##### **BNA, Inc.** 

##### **Transportation / Environment Alert**

**Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials'**

**Standing Committee on the Environment, Environmental Technical
Assistance Program (ETAP)**

# Volume 10, Issue 18 Jan. 11, 2008

###### Highlights 

**Handbook Provides Advice on Using SAFETEA-LU Environmental Review
Process**

A new handbook that advises agencies on compliance with environmental
review procedures for transportation projects is produced by the Center
for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO. ([see page 2](#handbook))

**Social, Environmental Contributions Of Highway Programs Detailed in
Report**

A report that documents highway programs' contributions to improving the
natural and human environment is available from the Center for
Environmental Excellence by AASHTO. ([see page 2](#abovenbeyond))

**FHWA Announces Grant Awards To Encourage Ecosystem-Based Planning**

The Federal Highway Administration will provide \$1.4 million in grants
for 14 initiatives to encourage use of integrated ecosystem-based
planning for infrastructure projects, the agency announces. ([see page
3](#ecologicalgrants))

**EPA Streamlines Conformity Regulations To Implement Changes Under
SAFETEA-LU**

A final rule announced by EPA will provide new flexibility to state and
local transportation agencies in meeting the Clean Air Act\'s
transportation conformity requirements. ([see page 4](#conformity))

**Study Shows Cancer Risk From Air Toxics In Los Angeles Area Down by 15
Percent**

Cancer risk from toxic air pollution in Southern California has dropped
by more than 15 percent over the last seven years, according to a study
the South Coast Air Quality Management District. ([see page
6](#LAairtoxics))

**FHWA Issues Fiscal 2008 Plan For Environment, Planning Research**

The Federal Highway Administration announces its fiscal year 2008
funding plan for the Surface Transportation Environment and Planning
Cooperative Research Program (STEP). ([see page 7](#STEP))

**Environmental Groups to Appeal Ruling Allowing Construction of
Maryland Toll Road**

Two environmental groups serve notice they will appeal a federal court
ruling that gave the go-ahead for construction of a toll road in the
Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. ([see page 8](#icc))

**CEQ Publishes 'Citizen's Guide' To Help the Public Understand NEPA**

The Council on Environmental Quality publishes *A Citizen\'s Guide to
the National Environmental Policy Act: Having Your Voice Heard*. ([see
page 9](#ceq))

**Report Details Methods to Forecast Projects' Indirect Impacts on Land
Use**

NCHRP report describes current practice for forecasting indirect land
use impacts of transportation projects. ([see page 10](#NCHRPlanduse))

**EPA Says Grassy Swales, Barrels, Wetlands Allow Cheaper Capture of
Stormwater**

A new EPA report finds the use of grassy swales, rain barrels, and small
wetlands to capture polluted stormwater runoff to be cheaper than
building pavements, gutters, and stormwater drains. ([see page
11](#grassyswale))

**Boxer to \'Force\' Reversal of EPA Decision Denying California Waiver
to Set Standards**

([see page 12](#boxer))

**Study Finds C02 May Cause Fine Particle Emissions, Increase Health
Risk** ([see page 13](#carbondioxidestudy))

**Chamber President Endorses User Fees, Carbon Tax for Infrastructure**
([see p. 15](#chambercommerce))

**Private Sector Role in Highway Activities Increases at State DOTs, GAO
Says** ([see page 16](#privatesector))

**Items Recently Posted on the Center for Environmental Excellence by
AASHTO Website**

([see page 17](#aashto))

**Environmental Streamlining/Stewardship**

[]{#handbook .anchor}**Handbook Provides Advice on Implementing**

**SAFETEA-LU Environmental Review Process**

A new handbook that advises agencies on compliance with environmental
review procedures enacted in 2005 for transportation projects was made
available by the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials in early January.

Produced by the Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO, the
handbook is intended to provide background information and practical
advice for complying with Section 6002 of the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU). Enacted in 2005, the provision is now codified in Section
139 of Title 23 of the U.S. Code (23 U.S.C. Section 139).

Practitioner's Handbook No. 9, *Using the SAFETEA-LU Environmental
Review Process,* provides an overview of the SAFETEA-LU process and
gives practical tips on compliance. It also spells out ways to "use the
new opportunities in Section 139 to achieve the underlying goal of this
process: bringing about a better, faster, and more efficient
environmental review process."

Issues covered in the handbook include:

-   initiating the environmental review process;

-   inviting participating agencies;

-   establishing the coordination plan;

-   including a project schedule in the coordination plan;

-   setting comment deadlines;

-   providing an "opportunity for involvement" to agencies and the
    public in developing the purpose and need and the range of
    alternatives;

-   defining the purpose and need;

-   determining the methodologies and level of detail for the
    alternatives analysis;

-   resolving issues of concern;

-   developing the preferred alternative to a higher level of detail
    (optional); and

-   reporting delays in permit decisions.

For each topic, the handbook provides information on achieving
compliance, followed by streamlining opportunities that may help to
expedite the process.

The handbook also provides cross references to the joint Federal Highway
Administration and Federal Transit Administration final guidance on the
environmental review process.

The handbook and links to related documents and resources may be
accessed on the Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO website at
<http://environment.transportation.org/center/products_programs/practitioners_handbooks.aspx#ph09>.

The FHWA/FTA guidance may be accessed at
<http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/section6002/index.htm>.

[]{#abovenbeyond .anchor}**Social, Environmental Contributions**

**Of Highway Programs Detailed in Report**

A report that provides statistics and examples of highway programs'
contributions to improving the natural and human environment is now
available from the Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO.

The report, *Above and Beyond: The Environmental and Social
Contributions of America's Highway Programs*, describes programs and
projects that illustrate how transportation agencies are going beyond
regulatory requirements to contribute to the environmental, social, and
economic well-being of their communities.

In an introduction, AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley said the
report "documents new projects and programs that continue to advance
both transportation and environmental stewardship." It provides
"important facts on how transportation makes a real difference to our
quality of life" through investments in areas including context
sensitive solutions; historic preservation; recycling; clean air;
integrating transportation and land use; walking and biking trails;
wetlands and water quality; wildlife preservation; sound barriers;
scenic byways; and wildflowers and native vegetation.

Trends cited in the report include the following:

-   27 state transportation agencies have implemented or are in the
    process of developing environmental management systems;

-   41 states have made significant progress in implementing context
    sensitive solutions.

-   43 transportation initiatives in 30 states have been identified as
    exemplary ecosystem initiatives.

-   Agencies have identified more than 100 simple actions taken to help
    wildlife along roadways.

-   Over 550 state stewardship and streamlining programs, policies, and
    initiatives have been documented by the Federal Highway
    Administration.

