As directed in the report accompanying the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 2003, the Federal Highway Administration submits this status report on environmental streamlining to the Congress.

During 2002, the Federal Highway Administration pursued environmental streamlining on multiple fronts. While building on earlier efforts to advance a broad based interagency agenda, FHWA also took aggressive steps to heighten the visibility of environmental streamlining and to create a specific performance based set of expectations for implementing environmental streamlining. Of particular note are (1) the issuance of a new executive order addressing environmental streamlining and FHWA's role in its implementation and (2) the development of a targeted performance-based agenda on environmental stewardship and environmental streamlining as part of FHWA's Vital Few Goals effort. The following sections of this report provide details on these and other efforts to advance environmental streamlining.

Raising Visibility and Creating a Sense of Urgency

Executive Order. On September 18, 2002 President Bush signed Executive Order 13274, "Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project Review." This executive order establishes an interagency task force to explore environmental stewardship opportunities, improve environmental review processes, and oversee specific projects on a priority list selected by the Secretary of Transportation. The executive order is multimodal in scope and has a strong positive effect on environmental streamlining for the highway program. FHWA was an active participant in the discussions that led to the issuance of the executive order and has taken a lead role in implementing many of the activities under the executive order. The executive order has raised the visibility of environmental streamlining among high-level officials in the executive branch agencies. This raised visibility is evidenced by reports from the interagency task force agencies that environmental streamlining in transportation projects has been placed as an on-going agenda item for executive and senior staff and they are actively seeking ways to promote program efficiencies in the field.

The Department of Transportation has thus far convened an organizing meeting for the interagency task force (on November 22, 2002) and two regular meetings (January 30, 2003 and March 4, 2003). Progress to date has focused on selection and oversight of projects on the priority list. Secretary Mineta selected 13 projects for the priority list; of these 10 are highway projects. Designation of these projects has already begun to create a greater sense of urgency among field staff of the various agencies to resolve outstanding issues. Further details on the executive order and implementation activities can be found at www.fhwa.dot.gov/stewardshipeo/eo13274.htm.

FHWA Vital Few Goals. In conjunction with FHWA's performance planning efforts under the Government Performance and Results Act, FHWA Administrator Mary Peters launched an effort that identified and articulated Vital Few Goals, priority areas for FHWA action on a nationwide basis. Environmental stewardship and environmental streamlining is one of the three Vital Few Goals. During 2002, FHWA developed a specific set of agencywide performance expectations for the environmental stewardship and environmental streamlining Vital Few Goal. These performance expectations focus on improving the quality and timeliness of the environmental review process and on clearly demonstrating environmental stewardship accomplishments. For example, a study of the timetable for environmental reviews was conducted in 2002 and a follow-up assessment will continue in 2003. FHWA has put in place a process for generating and monitoring project schedules to keep projects moving and on track for timely completion. More information on this effort is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/strmlng/essovervw.htm.

Solidifying Interagency Partnerships

Executive level interagency task force. The interagency task force created under Executive Order 13274 has provided for the first time a continuing forum for engaging executive representatives of the Federal agencies most involved in environmental streamlining. While the focus of the task force's work so far has been oversight of the designated priority projects, the task force has begun crafting a broader agenda that also looks at systemic changes in environmental review policies and procedures and at environmental stewardship opportunities. FHWA has played a prominent role in the review of nominated projects for selection by the Secretary, in the management of selected projects and in shaping the agenda for the interagency task force.

National environmental streamlining action plan. Working through a staff level Federal interagency workgroup, in 2002 FHWA developed a national action plan which outlines activities to streamline environmental initiatives including: expedited reviews, flexible mitigation, cross-training, evaluation measures, and dispute resolution. The items on the action plan will lead to reduced timelines, improved interagency coordination, enhanced environmental outcomes, and cost savings. The action plan is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/strmlng/actionplan2.asp.

Field level environmental summits. The FHWA Eastern, Southern, and Western Resource Centers held regional conferences in 2002, bringing together representatives from Federal, state, and local transportation, planning, and resource agencies, local governments, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), transportation and environmental organizations, tribes, and consultants to discuss relevant issues and identify opportunities for improvement. Results of the summits were distributed via the Successes in Stewardship Monthly Newsletter (September 2002). The sharing of solutions and integration of efforts found within each regional conference advances streamlining through an emphasis on process improvements.

