Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 1

for

Environmental Research for

Environmental Research

Federal Highway Administration

1998 – 2003

Integrated

Decision-Making

Integrated

Decision-Making Integrated

Decision-Making

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Human

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S T R A T E G I C P L A N

April 1998

S T R A T E G I C P L A N
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ......................................................................... 1

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program ....................................................... 1

Developing a Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ............................... 3

Working with Partners and Customers: An Ongoing, Cooperative Approach 5

Seeing the Whole Picture: An Integrated Approach ......................................... 5

The 1998-2003 Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ........................... 7

Vision and Mission of the Environmental Research Program .... 9

Focus Areas and Program Goals ............................................. 10

Program Goals and Objectives................................................ 12

Focus Area: Natural Environment

Air Quality and Climate ........................................................................................... 12

Wetlands .................................................................................................................... 14

Water Quality, Habitat, and Ecosystems ................................................................. 15

Focus Area: Human Environment

Communities, Neighborhoods, and People ............................................................ 17

Environmental Justice .............................................................................................. 19

Noise .......................................................................................................................... 20

Cultural, Historic, Archaeological, and Scenic Resources..................................... 21

Focus Area: Integrated Decision-Making

Integrated Transportation and Environmental Decision-Making ......................... 23

Implementation Strategies..................................................... 25

Putting This Strategic Plan to Work............................................................................... 25

Coordination and Partnership ....................................................................................... 26

Dissemination and Outreach ......................................................................................... 27

Commitment to Excellence............................................................................................ 29

Performance Evaluation ................................................................................................. 29

Strategic Plan for Environmental Research
Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 3

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

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INTRODUCTION

Development of a world-class transportation system

means achieving our Nation’s mobility goals while ensuring that transportation decisions protect and enhance the natural environment and our communities.

The transportation system is vital to our economy and

quality of life, provides worldwide access to products

and markets, and supports our Nation’s productivity. It

also provides valued mobility for people, including access to jobs, services and recreational opportunities.

Yet transportation also creates unintended consequences on the natural environment and communities.

Construction, maintenance, and operation of the transportation system affect air, water, soil, and biological

resources, as well as neighborhoods and communities.

This reality has imposed tremendous responsibilities

on the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that go

far beyond its traditional role of enhancing mobility.

Transportation agencies must comply with various

federal environmental statutes and regulations as they

carry out transportation planning and project development. However, compliance with the law is only part

of FHWA’s obligation to the environment. FHWA is committed to environmental stewardship, striving to ensure that all of its programs and activities preserve and

enhance the natural environment, the built environment, and the social environment of our Nation’s communities. This commitment requires a vigorous program of research, technology transfer, and training.

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program is designed

to meet this need.

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program enhances our

understanding of the impacts transportation facilities

and services have on the environment, develops stateof-the-art tools for predicting and assessing these impacts, develops cost-effective mitigation and enhancement techniques, and provides training within and outside of FHWA. Housed within the Environmental Analysis and Environmental Operations Divisions of FHWA’s

Office of Environment and Planning, the Environmental Research Program has grown considerably in

recent years as a direct result of a number of factors,

including:

■ FHWA’s renewed commitment to environmental

protection and enhancement, as evidenced by

FHWA’s Environmental Policy Statement of 1994

and the U.S. Department of Transportation and

FHWA Strategic Plans, developed in 1997;

■ Legislation such as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and the

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990;

■ Evolving decision-making processes in state and

local governments due to ISTEA; and,

■ An increasing awareness of a wide range of environmental issues that state and local transportation

agencies need to address on a continuing basis.

As an important resource for environmental information and analysis, FHWA’s Environmental Research

Program supports a broad range of customers — including offices within FHWA, State Departments of

Transportation (DOTs), Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and other partners — who require different types of support to successfully integrate environmental concerns into transportation decision-making. The Environmental Research Program serves our

customers by:

■ Assisting state and local transportation decisionmaking;

■ Supporting Federal policy development; and

■ Educating and informing the public.

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4 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Figure 1: Relationship of Strategic Plans

Serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and 


convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and


enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and in the future.

We continually improve the quality of our Nation’s highway system


and its intermodal connections.

FHWA’s Strategic Plan for

Environmental Research

Mobility Safety

Economic


Growth


and Trade

Human and


Natural


Environment

National


Security

Mobility Safety Productivity

Human and


Natural


Environment

National


Security

Continually improve the public’s

access to activities, goods and

services through preservation,

improvement and expansion of

the highway transportation

system and enhancement of its

operations, efficiency, and

intermodal connections.

■ Increase public satisfation with

highway systems and highway

projects as a beneficial part of

their community (to be measured through surveys).

■ Reduce on-road mobile source

emissions by 20% in ten years.

■ Increase net wetland hectare area

(acreage) resulting from Federalaid highway projects by 50%

in 10 years.

Continually improve

the economic efficiency

of the Nation’s

transportation system

to enhance America’s

position in the 

global economy.

Protect and enhance the

natural environment and

communities affected by

highway transportation.