-   Thousands of environmental stewardship practices, policies, and
    programs are currently in use by state transportation agencies for
    highway construction and maintenance.

-   More than 17,000 projects to reduce air pollution from motor
    vehicles have been funded with transportation dollars.

"Today, the transportation sector's mission goes beyond ensuring
mobility to achieving the larger societal goal of economic, social, and
environmental sustainability. Approaches such as context sensitive
solutions and integrated planning provide transportation agencies the
tools to consider economic, social, and environmental factors as they
develop transportation solutions," the report stated.

The report is a follow-up to the Center's 2003 report, *Taking the High
Road*.

*Above and Beyond: The Environmental and Social Contributions of
America's Highway Programs* may be accessed on the Center for
Environmental Excellence by AASHTO website at
<http://environment.transportation.org/center/products_programs/above_beyond.aspx>.

**Planning**

[]{#ecologicalgrants .anchor}**FHWA Announces Grant Awards**

**To Encourage Ecosystem-Based Planning**

The Federal Highway Administration will provide \$1.4 million in grants
for 14 initiatives to encourage use of integrated ecosystem-based
planning for infrastructure projects, the agency announced January 2.

The grant program is intended to advance the goals of the Eco-Logical
framework developed by eight federal agencies and four state
transportation departments. According to FHWA, Eco-Logical "articulates
a vision of how infrastructure development and ecosystem conservation
can be integrated to harmonize economic, environmental, and social needs
and objectives."

The grant recipients include state and local transportation agencies,
state resource agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, local
governments, nongovernmental organizations, and one university.

FHWA described the grant recipients as "pilot projects" that will
support new planning provisions and the environmental review process in
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The grants also will support
implementation of Executive Order 13274: Environmental Stewardship and
Transportation Infrastructure Project Reviews as well as new federal
transportation planning regulations, and FHWA's stewardship and
streamlining "vital few goals," the agency said.

The grants will be administered by FHWA's Office of Environment,
Planning, and Realty, with technical assistance from the FHWA Resource
Center and other agencies that developed the Eco-Logical framework.

FHWA said it also will support related work, including the Environmental
Protection Agency\'s expansion of the Texas Ecological Assessment
Protocol into a regional ecological assessment protocol covering
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The following table, reprinted from the FHWA Eco-Logical website, lists
the initiatives selected to receive grant funding.

  ------------ ----------------------- -----------------------------------
  **State**    **Applicant**           **Project Title**

  Colorado     Colorado Department of  Developing a Regional Ecosystem
               Transportation          Framework for Terrestrial and
                                       Aquatic Resources along the I-70
                                       Corridor, Colorado An Eco-Logical
                                       Field Test

  Illinois     Chicago Department of   Sustainable Infrastructure
               Transportation          Standards for Urban Ecology

  Illinois     Tri-County Regional     Regional Transportation, Ecosystem,
               Planning Commission     & Land Use Integration Plan

  Missouri     Mid America Regional    An Eco-Logical Approach to
               Council                 Transportation Planning in the
                                       Kansas City Region

  New          Audubon Society of New  Creating Tools to Support
  Hampshire    Hampshire               Integrated Transportation and
                                       Resource Planning in New Hampshire

  New York     Tioga County Soil and   Providing Opportunities of Highway
               Water Conservation      Programs in Remediate Natural
               District                Resource Concerns in NY

  North        Land of Sky Regional    Linking Lands and Communities in
  Carolina     Council                 the Land-of-Sky Region of Western

  North        North Carolina          Integration of North Carolina\'s
  Carolina     Department and Natural  Conservation and Transportation
               Resources               Planning

  Oregon       Oregon State University Using the Ecological Approach to
                                       Develop and Implement Conservation
                                       and Mitigation Priorities for
                                       Oregon

  Texas        Capital Area Council of Central Texas Greenprint for
               Governments             Growth - a Tool for Balancing
                                       Sustainable Conservation Goals with
                                       the Infrastructure Needs of our
                                       Rapidly Urbanizing Region

  Texas        Houston Galveston Area  Developing a Regional Decision
               Council                 Support System for the
                                       Houston-Galveston Region

  Texas        North Central Texas     North Central Texas Regional
               Council of Governments  Ecological Framework

  Utah         Coalition for Utah\'s   Blueprint Jordan River, A Lake to
               Future/Project 2000     Lake Vision

  Virginia     Thomas Jefferson        Integrating Green Infrastructure
               Planning District       and Transportation Planning
  ------------ ----------------------- -----------------------------------

More details on the grant initiatives and the Eco-Logical program are
available in the January issue of FHWA\'s *Successes in Stewardship
Newsletter*, which may be accessed at
<http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/newsletters/jan08nl.asp>
and on FHWA's Eco-Logical website at
<http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecological/eco_entry.asp>.

For additional information, contact Bethaney Bacher-Gresock at (202)
366-4196 or <bethaney.bacher-gresock@dot.gov>.

**Air Quality**

[]{#conformity .anchor}**EPA Streamlines Conformity Regulations**

**To Implement Changes Under SAFETEA-LU**

A final rule announced Jan. 10 by the Environmental Protection Agency
will provide new flexibility to state and local transportation agencies
in meeting the Clean Air Act\'s transportation conformity requirements,
the agency said.

The rule implements Clean Air Act amendments adopted in 2005 under the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the transportation funding law.

The final rule will be published soon in the *Federal Register*.

Transportation conformity is a Clean Air Act requirement under which
state and local transportation agencies must ensure that federally
supported highway and transit projects are consistent with\--or conform
to\--state air quality implementation plans (SIPs).

Conformity ensures that public health is protected by early
consideration of the impacts of transportation decisions in places where
air quality does not currently meet national standards or has not met
them in the past, EPA said.

The actions must not cause or contribute to new air quality violations,
worsen existing violations, or delay attainment of air quality standards
for transportation-related air pollutants such as ozone, particulate
matter, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide, according to the agency.

According to EPA, the final rule provides state and local governments
more time to meet conformity requirements and more flexibility before
sanctions, such as a cutoff of federal transportation funding, are
imposed. It also gives states the option of shortening the time frame
for making conformity determinations.

The final rule also contains specific provisions for carbon monoxide
nonattainment and maintenance areas that streamline conformity
requirements for projects in those areas, EPA said.

EPA proposed the rule May 2 (72 Fed. Reg. 24,472).