Interagency training on environmental streamlining. The Federal interagency workgroup has collaborated in organizing a series of environmental streamlining workshops aimed at getting field staff of each Federal agency aligned with the national agenda. FHWA sponsored the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workshop held in September 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency workshop in December 2002, and a combined Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service workshop to be held in May 2003. These workshops have been a good forum for sharing the national vision, identifying issues that cause interagency conflict, and sharing innovative practices from around the country. Furthermore, they have promoted the concepts of coordination and process efficiencies in the environmental review of transportation projects.

Reengineering the Environmental Review Process

Nationwide Section 4(f) evaluation. FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration published for comment in the Federal Register on December 18, 2002 a proposed nationwide Section 4(f) evaluation for net benefits. Once finalized, this will allow for expedited processing of situations in which the transportation agency and official with jurisdiction over the Section 4(f) property can agree that the proposed mitigation package actually results in a net benefit to the property. This will lead to enhanced environmental and cultural resource outcomes while reducing environmental review times.

U.S. Coast Guard exemption from Section 4(f). FHWA worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to review changes in agreements, policies, and operating procedures brought about by the Coast Guard's move to the Department of Homeland Security. While most of the processes will remain unchanged, the Coast Guard has determined that Section 4(f) will no longer apply to bridge permits issued by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Office of Bridge Administration has notified Coast Guard district offices of this change and has developed a transition strategy.

Ohio programmatic Section 4(f) evaluation. Ohio is the only state that has implemented a Section 4(f) programmatic evaluation that allows the state transportation agency (ODOT) to decide whether programmatic Section 4(f) evaluations apply to projects. The FHWA Ohio Division, which retains its legal Section 4(f) authority, will receive and may review each ODOT decision. Finalized in September 2002, the Ohio DOT has recently conducted the in-house training needed to make the new process fully operational. The FHWA-ODOT Section 4(f) programmatic evaluation has been estimated to save the FHWA Ohio Division 80 hours of staff time per project, which can be used to monitor the Section 4(f) process and conduct Section 4(f) training. It has also resulted in reduced project delivery time for ODOT. If successful, FHWA will promote it as a model for other states.

Kentucky historic preservation programmatic agreement. Kentucky FHWA, following the lead of a successful Vermont programmatic agreement, has entered into a similar programmatic agreement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), the State Historic Preservation Officer and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. This agreement sets out the coordination responsibilities for all parties and delegates most of the day-to-day activities for Section 106 consultation to the KYTC. The programmatic agreement streamlines the Section 106 process by giving KYTC the primary authority to identify historic properties and assess effects, thus reducing the time required for multiple agency review and sign-offs.

Issuing Guidance to Enhance Process Predictability

Reimbursement of Resource Agencies. Through the active encouragement and participation by FHWA, many state DOTs are using interagency funding agreements to hire additional staff at state and Federal resource agencies. On February 26, 2002, FHWA issued guidance on funding eligibility, model agreements, and ensuring accountability. This guidance, titled "Interagency Guidance: Transportation Funding for Federal Agency Coordination Associated with Environmental Streamlining Activities" can be found at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/strmlng/igdocs/index.asp.

Interagency staff funded in accordance with this guidance are dedicated to reviewing transportation projects and making permit decisions. As of August 2002, over half of all state DOTs fund or provide over 160 dedicated transportation positions nationwide. According to some reports, funded positions have had a measurable impact in reducing the time it takes to complete environmental reviews on specific projects, while helping state DOTs develop quality transportation and environmental solutions at less cost. In South Carolina, for example, the US Army Corps of Engineers review of Section 404 permits was reduced by 30 percent for most projects, and State Historic Preservation Office Section 106 review time was reduced from 30 to 7 days for most projects.

Interagency collaboration and conflict management. On December 31, 2002 FHWA issued guidance on interagency collaboration methods. This guidance, "Collaborative Problem Solving: Better and Streamlined Outcomes for All," is one element of FHWA's national dispute resolution system and presents strategies for interagency collaborative problem solving by identifying issues that may arise during the transportation project development and environmental process reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related laws. The guidance document can be found at http://nepa.fhwa.dot.gov/ReNepa/ReNepa.nsf/.

