All 50 state transportation agencies were contacted over the past few weeks to ascertain additions or other changes in the number of positions the Departments of Transportation (DOTs) funds at federal and state resource agencies. Sixty-six percent of state DOTs now fund or will be funding positions at resource agencies in 2003, only a slight increase from 2001. See the table at the end of the report for the full distribution and break down of DOT-funded resource agency positions and summary statistics are included.

States That Do Not Fund Positions

Those state DOTs that have chosen not to fund positions expressed less need for the positions in some cases; in other cases State DOTs maintained a stance that the resource agencies should be adequately funded to handle the regulatory workload themselves. However, resource agencies nationwide are now well aware of the potential for support, and a substantial number of state DOTs that currently do not fund such positions are in discussions regarding the addition in the future. A few of these state DOTs have provided other financial support to resource agencies or loaned staff to cope with permit backlogs on occasion.

Trends Since 2001

A total of seven DOTs accounted for the bulk of the 51 percent increase in the number of positions funded by DOTs at resource agencies between 2001 and 2003. This increase amounts to a total of 83.5 new positions filled, funded, or planned for this year. The remaining state DOTs continued to fund those positions they supported two years ago in almost all cases. Among the federal agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) benefits from the largest number of DOT-funded positions, now a total of 35 nationwide. However, the Corps and EPA are now adding positions at a faster rate than FWS. Three times as many DOT-funded positions work at the Corps now as it did in 2001, in eleven states.

New Positions Concentrated in a Few States

The vast majority of the new resource agency positions were funded by three state DOTs that have undertaken major environmental initiatives and/or that have some of the largest wetland and endangered species concerns: Washington State DOT, Caltrans, and Florida DOT. WSDOT has increased their funded positions at resource agencies by over 40 percent, including another position at both the Corps (now a total of three) and NOAA Fisheries (for a new total of four), in addition to five new positions at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington has also added review staff on the state level. WSDOT's numerous environmental programs, including their wetland strategic plan, fish passage improvements, and increasing obligations to consult under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act with regard to anadromous fish species are profiled on their website.

Caltrans

At Caltrans, most of the new positions are in process; two new positions are already in place with the Corps of Engineers. One of these positions is funded through the Corps, while the other is paid by Caltrans and detailed to the Corps. It is worth noting that California and Florida have more endangered species than any other states in the continental U.S.; many of these species are dependent on wetlands and other waters of the state. Caltrans is also dealing with a large number of TMDL (total maximum daily load) allocations of pollutants for waters failing to meet water quality standards and designated uses.

Florida DOT

Florida DOT will be funding 40 new positions at resource agencies at a cost of approximately $4.5 million per year to help implement their Efficient Transportation Decisionmaking Process. That program will enable a complete environmental screen of transportation projects programmed in the state transportation improvement program (STIP) by November 2004 and gradual implementation of environmental review and agency concurrence on projects in the long range plan and at the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) level. The majority of the positions funded by FDOT will reside at state water quality control districts, which oversee wetland mitigation siting and state level permitting. The next largest groups of funded positions will be at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (4.2 positions) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (3 positions). FDOT avoided funding any positions at resource agencies until they had worked out the entirely new environmental review process entailed in ETDM (described in greater detail on pages 5-6 of this report); copies of both general and agency specific funding agreements are available from FDOT on their ETDM website. http://fdotenvironmentalstreamlining.urs-tally.com/Library/default.htm

North Carolina DOT

North Carolina DOT is considering adding eleven more positions at their state Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and five at the Corps of Engineers. These positions would contribute to the implementation of NCDOT and NCDENR's joint Ecosystem Enhancement Program, a watershed planning approach to advance mitigation. NCDOT already funds 24 positions, though a larger percentage of those were at state agencies than other DOTs, again due to the state's highly evolved watershed planning process, called the Wetland Restoration Program (WRP).

State Resource Agencies Continue to Account for 75% of Total, Water and Wildlife Agencies Should be Considered in Tandem

State water, wetland, and wildlife agencies continue to account for over 75 percent of the DOT-funded positions at state resource agencies. State Historic Preservation Offices have almost 20 percent of the positions located at state agencies. State wetland reviews are categorized as occurring in EPD/Water agencies in some states and DNR/Wildlife agencies in others. Consequently, it is most accurate to look at the increase in the combined number of new positions in these two categories, a 43 percent increase since 2001, which exceeds the average increase in all resource agency positions, and leads the pack of state agencies both in terms of absolute numbers and percent increase. The State Historic Preservation Offices also continued a steady increase in positions, with a 65 percent increase and now 33 positions nationwide.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) agreed to fund a new position with the Army Corps of Engineers. In conjunction with that position, AHTD negotiated that the department will be able to work with only one person instead of eight to ten people in the three Corps districts, located in three different states. Contact Marie if you would like a copy of this agreement.