**States Allowed More Time**

EPA released a fact sheet that said the final rule will:

-   give states four years instead of three to make determinations that
    its transportation plans and transportation improvement programs are
    in conformity;

-   give authorities two years (up from 18 months) to make a conformity
    determination in response to revisions in a SIP\'s emissions
    reduction requirements;

-   provide a one-year grace period before sanctions apply when an area
    misses certain conformity deadlines;

-   give areas the flexibility to shorten the time frame covered by a
    conformity determination, if the local transportation planning
    agency elects to do so;

-   streamline the requirements for state conformity implementation
    plans, known as \"conformity SIPs\"; and

-   address the statute\'s provision that allows areas to substitute or
    add transportation control measures without a SIP revision.

The final rule also includes changes not mandated by SAFETEA-LU.

**Final Rule Addresses \'Hot Spots.\'**

According to the EPA fact sheet, the final rule also will allow the
Department of Transportation to make categorical \"hot-spot\" findings
for projects in carbon monoxide nonattainment areas, in addition to
projects in particulate matter (both PM-2.5 and PM-10) nonattainment
areas already allowed under EPA regulations.

The rule also removed the provision that allowed areas that are in the
process of revising their SIPs to attain the new eight-hour ozone
standard to use interim tests for determining conformity.

This provision no longer applies because it was vacated by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which said states must
use the test that was required under the old one-hour ozone standard
(*Environmental Defense v. EPA,*D.C. Cir., No. 04-1291, 10/20/06).

According to EPA, the rule will not reduce protection of air quality,
because projects will still be required to demonstrate Clean Air Act
conformity before they are approved.

For more information, contact Rudy Kapichak of EPA\'s Office of
Transportation and Air Quality at (734) 214-4574, e-mail:
kapichak.rudolph@epa.gov; or Laura Berry, also of the Office of
Transportation and Air Quality, at (734) 214-4858, or
berry.laura@epa.gov.

[]{#LAairtoxics .anchor}

**Study Shows Cancer Risk From Air Toxics**

**In Los Angeles Area Down by 15 Percent**

LOS ANGELES\--Cancer risk from toxic air pollution in Southern
California has dropped by more than 15 percent over the last seven
years, according to a study the South Coast Air Quality Management
District released Jan. 4.

Even though the overall cancer risk declined, the risk remains too high,
especially in areas surrounding the region\'s busy marine cargo ports
and rail yards, and along congested traffic corridors, SCAQMD officials
said.

\"This reduction in cancer risk shows that we are on the right track in
tackling toxic air pollution,\" SCAQMD Chairman William Burke said in a
statement. \"However, the remaining cancer risk is completely
unacceptable. Thousands of residents are getting sick and dying from
toxic air pollution. Some of them live in low-income, minority
neighborhoods that may be heavily impacted by cancer-causing air
pollution.\"

The two-year Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study III updated a prior
project the air district conducted in 1998 and 1999.

**Control Strategy Working**

SCAQMD officials said the new study demonstrates control measures put in
place over the last several years to curb emissions from dry cleaners,
metal plating facilities, solvent operations, and other industrial
facilities have been effective. Funding programs that help reduce
emissions from mobile sources and at the ports also have helped reduce
the cancer risk.

Results of the study will be used to develop additional measures and
programs to further reduce the cancer risk from air toxics, the SCAQMD
said.

For this study, researchers collected samples at 15 monitoring stations
throughout the Los Angeles air basin between April 2004 and March 2006,
measuring for levels of 33 air toxics, including benzene,
perchloroethylene, hexavalent chromium, and elemental carbon.

Computer models estimated the average cancer risk to be 1,200 cases for
1 million exposed over 70 years. The highest risk level, up to 2,900
cancer cases per 1 million, was found in neighborhoods bordering the Los
Angeles and Long Beach cargo ports.

A cancer risk of 10 cases per 1 million people over a 70-year period is
considered reasonable, according to SCAQMD officials.

**Diesel, Mobile Sources Pose Highest Risk**

The study showed that diesel exhaust accounts for nearly 84 percent of
the regional cancer risk. Collectively, mobile sources represent 94
percent of the overall risk. SCAQMD, however, lacks regulatory authority
to control mobile source emissions and must depend on measures adopted
by the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.

\"We will continue to do everything in our ability to address this
public health threat,\" Burke said.

SCAQMD will accept public comments on the MATES III report over the next
90 days. The Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study III is available at
<http://www.aqmd.gov/prdas/matesiii/draft/toc.pdf>.

**Research**

[]{#STEP .anchor}**FHWA Issues Fiscal 2008 Plan**

**For Environment, Planning Research**

The Federal Highway Administration has announced its fiscal year 2008
funding plan for the Surface Transportation Environment and Planning
Cooperative Research Program (STEP).

The STEP program is the sole source of funds provided by the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA-LU) to conduct FHWA research on planning and
environmental issues. FHWA said its fiscal 2008 plan supports the
Department of Transportation's congestion reduction initiative.

The plan, posted on the FHWA website, provides summary information about
each project proposed within each of 17 emphasis areas including contact
information, the title and description of the activity, and the proposed
funding amount.

A summary table listing the emphasis areas and funding for 2008 is
reprinted below. For more information, link to FHWA's STEP website at
<http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/index.htm>.

**FY2008 Proposed STEP Budget by Emphasis Area**

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- -----------------------
  **Emphasis Area**                                                                                     **Number of         **Proposed FY 2008 STEP
                                                                                                        Research            Budget**
                                                                                                        Recommendations**   

  **ENVIRONMENT EMPHASIS AREAS**                                                                                            

  [Air Quality and Global Climate Change](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Air_Quality_and)  4                   \$1,148,500

  [Water Wetlands, Vegetation, Wildlife Habitat,                                                        8                   \$1,070,000
  Brownfields](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Water_Wetlands_Vegetation_Wildlife_Habi)                         

  [Historic Preservation](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Historic_Preservation_1)          2                   \$225,000

  [Bicycle/Pedestrian and                                                                               1                   \$70,000
  Health](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Bicycle_Pedestrian_and_Health)                                        

  [Noise](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Noise_1)                                          1                   \$200,000

  [Outdoor Advertising Control/Realty Program                                                           4                   \$300,000
  Management](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Outdoor_Advertising_Control_Realty_1)                             

  [Environmental                                                                                        5                   \$1,663,500
  Streamlining/Stewardship](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Environmental_Streamlining__)                       

  [Context Sensitive                                                                                    2                   \$500,000
  Solutions](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Context_Sensitive_Solutions_1)                                     

  **PLANNING EMPHASIS AREAS**                                                                                               

  [Congestion](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Congestion_2)                                1                   \$750,000

  [Safety Planning](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Safety_Planning_2)                      1                   \$100,000

  [Freight Planning](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Freight_Planning_1)                    1                   \$100,000

  [Public Involvement, Environmental Justice, Visualization in                                          1                   \$375,000
  Planning](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Public_Involvement_Environmental_1)                                 