Improve the Nation’s

national defense

mobility.

Continually improve

highway safety.

Improve the quality of the

natural environment by

reducing highway-related

pollution and by protecting

and enhancing ecosystems.

Enhance community and

social benefits of

highway transportation.

DOT’s Strategic Plan

FHWA’s Strategic Plan

Mission

Goals

Mission

Goals

Strategic


Objectives

Goals

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 5

Developing a Strategic Plan

For Environmental Research

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Strategies to Ensure We Meet Our

Goals

This Strategic Plan for Environmental Research was

developed to directly support the agency’s strategic

goals and objectives and the needs of its customers.1

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Strategic

Plan identifies the broad goals for the national transportation system, while the FHWA Strategic Plan sets

the goals and strategies for FHWA’s role within the Department. This Strategic Plan for Environmental Research was designed to ensure that FHWA’s Environmental Research Program supports the missions and

goals of these documents. The relationship of the Strategic Plan for Environmental Research with the U.S. DOT

and FHWA Strategic Plans is illustrated in Figure 1.

The FHWA’s Environmental Policy Statement (EPS)

of 1994 provides further guidance for the Environmental Research Program. Through the EPS, the FHWA affirms its commitment to incorporate environmental

stewardship into all policies, procedures, and decisions.

The EPS emphasizes the importance of research, collaboration, technology transfer, and training, providing a clear mandate and direction for the Environmental Research Program.

Forging a Common Direction

Building on this foundation, the Environmental Research Program designed a strategic planning process

to gather the perspectives and ideas of the full range of

FHWA’s constituents, including U.S. DOT staff and

FHWA’s key customers and stakeholders. Figure 2 shows

the major sources of internal and external input to the

Strategic Plan.

Within the DOT, staff of FHWA’s Environmental

Analysis and Environmental Operations Divisions collaborated with other DOT and FHWA staff to identify

emerging issues, and to consider research needs and

priorities. The collaborative process was used to

ensure that future research would help to meet the

Divisions’ ongoing responsibilities, to clarify research

priorities, and to explore opportunities for cooperation

among DOT and FHWA offices.

In addition, the Environmental Research Program

gained new perspectives and received valuable input

and recommendations from FHWA’s customers and

partners, especially those who are direct users of our

research products and services. Major outreach efforts

included the following initiatives:

■ In May 1995, the FHWA, Federal Transit Administration, and Federal Railroad Administration cosponsored a National Conference on Environmental Justice and Transportation, which brought together more than 200 grassroots environmental

justice leaders, civil rights advocates, legal experts,

planners, and government officials.

■ In November 1996, the FHWA and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) held the Environmental

Research Needs In Transportation Conference. This

conference, co-sponsored by North Carolina State

University and the Center for Transportation and

the Environment, was attended by a broad-based

group of more than 140 stakeholders in transportation and environmental research. The participants

identified more than 90 specific research proposals in 13 subject areas, and recommended them as

research priorities for FHWA and other transportation and environmental research agencies.

■ In January 1997, the Research and Technology Coordinating Committee (RTCC) of the TRB, which

provides an independent assessment of FHWA research and technology programs, released a report,

titled “Clean Air and Highway Transportation: Mandates, Challenges, and Research Opportunities.” The

report suggests research needs, recommends

changes in organization and coordination of research, and it recommends strengthening the linkages between research and policy development.

■ In November 1997, a focus group for Environmen1

Copies of the DOT Strategic Plan and the FHWA Strategic Plan are available on the Internet at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

environment/straprfm.htm. The 1994 FHWA Environmental Policy Statement is available at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

environment/epsfinal.htm. These documents are also available by calling the Environmental Analysis Division hotline

at (202) 366-2069.

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tal Research Program customers and partners was

held to gain input on the overall direction of the

Strategic Plan. The focus group provided valuable

insights and recommendations on both the FHWA’s

Environmental Research Program and on specific

ways to enhance program effectiveness.

This Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

incorporates many of the ideas generated by these

efforts, and is the product of an intensive process of

internal review and stakeholder feedback. To support

the implementation of this Strategic Plan, the Environmental Research Program is developing “road maps,”

which will guide the selection of specific research

projects and management of outreach and dissemination activities. Ongoing program and project evaluations

by customers will enable the Environmental Research

Program to continually improve its research efforts.

Internal Input

U.S. DOT Strategic Plan and

FY1999 Performance Plan

FHWA National Strategic Plan and

FY1999 Performance Plan

FHWA’s Environmental

Policy Statement

U.S. DOT Staff Input

External Input

TRB Environmental Research

Needs Conference Report

TRB RTCC Report

Clean Air and Highway Transportation

Environmental Justice

Conference Report

Stakeholder and

Customer Input

FHWA’s Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Road Maps

Customer Evaluations

FHWA Environmental


Research Projects

Figure 2: Internal and External Inputs to FHWA’s Strategic Plan

for Environmental Research

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Working With Partners and Customers:

An Ongoing, Cooperative Approach

FHWA and our partners in academia, other Federal

agencies, State and local governments, research institutions, the private sector, and non-governmental

organizations all play vital but different roles in promoting research on transportation and the environment. The broad spectrum of organizations involved

in transportation and environmental research provides

a strong “infrastructure” for effective research in a complex and multi-faceted field. To take best advantage of

this capacity, the Environmental Research Program

works to coordinate our research activities with those

of our partners. Through close communication with

other research programs, opportunities are identified

to exchange information, to coordinate specific

research projects, to share resources, and to conduct

joint research when appropriate.