Several agency-specific trends are apparent in the 2003 data, as noted in the highlights at the beginning of this section. Among the federal agencies, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to draw the most DOT-funded positions (almost half of the positions placed at federal agencies, a total of 35 in 2003, compared to 23 in 2001), the Corps almost tripled the number of positions they received (now 23 percent of DOT-funded positions placed at federal resource agencies). Nationally, the Corps now has 18.2 positions funded by state transportation agencies, a number that stands to increase substantially with the five additional positions that North Carolina DOT is discussing in conjunction with their revised permitting process and Ecosystem Enhancement Program. EPA increased the number of positions funded by the largest percentage among the federal agencies supported by DOTs, but DOTs still fund only 10 positions nationally.

	Federal Resource Agencies					State Resource Agencies
	USACE	FWS	NMFS	EPA	FS/BLM	SHPO	Coastal	EPD/ Water	DNR/ Wildlfe	Other	Total
Total in 2003	18.2	35	11	10	6	34	7	77.35	41	7	246.5
Total in 2001	6.5	23	13	1	6	20	5	49	34	5.5	163
# of new positions	11.7	12	-2	9	0	14	2	28.35	7	1.5	83.5
Percent increase '01-'03	180%	52%	-15%	900%	0%	70%	40%	58%	21%	27%	51%
Change in distribution among all DOT- funded positions	3.4%	0.1%	-3.5%	3.4%	-1.2%	1.5%	-0.2%	1.3%	-4.2%	-0.5%
Percent of total of all funded positions in 2003	7.4%	14.2%	4.5%	4.1%	2.4%	13.8%	2.8%	31.4%	16.6%	2.8%	100%
Percent of total of all funded positions in 2001	4.0%	14.1%	8.0%	0.6%	3.7%	12.3%	3.1%	30.1%	20.9%	3.4%	100%

	Federal Resource Agencies					State Resource Agencies
	USACE	FWS	NMFS	EPA	FS/BLM	SHPO	Coastal	EPD/ Water	DNR/ Wildlfe	Other	Total
Alabama						1					1
Alaska									3		3
Arizona	1				2	1					4
Arkansas	1	1				1					3
California	2	8	2	2		3	3		7		27
Colorado		1									1
Connecticut							1	5			6
Delaware				1							1
Florida	4.2	3	2	2		2		26.35		1	40.55
Georgia		2				3.5					5.5
Hawaii											0
Idaho	1	1	1								3
Illinois											0
Indiana											0
Iowa											0
Kansas											0
Kentucky	1					3.5					4.5
Louisiana		1									1
Maine											0
Maryland	1	1		1				3			6
Massachusetts	1										1
Michigan								11			11
Minnesota											0
Mississippi		1									1
Missouri									2		2
Montana	1	1							1		3
Nebraska						6					6
Nevada		1									1
New Hampshire											0
New Jersey						4		4			8
New Mexico						1					1
New York											0
North Carolina		2		1		3	2	11	3	2	24
North Dakota											0
Ohio						2		1			3
Oklahoma											0
Oregon		1	3						4	1	9
Pennsylvania	1	2		2		2		6	4		17
Rhode Island								2		1	3
South Carolina		1					1		1	1	4
South Dakota											0
Tennessee									3		3
Texas											0
Utah											0
Vermont											0
Virginia											0
Washington	3	8	3	1				3	5	1	24
West Virginia								2			2
Wisconsin									11		11
Wyoming					2						2

Environmental Technical Assistance Program

Natural Resources Technical Assistance Program Alert: Number and Distribution of DOT-Funded Positions at Resource Agencies and Analysis of Trends Since 2001

July 1, 2003 - Issue NR03-07

Same State DOTs Support Positions as in 2001

States That Do Not Fund Positions

Trends Since 2001

New Positions Concentrated in a Few States

Natural Resources Technical Assistance Program Alert:
Number and Distribution of DOT-Funded Positions at Resource Agencies and Analysis of Trends Since 2001