  [US/Canada and US/Mexico Border                                                                       2                   \$400,000
  Planning](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#US_Canada_and_US_Mexico_1)                                          

  [National Security, Defense and Interstate                                                            3                   \$300,000
  Planning](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#National_Security_Defense_1)                                        

  [Other Activities that Support State/Local/Tribal Planning Capacity                                   9                   \$2,425,000
  Building](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Other_Activities_that)                                              

  **TOOLS TO SUPPORT PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT EMPHASIS AREAS**                                                              

  [Travel Modeling](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Travel_Modeling_1)                      1                   \$730,000

  [GIS/Spatial Information for Improved Decision                                                        6                   \$400,000
  Making](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#GIS_and_Spatial)                                                      

  [**PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND                                                                             3                   \$1,000,000
  OUTREACH**](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/fy08rp.htm#Program_Management_and)                                           

  **HEP ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR**                                                                                           \$659,491

  **TOTAL**                                                                                             **55**              **\$12,416,491**
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- -----------------------

**NEPA**

[]{#icc .anchor}**Environmental Groups to Appeal Ruling**

**Allowing Construction of Maryland Toll Road**

Two environmental groups served notice Jan. 7 they will appeal a federal
court ruling that gave the go-ahead for construction of a six-lane,
limited-access toll road in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.,
(*Environmental Defense and Sierra Club v. Department of
Transportation,* D. Md., No. 06-cv-3386-AW, *notice of appeal filed*
1/07/08).

Notices of appeal were filed with the U.S. District Court for the
District of Maryland by Environmental Defense and the Sierra Club,
marking the latest development in a decades-long political and legal
battle over construction of the Intercounty Connector (ICC).

The ICC would link Interstate 270 in Montgomery County and Interstate 95
in Prince Georges County. The 19-mile toll road would run 10 to 20 miles
north of the Capital Beltway, which also links the two interstates.

According to the Environmental Defense release, the Audubon Naturalist
Society -- which had raised additional issues in a consolidated claim --
decided not to file an additional appeal. Instead, the release said,
Audubon "chose to support the claims based on the state's failure to
prevent the serious air quality and human health threats raised in the
appeal by Environmental Defense, and a separate appeal by Sierra Club
based on the National Environmental Policy Act." 

**Appeal to Focus on Air Pollution Issues**

The appeal will be heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth
Circuit.

Environmental Defense said it will maintain that the Nov. 8 ruling by
District Court Judge Alexander Williams Jr. \"falls woefully short of
the bar and fails to address the serious health threat of air pollution
generated by traffic on the ICC and other roads,\" Environmental Defense
transportation director Michael Replogle said in a news release.

In that decision, Williams, citing courts\' deference to reasonable
agency decisions, said the U.S. Department of Transportation and other
federal and state authorities complied with the National Environmental
Policy Act, Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act, the
Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and other statutes when they decided
to build the highway.

"In his written opinion, the judge admitted that our arguments that air
pollution monitors miles away from I-95 did not fairly represent
pollution next to the road had 'resonated with the court,' but then
proceeded to give deference to the agencies to disregard these serious
problems," Replogle said. "The flaws in this legal opinion leave us with
no alternative but to appeal this decision in the hope that the higher
court will more effectively consider clear Clean Air Act requirements
that would better protect the health of the thousands of people living
close to the proposed ICC and I-95."

The court also rejected the plaintiffs\' claims that agencies needed to
conduct a supplemental environmental impact statement focused on air
quality to consider new information including studies on air quality
health impacts and revised PM-2.5 air quality standards issued after the
record of decision in the case

Environmental Defense alleged that reasonable grounds exist to study the
possibility that air pollution near the highway would impair lung
development among children and exacerbate the serious danger to health
from asthma and heart attacks. The group noted that the Washington,
D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area violates the Environmental Protection
Agency\'s air pollution standard for fine particulate matter and
ground-level ozone.

Steve Caflisch, transportation chair for the Sierra Club\'s Maryland
Chapter, said the agencies involved in the ICC project \"manipulated the
purpose and need statement, the selection of alternatives, and the other
aspects of the environmental impact statement to reach the preordained
conclusion that the ICC should be built.\"

Judge Williams \"gave far too much deference to the agencies\' actions
and did not hold them accountable for manipulating the process and
failing to honestly and thoroughly address key issues,\" he added.

[]{#ceq .anchor}**CEQ Publishes 'Citizen's Guide'**

**To Help the Public Understand NEPA**

The Council on Environmental Quality has published a guide to improve
public understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act.

*A Citizen\'s Guide to the National Environmental Policy Act: Having
Your Voice Heard,* recently posted on the CEQ website, provides
background and an overview of the NEPA statute. It also offers advice to
the public on how to navigate the NEPA process and ways to provide input
to the federal government on projects subject to the law.

Signed into law in 1970, NEPA instructed federal agencies to undertake
an assessment of the environmental effects of their proposed actions
prior to making decisions.

According to the guide, NEPA\'s procedural requirements \"apply to a
federal agency\'s decisions for actions, including financing, assisting,
conducting, or approving projects or programs; agency rules,
regulations, plans, policies, or procedures; and legislative proposals.
NEPA applies when a federal agency has discretion to choose among one or
more alternative means of accomplishing a particular goal.\"

The NEPA process is intended to achieve better informed decisions and to
ensure citizen involvement, it added.

Issuance of the citizen\'s guide was one of the recommendations from the
report, *Modernizing NEPA Implementation*, issued by CEQ\'s NEPA Task
Force in 2005.

**Implementing NEPA**

One chapter of the citizen\'s guide focuses on implementing the NEPA
process. It provides an explanation of each type of action under NEPA
and opportunities for public input, including:

-   categorical exclusions;

-   environmental assessments;

-   environmental impact statements;

-   notice of intent and scoping;

-   draft EIS;

-   final EIS;

-   record of decision

-   supplemental EIS; and

-   Environmental Protection Agency\'s review.

For example, the document encourages public involvement in the
\"scoping\" process. This process is important because it defines \"the
scope of issues to be addressed in depth in the analyses that will be
included in the EIS.\"

\"The scoping process is the best time to identify issues, determine
points of contact, determine project schedules and provide
recommendations to the agency,\" the document stated. \"Some of the most
constructive interaction between the public and agencies occur when
citizens identify reasonable alternatives that the agency can evaluate
in the EIS,\" it added

**Comments on Draft EIS**

The guide also describes the process of issuing an EIS, noting that the
public has at least 45 days to comment when the draft EIS is issued.

One of the most important aspects of the draft EIS, the guide said, is
the statement of purpose and need for the project. The purpose and need
statement explains why an agency action is necessary, and \"serves as
the basis for identifying the identifying the reasonable alternatives
that meet the purpose and need,\" it said.

