pollutants, particularly ozone, carbon monoxide and particulate
matter. About two-thirds of
transportation-related emissions come from on-road motor vehicles. The quality of our air is a public good, and
the cost of these pollutants is not captured in the marketplace. For this reason, the Government works to
mitigate this negative impact.
Performance measure:
Monthly average number of area transportation
emissions conformity lapses.
1999 2000 2001 2002
Target: N/A N/A N/A
6
Actual: N/A 6
6 6
2002
Results: DOT met the performance
target.
Of
non-attainment and maintenance areas, 98 percent met mobile emissions budgets
for ozone, 100 percent met their budget for carbon monoxide and 96.3 percent
met their budget for particulate matter (PM-10). Although national mobile source emissions estimates for
FY 2001 and FY 2002 are not available, emissions were 61.9 million tons in
FY 2000, which was lower than the FY 2002 target of 63.1 million.
A USDOT/EPA public
information initiative on transportation and air quality was expanded with the
addition of a new web site, information exchange, and community partnership
program. FHWA continued to support the Alliance for
Clean Air and Transportation, a national alliance of more than 20 organizations
supporting public education to reduce traffic congestion and improve air
quality. Through the Congestion
Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program, FHWA funded State and
local government initiatives to reduce emissions through the use of alternative
fuel vehicles, inspection and maintenance programs, and other transportation
control measures.
FHWA
eliminated its supplementary performance measure of tons of on-road mobile
source emissions. FHWA used data from
an EPA emissions trends database, which lags as much as two years behind,
making the performance measure of little utility in managing ongoing
performance.
FY
2003 Performance Plan Evaluation:
DOT will
meet the target in FY 2003.
Oil and Pipeline Spills: A large share of the U.S. economy is fueled by oil. Over half the oil used in the U.S. today is
imported, and most of the imported oil is carried in tankships. Furthermore, with offshore drilling
occurring further offshore, and larger cargo and tank ships plying the oceans,
the task of preventing oil spills will become even more challenging. Oil spills can devastate ecosystems and can
incur enormous response costs. More
than 617 billion ton-miles of petroleum and other hazardous liquids move across
the country through about 157,000 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines. While this is usually the least costly way
to transport these bulk cargoes, it also entails some risk. Because of the volume of liquid hazardous
materials moved by pipelines, any spill into the environment is potentially a
significant one.
Performance measures:
Gallons spilled per million gallons shipped
by maritime sources.
1999 2000 2001 2002
Target: 4.3 4.1 4.0 2.6
Actual: 2.6(r)
2.8(r) 3.4 0.4
Tons of hazardous liquid materials spilled
per million ton-miles shipped by pipelines.
1999 2000 2001 2002
Target: .0171 .0161 .0151 .0142
Actual: .0229 .0131(r) .0201 .0109#
(r) Revised; # Preliminary estimate.
2002 Results: DOT met performance
targets for both maritime oil spills and pipeline hazmat spills.
A significant portion of all the oil spilled into
U.S. waters continues to result from a few large spills. In FY 2002, 45 percent of the total volume
of oil spilled from maritime sources resulted from three spills. Spill sources continue to shift toward
marine terminal facilities. Oil spill
regulations combined with improved international standards and industry efforts
have decreased cargo oil spills, but risks of bunker spills will increase over
time as vessel size and waterway traffic increases. Barges continue to be a leading source of spills, with most spills resulting from equipment malfunction or human
error.
As part of its pipeline safety program, RSPA
improved operations, control, and monitoring technologies to enable better
corrosion detection; validated direct assessment techniques for unpiggable
pipelines; and researched better pipeline coatings. Better corrosion detection technology and direct assessment
allows pipeline operators to detect pipeline defects before a release
occurs. Improved pipeline coatings
reduce corrosion damage and lessen the risk of environmental damage from
pipeline failures.
RSPA further improved damage prevention and leak
detection by increasing pipeline operators’ use of in-line inspection tools and
locating technologies to detect pipeline defects especially in unpiggable
pipelines; improve remote and real-time monitoring for encroachment,
unauthorized excavation, and pipeline damage; and required more use of
directional drilling to avoid damage.
RSPA also made educational materials available to operators, one-call
centers and other interested groups, and supported efforts of the Common Ground
Alliance to offer “Dig Safely”
training sessions around the country for groups interested in implementing this
important program.
FY
2003 Performance Plan Evaluation:
RSPA will
meet its performance target in FY 2003.
DOT cannot characterize Coast Guard performance for FY 2003, since the
Coast Guard will be a part of the new Department of Homeland Security.
Aircraft Noise Exposure: Public concern and sensitivity to aircraft noise around airports
is high. In recent years, noise complaints have increased even while quieter
aircraft technology has been introduced.
Aircraft noise is an undesired by-product of our mobility, and the
Government acts to reduce the public’s exposure to unreasonable noise levels.
Performance measure:
Number of people in the
U.S. (in thousands) who are exposed to significant aircraft noise levels (65
decibels or more).
1999 2000 2001 2002
Target: N/A N/A 440 440
Actual: 585 440 411(r) 379#
(r) Revised; # Preliminary estimate.
2002
Results: DOT met the performance target.
DOT pursued a
program of aircraft noise control in cooperation with the aviation community
through noise reduction at the source (development and adoption of quieter
aircraft), soundproofing and buyouts of buildings near airports, operational
flight control measures, and land use planning strategies. In 2002, FAA:
▪
continued to develop
noise research and assessment technologies;
▪
implemented flight control measures to
help reduce neighborhood exposure;
▪
continued to examine and validate
methodologies used to assess aircraft noise exposure;
▪
developed a research plan and program for
international certification noise standards for turbojet airplanes that will be
more stringent than the current Stage 3 standard; and
▪
in cooperation with the National Park
Service, assessed noise exposure and developed Air Tour Management Plans for an
estimated 45 national parks.
FAA also worked
with NASA to identify concepts that will reduce the noise impact of future
subsonic jet airplanes by half (7 to 10 decibels), relative to 1992 technology.
FY
2003 Performance Plan Evaluation:
DOT will
meet the target in FY 2003.