Indirect and cumulative effects. On January 31, 2003 FHWA issued interim guidance that focuses attention on the existing NEPA requirements specific to indirect and cumulative impacts and represents an initial step in FHWA's overall strategy to address the indirect and cumulative impacts policy, guidance, and training needs of the agency. The guidance serves as an information tool for both FHWA Divisions and state DOTs and will lead to an increased understanding and improved efficiency by assisting them in negotiating reasonable bounds on impact analyses with resource agencies. The interim guidance is at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/guidebook/qaimpactmemo.asp.

Evaluating the Performance of Environmental Streamlining

Study of Timeliness of EISs since the Passage of NEPA. FHWA has supported two major inquiries into the question of "How long does the environmental process for transportation projects take?" The first, entitled "Evaluating the Performance of Environmental Streamlining: Development of a NEPA Baseline for Measuring Continuous Performance," examined the durations of 100 transportation projects from the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, measured from the start of the environmental process to the completion and approval of each project's Final Environmental Impact Statement. For these 100 projects, the average length of time for preparing an EIS pursuant to NEPA was 3.6 years (approximately 43 months). The study report is available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/strmlng/baseline/index.asp.

Following the above "Baseline Study," a second investigation was conducted, and is currently in its concluding stages. This "phase II" study examined over 240 transportation projects from across the country whose EISs were completed between the years 1995 and 2001. The study's preliminary results show an average time for EIS completion of 5.1 years (approximately 61 months), or a gain of 18 months over the average time for the projects prepared examined in the initial Baseline Study.

The "phase II" NEPA Baseline Study contains an examination of a number of variables effecting the NEPA EIS process for their impact to the process's delivery time. The results of this investigation are forthcoming.

A collection of 8 case studies of projects that completed their EISs in less than three years has been completed as a presentation of a number of "best practices" that can contribute to an effective delivery of a project's NEPA process. The case studies will soon be available on the FHWA environmental streamlining website.

Creation of an automated data system to track time frames for EISs and EAs. FHWA developed and implemented an internal environmental document tracking system (EDTS) for Environmental Assessments (EA), and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) to support FHWA's environmental streamlining performance expectations under the Vital Few Goals. EDTS will aid FHWA's ability to monitor project progress between major milestones, and to accurately determine the total processing time from initiation of an EIS and EA to the approval of the final decision document. The system was implemented in 2002; data entry in each of the FHWA division offices is ongoing. The ability to accurately track the length of time required to complete the NEPA process is an essential component of the environmental streamlining performance measure and will assist FHWA identify some of the factors that may affect the efficiency of NEPA project delivery.

Perception survey of transportation and environmental agency staff. FHWA has contracted with the Gallup Organization to conduct a survey of personnel in both transportation and resource agencies from around the nation. The purpose of the survey is to ascertain the perceptions of key participants in the transportation project development process, and, by means of applying scientifically reliable and valid survey methods, explore how stakeholders in the process view the quality of the environmental work and services performed by their counterparts. The Gallup Organization will utilize its expertise in the field of survey research to: measure the performance of agencies involved in environmental streamlining in order to provide a benchmark for agencies to gauge their own performance and that of the project development process itself; and to focus on areas where improvement may be needed. The survey is partially complete; results are expected in the Summer of 2003.

Institutionalizing Dispute Resolution

Partnership with Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. The 1998 Environmental Policy and Conflict Resolution Act created IECR, which is part of the Morris K. Udall Foundation. IECR helps Federal agencies and other involved parties manage and resolve Federal environmental, natural resource, and public lands disputes by providing services such as case consultation, conflict assessment, process design, facilitation, and mediation. More information on IECR can be found at their web site at http://www.ecr.gov.

FHWA partnered with IECR to meet the mandate set forth in Section 1309(c) of TEA-21 to create dispute resolution procedures as part of a national environmental streamlining initiative. FHWA and IECR have been working effectively together since 1999 to develop and implement the four components of the dispute resolution system, described below. The dispute resolution system is intended to assist the agencies to quickly and effectively focus on the pertinent project issues, save time, and avoid the costs of potential litigation.