\"The identification and evaluation of alternative ways of meeting the
purpose and need of the proposed action is the heart of the NEPA
analysis.\"

\"Agencies are obligated to evaluate all reasonable alternatives, or a
range of reasonable alternatives, in enough detail so that a reader can
compare and contrast the environmental effects of the various
alternatives,\" the guide said.

**Providing Input**

The citizen's guide offers advice on when and how citizens may provide
input, and urges individuals to be informed and actively involved in the
process.

In general, the document said, the public may provide input at the
following stages:

-   when the agency prepares its NEPA procedures,

-   prior to and during preparation of a NEPA analysis,

-   when a NEPA document is published for public review and comment, and

-   when monitoring the implementation of the proposed action and the
    effectiveness of any associated mitigation.

The guide explains that NEPA processes differ among agencies and advises
citizens to review the relevant agencies\' implementing procedures. For
example, it said, the Federal Highway Administration provides a 30-day
comment period on all EAs that they develop before a finding of no
significant impact is issued, although some other agencies have no
required comment periods for EAs.

In addition, it said, new legislation can change the way NEPA is
implemented. For example, transportation agencies including FHWA have
updated NEPA procedures to implement new provisions of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA-LU). These agencies are tracking related guidance on
their websites.

**Addressing Concerns**

The guide also provided advice on actions citizens may take if they feel
public involvement in the NEPA process \"is not going well.\"

The document advised that citizens not wait too long in the process to
raise concerns. Any concerns should be raised with the person in charge
of the NEPA process at the lead agency.

Citizens also may consider raising the issues with a professional
dispute resolution entity, such as the U.S. Institute for Environmental
Conflict Resolution. In addition, individuals may consult with an
attorney familiar with the NEPA process and explore \"administrative or
judicial remedies.\"

The guide may be accessed on the CEQ website at
<http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/ntf/Citizens_Guide_Dec07.pdf>

**Land Use**

[]{#NCHRPlanduse .anchor}**Report Details Methods to Forecast**

**Projects' Indirect Impacts on Land Use**

A report describing current practice for forecasting indirect land use
impacts of transportation projects has been issued by the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program under Project 25-25, Task 22.

Prepared by a team led by Parsons Brinckerhoff, the report summarizes
research on existing guidance documents and methodologies currently in
use for conducting indirect land use impact studies.

It also describes the following six approaches for forecasting land use
change in response to transportation improvements:

-   Planning judgment, which is a structured process for analyzing and
    forecasting land use change that relies on an understanding of the
    basics of transportation/land use interactions, basic data sources,
    asking the right questions and using rules of thumb from research to
    make informed judgments.

-   Collaborative judgment, which extends the solo planner's
    understanding through soliciting advice from others knowledgeable
    about the study area.

-   Elasticities, which bridge the gap between practice and research by
    providing a synthesis of the best theoretical and empirical research
    that allows analysts to better sort out the complexities of induced
    demand, indirect land use effects, and induced investment effects.

-   Allocation models, which can allow the analyst to distribute a
    defined amount of indirect land use change at a disaggregate level
    by making areas more or less attractive for development based on a
    number of factors that include accessibility.

-   Four step models, which refer to the standard travel demand models
    that simulate travel behavior by generating, mode-splitting,
    distributing and assigning trips (the four steps) to a travel
    network.

-   Integrated transportation-land use models, which combine the
    interaction of land use and transportation in one seamless modeling
    process.

For more information on the findings, link to [Forecasting Indirect Land
Use Effects of Transportation Projects, NCHRP 25-25, Task
22](http://www.trb.org/NotesDocs/25-25(22)_FR.pdf).

**Water Quality/Wetlands**

[]{#grassyswale .anchor}**EPA Says Grassy Swales, Barrels, Wetlands**

**Allow Less-Expensive Capture of Stormwater**

A new Environmental Protection Agency report released Jan. 8 finds the
use of grassy swales, rain barrels, and small urban wetlands to capture
polluted stormwater runoff to be cheaper than building pavements,
gutters, and stormwater drains.

The report, *Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Development
(LID) Strategies and Practices*, provides examples of 17 communities
nationwide where using low-impact development strategies to capture
stormwater runoff have led to environmental benefits. The capital
savings in all these communities, except one, ranged from 15 percent to
80 percent.

The report provides information to cities, counties, states,
private-sector developers, and others on the costs and benefits of using
low-impact development strategies and practices to help protect and
restore water quality from stormwater runoff.

Benjamin Grumbles, EPA\'s assistant administrator for water, told BNA
that the report is part of the agency\'s strategy to promote green
infrastructure, which is due out this spring.

\"Low impact development can deliver big benefits for the environment
and the economy and this report has the numbers to prove it,\" Grumbles
said in a statement. \"It pays to save watersheds, reuse stormwater, and
grow sustainably with green infrastructure.\"

For instance, the report said the city of Bellingham, Wash., saved
\$62,000 by retrofitting two parking lots\--one at City Hall and the
other at Bloedel Donovan Park\--with rain gardens in lieu of installing
underground vaults to manage stormwater.

Likewise, Auburn Hills, a residential neighborhood in Wisconsin, saved
32 percent in capital costs by preserving 40 percent of its open space,
which included wetlands, grassy swales, and natural plantings.

In some instances, however, EPA said such development can be costlier
than conventional means for capturing stormwater runoff because of more
expensive plant material, site preparation, underdrains, and connections
to municipal sewer systems. As an example, the report cites Kensington
Estates, a proposed 24-acre residential community in Washington state,
where it cost 96 percent more to build wetlands and install permeable
concrete for parking lots instead of building conventional gutters,
drains, sidewalks, and roads.

**Less Cost, More Benefits**

Gary Belan, director of American Rivers\' healthy waters campaign, told
BNA the report\'s findings are consistent with general observations that
low-impact development is less costly and more environmentally
beneficial than conventional grading and paving.

\"It comes as no surprise that low-impact development is less expensive
than conventional development,\" Belan said, adding that it is positive
to see it written out in a report.

EPA has identified stormwater runoff to be a major source of pollution
in the nation\'s lakes, streams, ponds, and rivers. In urban
environments, EPA said, the impacts of stormwater pollution increase
with land development. Soil compaction, tree and vegetation removal, and
construction of roads and pavements have altered natural hydrological
cycles.

According to EPA, the goal behind low-impact development is to mimic the
way water moved through an area before it was developed by using design
techniques that infiltrate and reuse runoff close to its source. In the
report, EPA cites some common practices, such as rain gardens, grassy
swales, cisterns, rain barrels, permeable pavements, and green roofs or
roofs covered with vegetation to capture stormwater before it hits the
streets.

