REPORT TO CONGRESS
ON FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION ENVIRONMENTAL STREAMLINING
ACTIVITIES DURING 2003

Federal Highway Administration

JUNE 2004

Executive Summary

This report responds to the Congressional request contained in the report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004, P.L. 108 - 199, Division F, the Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004. The conference report language is contained at page 49 of House Report 108 - 243. It states, "Environmental Streamlining - The Committee directs FHWA to provide the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a report, no later than March 1, 2004, updating the Committees on FHWA's streamlining efforts. The report should include specific examples of FHWA activities that have helped streamline the environmental process."

This report summarizes the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) environmental streamlining accomplishments of 2003. It includes examples, efforts underway to measure progress, and the challenges that remain ahead.

Over the past few years, FHWA has increased activities to advance environmental stewardship and streamlining. Initiatives in these areas are underway in every State. Federal agencies are coordinating their efforts through the President's Streamlining Executive Order (EO) 13274, Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project Reviews. The variety and sophistication of "tools" in the toolbox continue to grow. This report highlights advances in policy, research and technology innovation; project development process improvements; and the use of interagency problem solving and dispute resolution. FHWA has significantly expanded its role as a hub for documenting and sharing information on good practices and initiatives among its partners.

In order to measure our national progress, baseline qualitative and quantitative data have been collected on both project timeliness and perceptions of success from participants in the project development process. Since the 1970s and the early years of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the median time for the completion of the NEPA process for projects requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has more than doubled, from 29 months to 68 months (5.6 years) in FY 03. FHWA has established a target for 2007 of 3 years median time for completion of EISs.

There are many challenges to making and sustaining environmental streamlining progress, and to meeting the FHWA target of three years as the median for EISs. Interagency partnerships have led to better understanding of the breadth and depth of a project problem, but have not led to agreed solutions that accommodate different agency missions, legal authorities, or available resources. As new issues arise due to advances in scientific understanding, or as a result of court decisions, they must be fit into an already complex and multi-objective analysis and decisionmaking process. The number of projects and environmental requirements continue to increase, but Federal agency staffing remains constrained.

The authorities provided in the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) and funding provided through the appropriations process have allowed advances in areas such as the use of agency liaisons to accelerate project review, collaborative problem solving training, and stewardship demonstration projects in wetland protection and mitigation. Reauthorization of the TEA-21 presents an opportunity to advance legislative measures that will complement administrative actions and ensure a shared urgency in making progress on process improvements and more timely decisions for transportation projects.