Roster of qualified neutral facilitators. As part of the FHWA/IECR collaborative partnership, a transportation roster was created that is comprised of dispute resolution professionals with experience in NEPA and transportation projects. The roster is managed by the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, with financial support by FHWA to help cover administrative costs. These professionals can provide services such as conflict assessment, facilitation of interagency partnering agreements, design of conflict management processes, and mediation of disputes. Project sponsors contact IECR to access the transportation roster, and then negotiate contracts and pay for the costs of the transportation roster members' services directly. Recently, FHWA and transportation sponsors have used the transportation roster to provide facilitators for three of the priority projects designated under Executive Order 13274.

Guidance on interagency conflict management. This FHWA guidance, described above under the "guidance" heading, offers a range of optional tools agencies can use to manage conflicts and resolve disputes during the transportation project development and environmental review processes. It also constitutes the key reference document used in the interagency workshops described below.

Interagency conflict management workshops. The FHWA dispute resolution system includes a series of customized facilitated interagency workshops in each of the 10 standard Federal regions. The workshops were developed during 2002 and will be held from May to December 2003. Skills gained at the workshops will help practitioners from the various agencies to better identify environmental review issues, negotiate time frames and work through disagreements using interest based negotiating.

Section 1309 elevation procedures. Based on recommendations from an IECR facilitated process, FHWA designed an elevation procedure to operationalize the dispute resolution provision of section 1309 of TEA-21. Under the elevation procedure, the Governor, the FHWA Division Administrator or the FTA Regional Administrator may initiate the process of elevating disputes to the Secretary of Transportation. The elevation procedure is currently being finalized for issuance as a Department of Transportation order. A draft of the elevation procedure is at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/strmlng/npdjan22.htm.

Supporting State Environmental Streamlining Efforts

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)"Center for Environmental Excellence." AASHTO launched the Center in 2002 with technical and financial assistance provided by FHWA. The Center's mission is to assist AASHTO's member organizations with implementing environmental stewardship into their various practices and procedures, and promoting innovative streamlining of the project delivery process. AASHTO expects that the results of this assistance will be beneficial to state transportation agencies and also supportive of FHWA's work in protecting and enhancing the environment.

Florida Department of Transportation's "Efficient Transportation Decision Making (EDTM) Process." FHWA provided leadership, technical, and financial support to FDOT for use in continuing the development of this model for involving Federal and state agencies in the transportation development process. The EDTM process will link land use, transportation, and environmental resource planning through early and continuous agency, general public and Native American involvement in planning, project development, and environmental decisions. It uses the latest in information technology to facilitate timely comments from participating agencies and to maintain a record of coordination.

Currently, the Master Agreement for the EDTM and a number of agency agreements have been, or are being, finalized. Several of the agency agreements have been co-signed by Florida's Secretary of Transportation, the FHWA Division Administrator, and the heads of the respective agencies. Materials in the form of guidance and procedural manuals are in the final stages of completion. Training in the EDTM for four of seven FDOT districts began in February 2003 and will be on going until all districts have completed the training course. The EDTM process is planned to begin implementation during the summer of 2003.

North Carolina Department of Transportation's "Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP)." NCDOT, in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Wilmington District, is developing the EEP for the purpose of changing the way agencies consider and apply mitigation for impacts to wetlands throughout the State. FHWA has supported the development and implementation of the EEP.

To date, EEP-related activities include the organization and creation of a "core staff," as per agreement between NCDENR and NCDOT; continuing the development of methodologies for Watershed Needs Assessment and functional assessment for streams and wetlands; further development of elements of the EEP education/outreach plan, including the EEP web-page, newsletter, and the Policy-Process-Procedure manual.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's "Historic Preservation Work Group." During June of 2002, AASHTO, the National Council of State Historic Preservation Officers, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and other stakeholders including FHWA convened a conference on Historic Preservation in Lexington, KY. A part of the conference's agenda was concerned with streamlining the historic preservation review process for transportation projects. As a result of this and other conference matters, a problem-solving historic preservation workgroup was established with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) serving as the lead state. FHWA contributed funding to assist the KYTC in this role and staff to participate in the effort. The historic preservation work group has identified several issues for exploration, including the use of geographical information systems for the establishment of a national database for historic properties.