In April 2007, EPA, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies,
the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control
Administrators, Low Impact Development, and the Natural Resources
Defense Council signed a statement of intent to formalize the use of
such low-cost strategies.

Grumbles said a strategy showing how green infrastructure and low-impact
development should be implemented will be released early this year.

*EPA\'s report, Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Development
(LID) Strategies and Practices, is available at
[http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/costs07/]{.underline}.*

**Climate Change**

[]{#boxer .anchor}**Boxer to \'Force\' Reversal of EPA Decision**

**Denying California Waiver to Set Standards**

LOS ANGELES\--Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Jan. 10 that
California\'s request for a Clean Air Act waiver to implement standards
to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions \"will be granted at some
point. We will force it.\"

Boxer, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee,
addressed a committee field hearing here where state officials,
legislators, and environmental advocates criticized the Bush
administration\'s denial of the waiver.

\"To the Bush administration I say this: Get out of the way and let the
states lead,\" Boxer stated.

Boxer left an empty chair at the witness table behind a placard with the
name of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson,
who declined an invitation to explain the decision, but pledged to
appear Jan. 24 instead.

Johnson announced Dec. 19 a denial of California\'s request to implement
state standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by
30 percent between 2009 and 2016.

He said an energy bill (Pub. L. No. 110-140) signed the same day by
President Bush would increase fuel economy and require greater use of
alternative fuels. Johnson expressed a desire to avoid a \"patchwork\"
of different state standards on auto emissions.

**First Time in 40 Years**

Boxer said the administration\'s action represents the first time a
request by California to enact tougher standards than the federal
government\'s has been denied. She observed that over 50 such waivers
have been granted since 1968.

\"It is time to set the record straight,\" she continued. \"The Bush
administration claims that it denied the waiver to avoid a \'confusing
patchwork\' of state laws for vehicle emissions. How can they say that
with a straight face?\"

California Attorney General Jerry Brown told the committee that Johnson
was a \"political tool\" and a \"stooge in a pathetic drama\" and asked
Boxer to subpoena him to find out the reasons for the decision.

Noting that Johnson denied California\'s claim to a special prerogative,
he argued that California had been regulating automotive emissions
\"since before the federal government got into the business.\"

The state\'s dependence on mountain snow pack for its water supply, its
role in driving technological advancement, and the number of cars on its
roads all speak to a special role in addressing the issue of global
warming, he stated.

\"California has 32 million registered vehicles,\" said Brown, \"twice
as many as any other state, and cars generate 20 percent of all
human-caused carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and at least
30 percent of such emissions in California.\"

Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), said that, as a member of the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce, she was \"appalled\" the
administration would use the recently enacted Energy Independence and
Security Act as a justification for rejecting the waiver request.

\"While the energy bill includes the largest increase in fuel economy
standards since the program was created in 1975, it is not a greenhouse
gas standard,\" Solis said, adding that California\'s standards also
covered refrigerants, vehicle air conditioners, and alternative fuels.

**More Effective than Federal Measure**

Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, told the
committee California\'s standards would reduce emissions sooner, and by
a \"much greater amount\" than the new energy bill\'s requirements.

The Air Resources Board analyzed the administration\'s claim that
California\'s standard would lead to a reduction of 33.8 miles per
gallon and found the figure to be incorrect both for California and for
those states adopting its standards.

\"In calendar year 2016,\" she said, \"California\'s program would
reduce the state\'s greenhouse gas emissions by 17 million metric tons
of carbon dioxide or more than twice the reduction produced by federal
rules.\"

The federal corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard\'s goal is
not to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Nichols said, \"and claiming
that it\'s as good as California\'s just doesn\'t hold water.\"

**\'Clean Car Law.\'**

Also testifying was Fran Pavley, senior climate adviser for the Natural
Resources Defense Council and author of the legislation establishing the
regulation of greenhouse gases in California, AB 1493, or the \"Clean
Car Law.\"

She said that the law, drafted in 2002, listed a number of effects from
global warming on California that included:

-   a reduction in water supply due to changes in Sierra Nevada snow
    pack levels;

-   adverse health impacts from air pollution caused by rising
    temperatures;

-   negative affects on agriculture and food production from water
    supply issues and more frequent pestilence outbreaks;

-   a doubling of catastrophic wildfires resulting from drying
    vegetation;

-   damage to coastline and ocean ecosystems stemming from rising sea
    levels; and

-   impacts to consumers and businesses due to increased costs of food,
    water, energy, and insurance as well as environmental damage and
    greater demands upon the public health infrastructure.

\"We now know more about these threats than in 2002 when we met the
criteria for the EPA waiver,\" said Pavley. \"In 2008, the evidence is
even clearer about the \'compelling and extraordinary conditions\'
facing California.\"

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, also said the waiver
denial \"flagrantly violated\" the Clean Water Act and \"fundamentally
threatened the American people.\"

**Study Finds Carbon Dioxide May Cause**

**Fine Particle Emissions, Increase Health Risk**

[]{#carbondioxidestudy .anchor}A study looking at the effects of carbon
dioxide emissions found that they may threaten human health by causing
more fine particles in the air.

Mark Jacobson, the author of the study who is a professor of civil and
environmental engineering at Stanford University, said that he hopes his
findings will ultimately help California obtain a waiver to create
stronger carbon dioxide emissions standards.

Jacobson\'s research, \"On the Causal Link Between Carbon Dioxide and
Air Pollution Mortality,\" was funded by the Environmental Protection
Agency and by NASA. His paper will be printed in *Geophysical Research
Letters*.

\"The EPA is saying there is no proof carbon dioxide causes health
effects\--that\'s the reason I isolated it,\" Jacobson told BNA.

Jonathan Shradar, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency
said \"the study was not in the waiver request and so it didn\'t make
the docket of documents reviewed. Asked if the study might be considered
in the suits filed against the EPA by California and by environmental
groups, Shradar said, \"I\'m not sure how it fits in in the move
forward.\"

Jacobson said that his study\--conducted by using a computer model that
isolated the effects of carbon dioxide from other greenhouse gas
emissions\--was the first to show a definitive link between carbon
dioxide and severe health effects and was the first to analyze those
effects on a local rather than global scale.

\"There is a big difference between guessing that there is a health
effect and showing that there is a health effect, \"Jacobson said.

**Air Pollution-Related Deaths**

The model predicted that there would be 1,000 air-pollution-related
deaths in the United States annually per 1-degree Celsius carbon-induced
rise in temperature, which would come from increases in ground-level
ozone and small particles.

\"About 40% of the additional deaths may be due to ozone and the rest,
to particles,\" Jacobson wrote in his findings.

