http://www.fta.dot.gov/newsroom/news_releases/12286_15796.html
January 15, 2014
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation announced a final
rule this week that will significantly cut red tape, while achieving
better environmental outcomes, for certain transit and highway projects
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and spur them towards
completion more quickly than in years past. The new rule responds to
President Obama’s call for federal agencies to put people first by
streamlining and improving government services wherever possible.
“Time is money, and by cutting the time it takes to manage
environmental reviews, we can help save communities money that they can
put toward critical transportation projects,” said U.S. Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This is just one example of the Obama
Administration’s commitment to make it easier for communities across the
country to get the transportation options they need to reduce
congestion and improve access to work, school, and other destinations.”
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) anticipate that the new rule, issued jointly, will
expedite the delivery of certain transit and highway projects—including
projects to be built within an existing right-of-way where
transportation already exists or projects that receive less than $5
million of federal funding. The new rule encourages project sponsors and
state and regional transportation authorities to build highway and
transit projects with fewer impacts to reap the benefits of the quicker,
simpler process, which requires less documentation for qualified
projects.
“Every transportation project is unique, and not all projects
require the same rigorous environmental review process that is
necessary for much larger projects,” said FTA Administrator Peter
Rogoff. “These common-sense changes will help balance responsible
environmental stewardship with delivering transportation solutions to
communities more quickly—in some cases shaving more than a year off of
the environmental review process.”
The final rule on “Environmental Impact and Related Procedures”
was published in the Federal Register earlier this week. The rulemaking
was required as part of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
(MAP-21), the two-year transportation authorization bill signed by
President Obama in July 2012.
“This change will have a positive impact on the vast majority
of highway projects by further streamlining the review process, which
will save time, money and help get projects under construction more
quickly,” said FHWA Deputy Administrator Greg Nadeau.
Both agencies have taken a number of steps during the past
year to cut red tape and bureaucracy to help get critical projects under
construction more quickly without compromising a stringent project
review process.
In January 2013, FTA announced a streamlined approach for its Major Capital Investment (New Starts/Small Starts) Grant Program. In addition, FTA recently unveiled a new STOPS (Simplified Trips-on-Project Software)
tool that, for some communities, may reduce from two years to two weeks
the time needed for project sponsors to develop ridership forecasts on
planned projects. This new tool may save taxpayers in communities that
do not currently have travel forecasting tools as much as $1 million.
Last September, FHWA launched “e-NEPA,” an online
collaboration tool which is expected to greatly reduce the time needed
to complete the comprehensive environmental review process for federally
funded highway projects.
Purpose