Texas Department of Transportation's "Environmental Streamlining Pilot Project for the I-69 Corridor Study." The I-69 Corridor Study is a priority corridor, identified as such in both the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA-21). The Texas portion of the corridor is also a priority project under Executive Order 13274. Approximately 1,000 miles of the I-69 corridor are located within Texas, confronting a diversity of social, economic, and environmental issues. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) plans to concurrently advance 14 independent segments of the Corridor through the project development decision-making process, each with a separate environmental impact statement.

Because of the complexity of the concurrent project development process, FHWA has provided environmental streamlining funds for support and assistance of the Streamlining Pilot Project. TxDOT and FHWA, in collaboration with other Federal and state agencies, have been developing methodologies and practices for streamlining the transportation and environmental decision-making process for the Corridor projects. The products of the Pilot Project include the following materials, activities, and procedures:

Geographic Information System (GIS) inventory of environmental resources - the baseline database is close to completion; when finished, baseline assessments for screening and prioritizing of resource concerns in the Corridor segments can commence.
Establishing an Environmental Leadership Group - The Group's charge is to create an interagency scoping team whose purpose is identifying and ranking ecological resources across the state. The prioritization of these resources has led to increased collaboration among transportation and resource agencies in managing ecosystems. In the case of I-69, the Corridor Technical Advisory Committee and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have identified specific tracts of property for use as sites for planning and implementing mitigation for project -related impacts.
Coordination with Stakeholders - Participation in the Pilot Project by various agencies and interested parties, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and Native American groups, is an important element of the Project's success. Several funding agreements between these parties and FHWA/TxDOT have been prepared in coordination with and support of the I-69 Process Manual, a special document developed to guide the environmental review process for the 14 corridor EISs .

Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities' "Habitat Connectivity GIS Database & Mapping." Habitat fragmentation caused by highway development is a serious concern in many parts of the United States. In the Pacific Northwest, for example, many critical habitat corridors coincide with major transportation facilities. Alaska's highways, while fewer in comparison to those in the Lower 48, are mostly two-lane with low traffic volumes. These types of highways generally place limited restrictions on the movement of large mammals. As traffic increases, these two-lane highways are being upgraded with wider shoulders, passing lanes, and additional driving lanes. These features can result in serious harm to wildlife by creating obstacles to migration.

Working in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. National Park, Fish & Wildlife, and Forest Services, the Alaska Departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Game, and the Alaska Railroad Corporation, the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) is developing a geographical information system (GIS) database for use in mapping wildlife habitats. The database and habitat mapping will be used for assessing the potential effects of transportation projects (specifically the Parks Highway corridor) on habitat connectivity, and for addressing appropriate mitigation measures early in the project development process. FHWA has provided funding support for this application of technology for streamlining the transportation project development process.

Montana Department of Transportation's "Evaluation of Wildlife Crossing Structures on U.S. Highway 93, Phase I." The Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) is conducting an evaluation of wildlife crossing structures and fencing along the U.S. 93 corridor located in the Flathead Indian Reservation. In partnership with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) of Montana State University, and FHWA's Montana Division, MDOT will identify and evaluate the data related to pre- and post-construction highway impacts on resident fish and wildlife populations in and around the highway corridor. The purpose of the evaluation is to better manage measures for mitigating the highway facility's impacts to the corridor's wildlife resources. This will allow future mitigation discussions to be science based and will allow the parties to work together to develop the most cost effective mitigation packages.

FHWA has provided funding and technical support to assist the funding of Phase I of the Evaluation. This phase is concerned primarily with pre-construction data collection and the finalization of the plan for the Evaluation. Among the on-going activities are the following:

Partnering between MDOT personnel (research manager, district biologist), the CSKT tribal biologist, and the ecology/wildlife departments/GIS center of Montana State University, University of Montana, and Salish Kootenai College.
WTI attendance at U.S. 93 Technical Design Committee meetings re: wildlife crossings and fencing design issues for use in a case study.
Continued communication with MDOT maintenance crews (data collection on animal carcasses killed in collisions with vehicles.
Continued development of motion- and heat-trigger photo monitoring techniques.
Establishment of pre-construction field methods and development of handbook for field methods and protocols.