Jacobson stressed the importance of the link between carbon dioxide and
increased ozone in areas that already had high levels of pollution.

Jonathan Patz, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin, said he
was not surprised by the link between carbon-dioxide-induced warming and
ozone levels, citing other studies that linked ozone to rises in
temperature. But he said the study broke new ground in linking carbon
dioxide to small particles.

\"This study takes a step forward in saying, \'Yes, there will be \...
an adverse interaction where climate change looks like it may increase
the level of PM 2.5 \[particles with diameters of two and a half microns
or less\],\' which is a public health hazard,\" Patz told BNA.

The study shows that carbon dioxide-induced heat increases air
stagnation, humidity and organic compounds, which, in areas where
ground-level ozone is already high, combine to create more ozone in
addition to creating more fine particle mass. Because Jacobson\'s
findings linked rises in ozone to places where there was already low air
quality, areas with large populations were disproportionately affected.

\"California does have a disproportionate share in the burden,\"
Jacobson said. \"At least 30 percent of additional death increases occur
in California, Jacobson said.\"

But it may be the link between carbon dioxide and small particle
concentrations that proves to be the most relevant in shaping public
policy. While high levels of ozone are known to create health hazards
such as increased rates of asthma, it is small particles, not ozone,
that cause the biggest mortality risk.

Joel Schwartz, a professor of environmental epidemiology at the Harvard
School of Public Health and a faculty associate at the Harvard
University Center for the Environment, said studies have shown that the
effects of small particles on the heart are visible just days after
initial exposure.

\"Particles go up today, mortality goes up tomorrow,\" Schwartz said,
explaining that medical studies have shown that exposure to small
particles causes instability in the proteins that can break off and
cause heart attacks and can cause irregular heart rhythms. In both
cases, changes were visible only a day or two after exposure.

*The study, On the Causal Link Between Carbon Dioxide and Air Pollution
Mortality, is available at
[http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/CO2PapGRL1207.pdf]{.underline}.*

**Transportation Policy**

[]{#chambercommerce .anchor}**Chamber\'s Donohue Endorses User Fees,**

**Carbon Tax for Modernizing Infrastructure**

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said Jan. 8 that he
supports an increase in transportation user fees and a carbon tax, if
the revenue is dedicated to modernizing the nation\'s aging energy and
transportation infrastructure.

If such a plan were to be developed this year in Congress as part of an
economic stimulus package, Donohue said: \"You might be surprised how
supportive the Chamber would be.\"

Donohue said removing major transportation \"bottlenecks\" across the
country would go a long way to improving business productivity and
reducing pollution at the same time.

Donohue made the comments during a media briefing on the Chamber\'s 2008
agenda and the U.S. business outlook.

The Chamber released a 36-page report, *The State of American Business,
2008*.

While calling for more public and private investment to modernize
infrastructure and promote commerce, the Chamber report states: \"Even
with these approaches, Congress will still need to consider an increase
in the federal gasoline user fee, which has not been raised in 15 years.

\"This could take the form of a carbon fee to address climate change,
with proceeds dedicated primarily to infrastructure.\"

**Investment Needed**

Donohue said hundreds of billions of dollars will be needed to upgrade
roads, bridges, ports, airports, and energy and broadband infrastructure
that support the nation\'s \$13 trillion economy.

The Chamber proposal is somewhat reminiscent of the carbon tax proposal
and gasoline tax increase unveiled Sept. 27 by House Energy and Commerce
Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.).

At the time, Dingell said he was offering the plan for the purpose of
discussion only.

Donohue observed that Dingell was right to show that whatever
climate-change strategy is adopted, it will have a big economic cost.
Donohue stopped short of endorsing a mandatory cap and trade mechanism
to combat global warming.

He said the Chamber \"is not challenging the science\" that concludes
global warming is occurring, but he insisted that a global solution to
the problem is needed.

Donohue was highly critical of current energy policy, saying it is \"a
cross between stupidity and hypocrisy.\"

He said record energy prices have resulted from restrictions imposed on
domestic energy supplies, especially for natural gas that is priced
domestically, not globally like oil, and is used extensively in
industrial processes.

The Chamber report calls for increasing domestic reserves of oil,
natural gas, and coal.

The report also calls for expanding the role of nuclear power with
financial support through the new federal loan guarantee program.

Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president, said one of the
Chamber\'s regulatory goals for 2008 will be to persuade the Minerals
Management Service to provide more access to domestic energy exploration
and to expedite development.

**Action by Chamber on Energy Bill**

In 2007, the Chamber opposed the comprehensive energy bill (Pub. L.
110-140), written by the Democratic-controlled Congress and signed by
President Bush, that raises fuel economy standards and expands the use
of renewable fuels.

The Chamber worked with the oil industry to remove a provision that
would have eliminated \$13.5 billion in tax breaks for the oil and gas
industry in order to fund renewable energy development.

The Chamber worked with electric utilities to strike a provision that
would have created a federal renewable electricity standard requiring
utilities to produce 15 percent of their generation from renewable
sources such as wind and solar.

The Chamber also opposed the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill (S.
2191) approved Dec. 5 by the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee.

The legislation would cap the nation\'s greenhouse gas emissions at 70
percent of 2005 emissions by 2050. It is expected to be considered by
the full Senate in 2008.

[]{#privatesector .anchor}**Private Sector Role in Highway Activities**

**Increases at State DOTs, GAO Report Says**

State transportation departments have increased the amount of highway
activities contracted out to the private sector over the past five
years, according to a Government Accountability Office report released
Jan. 9.

The report, \"Federal Aid Highways: Increased Reliance on Contractors
Can Pose Oversight Challenges for Federal and State Officials,\" found
that more than half of the 50 departments reported increases in the
amount of public sector preliminary engineering, design, right-of-way,
and construction engineering and inspection activities contracted out to
the private sector.

Fewer departments reported increases in the contracting out of
operations and maintenance activities during this period, the report
said.

\"We also found from our survey and interviews that many departments are
increasingly giving consultants and contractors more responsibility in
ensuring the quality and delivery of highway infrastructure and
services,\" the report said. \"For example, departments have increased
the use of consultants to perform inspection activities, and the use of
consultants as project managers to oversee and manage day-to-day
activities on highway projects.\"

Further, the majority of departments reported that they expect the
amount of contracted highway activities to level off over the next five
years for all of the activities included in the study.

**Manpower Need**

State transportation department officials indicated that the most
important factor in the decision to contract out highway activities \"is
the need to access the manpower and expertise necessary to ensure the
timely delivery of highway infrastructure and services, given in-house
resource constraints,\" the report said.