Wyoming Department of Transportation's "Geographic Information System Database on Material Sites." The Wyoming Department of Transportation's (WYDOT) Geology, Central Laboratory, and Contract & Estimates programs maintain three separate sets of information (in three different formats) regarding all of the gravel pits and quarries that WYDOT utilizes. This effort will unify the databases into one format that is also compliant with WYDOT's GIS format. Simplifying the access to gravel and quarry pit information is expected to improve the timely performance of analyses regarding the impacts of projects upon whatever resources (wetland, habitat, endangered species, archeological) may be located at particular proposed/existing pit area.

Indiana Department of Transportation's "Streamlining Initiatives." FHWA has partnered with Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) on various activities for implementing environmental streamlining techniques in INDOT's project development process. There are four separate streamlining activities:

Development and presentation of a technology transfer workshop on stream and roadway design issues;
Streamlining the issuance of the Sec. 404 Permit/401 Certification for the I-70/Six-Point Rd. project;
Preparation of a Wetland Banking Instrument (WBI) for a wetland restoration project;
Preparation of an updated Public Involvement Procedures manual.

In addition to actively partnering on this multi-faceted effort, FHWA has also contributed financially. The technology transfer workshop is scheduled for July 2003; the remaining activities are expected to issue products during the first half of 2003.

Washington Department of Transportation's "Environmental Permit Streamlining Act." In May 2001, Washington State passed the Environmental Permit Streamlining Act (EPSA), designed to reform transportation permitting by streamlining environmental permit decision-making. FHWA is a (non-voting) member of the Transportation Permit Efficiency and Accountability Committee (TPEAC), created by the Act to oversee the permit process. FHWA has provided funding assistance to help the Washington Department of Transportation (WsDOT) to implement various elements of the Act.

WsDOT has engaged the natural resource agencies and state decision-makers in order to work cooperatively to establish common goals, minimize transportation project delays, and develop consistency in the application environmental standards. Four projects have been proposed initially by WsDOT to begin the implementation of the EPSA; three of the projects fund the work of TPEAC subcommittees, while the fourth, "Cost Benefit Information", has been selected for its utility in developing performance measures critical to the TPEAC process. Progress on three of the projects is as follows:

Watershed-Based Stormwater Alternative Mitigation Pilot Project - An interdisciplinary, technical team has been selected to a) complete the draft watershed -based mitigation methods for the SR 522 project, and b) document all results, including applicability to other states/agencies.

A summary report that describes the transportation project, identifies a list of watershed-based mitigation sites suitable for use for the SR 522 project, and, if possible, compares this watershed-based approach to mitigation with more traditional methods, has been produced. (go to http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Environment/Programmatics/default.htm)

TPEAC One-Stop Subcommittee - This subcommittee is to develop a recommendation for a one-stop permit process. A request for proposals for the selection of a consultant services has been issued to assist in this task.
TPEAC Planning Subcommittee - this assemblage of 20+ representatives of local, resource, transportation, DOTs, and other agencies meets monthly -so far. Products of the subcommittee may likely include interagency agreements for addressing growth and development between transportation and natural resource agencies.

Oregon Department of Transportation's "Collaborative Environmental Transportation Agreement on Streamlining (CETAS)." The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has developed CETAS in response to Section 1309 of the TEA-21 as a coordinated environmental review process for the development, design, and construction of highway projects in the state. The CETAS process is aimed at integrating NEPA into the transportation planning process by allowing Federal and state resource and regulatory agencies to provide their input, and subsequently their concurrence, to the development of purpose and need as projects are identified in the planning phase. FHWA has provided financial support for this initiative because it represents a state streamlining activity that can be used on a national basis for implementing the environmental streamlining provisions of TEA-21.

To date, ODOT and their Principle Investigators met to review project development process and timelines, and to determine sources of data for evaluation. Criteria were set for selecting 5 projects for investigation. Data on costs, time and environmental outcomes will be used to develop the methodology for CETAS.