Over the last several years, demand for highway infrastructure and
services has continued to grow, while at the same time, the majority of
the departments have experienced constant or declining staffing levels,
the report said. Thirty-eight of the 50 departments indicated that they
employ either the same or fewer staff than they did five years ago.

\"In general, the state DOT officials we interviewed believe that they
have sufficient tools and procedures to select, monitor, and oversee
contractors to ensure that the public interest is protected, but that
they face additional challenges in protecting the public interest, given
current contracting trends,\" the report said. \"While state employees
are always ultimately responsible for highway project acceptance, they
are increasingly further removed from the day-to-day oversight of the
project and are more frequently overseeing a number of highway projects
simultaneously, instead of just one project.\"

The GAO said it recommended that the federal transportation secretary
direct the Federal Highway Administration to work with the division
offices to give appropriate consideration to the identified areas of
risk related to the increased use of consultants and contractors as
division offices work to target their oversight activities; and develop
and implement performance measures to better assess the effectiveness of
state DOT controls related to the use of consultants and contractors to
better ensure that the public interest is protected.

*To view the full report, visit the GAO Web site at
<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08198.pdf>.*

**Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO**

[]{#aashto .anchor}**Items Recently Posted on the Center for
Environmental Excellence by AASHTO Website**

The following items were recently posted on the Center for Environmental
Excellence by AASHTO website,
[http://environment.transportation.org](http://environment.transportation.org/).

-   **New Website Topics Added:** Two new topics have been added to the
    Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO website. Each of the
    new sections -- [Environmental Considerations in
    Planning](http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/linking_planning_nepa/)
    and
    [SAFETEA-LU](http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/safetea_lu/)
    -- provides an overview; recent developments; research, documents
    and reports; and case studies.

-   **SAFETEA-LU Case Studies Solicited:** The Center for Environmental
    Excellence by AASHTO is seeking case studies on implementation of
    environmental provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
    Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
    (SAFETEA-LU). If your agency has developed successful implementation
    strategies, manuals, model documents, or other processes for
    implementing the environmental provisions of SAFETEA-LU that you
    wish to share with others, please provide the information on the
    online [SAFETEA-LU Case Studies Submission
    Form](http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/safetea_lu/submission.aspx).

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **New Report from Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO --
    [Above and Beyond: The Environmental and Social Contributions of
    America's Highway
    Programs](http://environment.transportation.org/center/products_programs/above_beyond.aspx)**

-   **Practitioner's Handbook #9: [Using the SAFETEA-LU Environmental
    Review Process (23 U.S.C.
    139)](http://environment.transportation.org/center/products_programs/practitioners_handbooks.aspx#ph09)**

-   [**EPA Fuel Report Cites Decline in Emissions from
    Gasoline**](http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/air_quality/recent_dev.aspx#bookmarkEPAFuelReportCitesDeclineinEmissionsfromGasoline)

-   **[Final Rule on Transportation Conformity Issued by
    EPA](http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/air_quality/recent_dev.aspx#bookmarkFinalRuleonTransportationConformityIssuedbyEPA)**

-   **[Model Ordinance for Local Protection of Wetlands
    Released](http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/water_wetlands/recent_dev.aspx#bookmarkModelOrdinanceforLocalProtectionofWetlandsReleased)**

-   [**Toronto Issues Design Guidelines for Greening Parking
    Lots**](http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/land_use_sg/recent_dev.aspx#bookmarkTorontoIssuesDesignGuidelinesforGreeningParkingLots)

**Web Watch**

*Recent Internet postings of interest to transportation and
environmental professionals.*

**AASHTO**

-   [Presentation by Tony Kane, Director, Engineering and Technical
    Services: Emerging Issues in Transportation and the Role of
    AASHTO](http://www.transportation.org/sites/aashto/docs/Kane-2008-01-04.pdf)

-   [National Transportation Management Conferences
    2008](http://downloads.transportation.org/2008NTMC_Brochure.pdf)

**Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations**

-   [Consultant's Final Draft Report for NCHRP Project 20-24(55):
    National Summit for State and Metropolitan Agencies on Future
    Transportation Funding and Finance Strategies: Implications for
    Planning, Public Policy, and Institutional
    Arrangements](http://www.ampo.org/assets/595_drf5nchrpnationalsummiton.doc)

**Conservation Fund**

-   [Kent County, Delaware Rapid Assessment of Green
    Infrastructure](http://www.greeninfrastructure.net/kent_county_de)

**Environmental Defense**

-   [Environmental Defense Appeals Intercounty Connector
    Ruling](http://www.environmentaldefense.org/pressrelease.cfm?contentID=7503)

**Environmental and Energy Study Institute**

-   [Climate Change News, Dec. 28,
    2007](http://www.eesi.org/publications/Newsletters/CCNews/12.28.07 CCNews.htm)

-   [Beyond Cafe: Tackling Transportation in Climate Policy Briefing,
    Jan. 17,
    2008](http://www.eesi.org/briefings/2008/1-17-08_beyond_cafe/1-17-08_beyond_cafe_notice.html)

**Transportation Research Board**

-   [TRB 2008 Summer Conference, June 15-18,
    2008](http://www.trb.org/conferences/2008/Summer/announce.pdf)

-   [FY 2009 TCRP Problem Statements
    Sought](http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_fy2009_solicitation.pdf)

-   [TR News November -- December 2007, Highway Design and Construction:
    A 2020
    Vision](http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews253toc.pdf)

-   [NCHRP Report 588: A Guidebook for Using American Community Survey
    Data for Transportation
    Planning](http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_588.pdf)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 78 \[Pending\]: Small Community Research
    and Peer
    Exchange](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2398)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 79 \[Pending\]: Scoping Study for a
    Freight Data Exchange
    Network](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2399)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 80 \[Pending\]: Synthesis of State
    Practices in Developing Linear Referencing
    Systems](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2400)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 81 \[Pending\]: Enhancing the American
    Community Survey Data as a Source for Home-to-Work
    Flows](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2403)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 83 \[Pending\]: Transportation Planning
    Partnerships to Enhance National Parks and Gateway
    Communities](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2401)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 84 \[Pending\]: Asset Management of
    Environmental Mitigation
    Features](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2402)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 85 \[Pending\]: Congestion Pricing and
    Investment
    Requirements](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2404)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 86 \[Pending\]: Corridor Approaches to
    Integrating Land Transportation and Land
    Use](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2405)

-   [NCHRP Project 08-53 \[Final\]: Integrating Freight into
    Transportation Planning and Project-Selection
    Processes](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=929)

-   [NCHRP Project 25-25/Task 50 \[Anticipated\]: Finding the Carrot
    Instead of the Stick - Incentive-based Approaches for Environmental
    Compliance](http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2375)