Colorado Department of Transportation's "Shortgrass Prairie Advanced Mitigation Initiative." The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has initiated a unique public-private partnership with The Nature Conservancy, as well as a number of state and Federal resource agencies, and FHWA, for the development of procedures designed to protect the prairie ecosystem while streamlining the consultation process under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. FHWA has provided technical and financial support for this effort.

To date, a Biological Assessment for the various species identified by the Initiative is being readied for submittal to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; requirements for both baseline and annual reporting have been finalized; and a recommendation for CDOTs conduct of a conservation banking program has been developed.

Sharing Information on Best Practices

FHWA Environmental Streamlining web site. The FHWA Environmental Streamlining web site assists local, state, and Federal agencies in the implementation of environmental streamlining by providing information about a variety of initiatives including pilot efforts, process reinvention, alternative dispute resolution, and guidance materials. The web site is continuously updated to reflect the most current information. In 2003, the web site will offer a database of over 14,000 state environmental streamlining practices. The web site provides practitioners with easy access to current streamlining efforts, thereby assisting agencies with capacity building of their professionals. This web site can be found at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/strmlng/index.htm.

"Successes in Stewardship" monthly electronic newsletter. Successes in Stewardship is a monthly Federal Highway Administration newsletter highlighting current environmental streamlining practices from around the country. An electronic newsletter is sent to over 1,100 subscribers each month and is provided on the environmental streamlining web site. Newsletter topics have already been identified for the remainder of fiscal year 2003. The newsletter allows local, state, and Federal practitioners to learn about effective approaches to environmental streamlining.

Re: NEPA community of practice website. Re: NEPA, the Federal Highway Administration's online NEPA "community of practice" provides an open exchange of knowledge, information, and ideas concerning the National Environmental Policy Act, related environmental issues, and transportation decision-making. By providing a forum for exchange of ideas and experience, Re:NEPA provides transportation environmental practitioners with the opportunity to better understand the NEPA transportation decision making process and to promote a better, more agreeable, and solution oriented process that balances transportation needs with concern for the social, economic, cultural and natural environment. A special forum on environmental streamlining provides a focus for the latest ideas and events relating to environmental streamlining. The address for Re:NEPA is http://nepa.fhwa.dot.gov/ReNepa/ReNepa.nsf/home.

Domestic scan tour on environmental commitment implementation. FHWA sponsored a scan tour during 2002 to see first hand how State transportation departments were ensuring that environmental commitments were implemented during the construction phase of highway projects. The tour visited seven state DOTs to review successful state processes, procedures, and methodologies for fulfilling environmental commitments made in the NEPA and environmental permitting process. FHWA sponsored this effort in recognition of the importance of this highly visible area in building or destroying trust with resource agencies and to underscore the benefits of effective commitment compliance systems in building a track record that supports environmental streamlining and environmental stewardship. The results of the domestic scan will be available by Summer 2003 and will be presented at numerous industry meetings, as well as via brochure, report, CD-ROM, and the environmental streamlining web site.

Rulemaking

Withdrawal of proposed environmental impact rules. In September 2002, FHWA and FTA issued a Federal Register notice withdrawing the proposed transportation planning and environmental impact rules published as a notice of proposed rulemaking on May 25, 2000. The notice indicated that FHWA and FTA officials believed that it would be prudent to wait for the outcome of legislative reauthorization to see what further regulatory changes are needed. To this end, FHWA has been actively working within the Administration to develop draft legislation that further promotes and builds upon the environmental streamlining successes achieved to date.

Summary

In summary, FHWA has aggressively pursued opportunities for environmental streamlining within its own program and performance, in its collaboration efforts with project sponsors and resource agencies and through partnership with other national entities such as AASHTO and IECR. Furthermore, with the implementation of the executive order, FHWA believes new opportunities for increased awareness and action on streamlining will come through process improvements identified by the executive order interagency task force. FHWA stands ready to leverage these opportunities to our collective advantage and build upon the successes of the past year.

National Environmental Streamlining Initiatives

REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION ENVIRONMENTAL STREAMLINING ACTIVITIES DURING 2002

Introduction