The input which the Environmental Research Program receives from our customers and stakeholders

plays a crucial role in every phase of the research process — from identifying research priorities, conducting research, and applying research results, to evaluating our progress and identifying future research needs.

FHWA is committed to working closely with the organizations and individuals who use our research products to ensure that we most effectively serve our ultimate customers: the individuals and communities who

depend on and are affected by the Nation’s transportation system. For example, our research efforts related

to air quality are coordinated with the work of the U.S.

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For our research focused on wetlands, we work cooperatively

with EPA, the U.S. Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service.

Customers and partners of the Environmental Research Program include the following:

■ FHWA field offices, State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), Metropolitan Planning Organizations

(MPOs), State Environmental Agencies, and local

governments;

■ FHWA and U.S. DOT Offices, including the Office

of the Secretary (OST), the Federal Transit Agency

(FTA), and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center;

■ Other Federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Corps of

Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the

Council on Environmental Quality, the Advisory

Council on Historic Preservation, and others;

■ The U.S. Congress;

■ Environmental researchers and academic institutions;

■ Community organizations, industry, and interest

groups; and

■ The public at large.

Seeing the Whole Picture:

An Integrated Approach

Making effective decisions about transportation requires a comprehensive look at the livability and

sustainability of the natural and human environment.

The Environmental Research Program recognizes that

the interaction of individual effects on these environments must be fully understood to assess the impacts

of transportation decisions on habitats, ecosystems, and

communities.

The focus areas of FHWA’s Environmental Research

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Program reflect this integrated approach. As illustrated

in Figure 3, the Environmental Research Program focuses on research in three related areas: Natural Environment, Human Environment, and Integrated Decision-Making. These three focus areas support FHWA’s

strategic objectives for the human and natural environment.

The important research programs and priorities

within each focus area are detailed in this Strategic Plan.

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Integrated

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Figure 3: Interrelated Focus Areas

for the Environmental Research Program

Today’s transportation decisions often depend on the

tools and knowledge developed in all three focus areas. For example, a sound decision about regional infrastructure investment priorities must consider many

factors, including air and water quality, mobility, safety,

habitat protection, economic development, neighborhood livability, equity, and historic preservation. Mitigation strategies designed to improve air quality may

benefit wildlife habitat as well. New maintenance practices developed to protect water quality may also contribute to improved safety conditions for highway users. By promoting research to better understand the

interactions among environmental responses and the

cumulative effects of transportation decisions, the Environmental Research Program is working to support

transportation decision-making that reflects the full

complexity of these decisions.

Transportation and Land Use

Land use is a critical issue currently facing communities across the Nation. How land is used affects many

aspects of the natural environment, including air quality, water quality, and vegetation. Land use also has

many other effects, including impacts on economic

development, community values, quality of life, and

mobility. The land use implications of transportation

on the natural and human environment are an important aspect of the Environmental Research Program.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 9

Research initiatives to understand the linkages between

transportation and land use, and to integrate land use

planning with transportation decision-making, are

identified under many goals in this plan. Examples include the need to better understand land use linkages

to air quality, to promote ecosystem and watershedbased planning, and to promote noise-compatible land

use planning.

These and similar initiatives will continue to receive

special attention within the Environmental Research

Program. Other types of land use issues will be addressed by FHWA’s Sustainability Initiative, as coordinated by the agency’s Metropolitan Planning Division,

and Intermodal and Statewide Planning Division. The

Sustainability Initiative, which considers the long-term

balance among environmental, economic, and equity

goals and their relationship to transportation, will lead

research efforts to ensure that all transportation-based

land use considerations will be examined. The Environmental Research Program will work closely with these

efforts, contributing expertise on the relationship of transportation to the natural and human environment.

Travel Behavior and Travel Growth

Just as land use patterns affect numerous aspects of

the environment, travel growth has a variety of environmental and community implications. Research into

what promotes or curtails growth in highway travel can

provide insights into the potential for mitigating environmental impacts associated with travel. The extent

to which transportation projects allow or encourage

travel growth needs to be clearly understood. Understanding travel growth is also important because it affects transportation investment decisions, which have

various environmental impacts. FHWA research on

travel behavior and induced travel is led by the Metropolitan Planning and Intermodal and Statewide Planning Divisions, with participation and support from the

Environmental Research Program.

Cumulative Effects of Transportation

Research on holistic approaches to identify the cumulative and indirect effects of transportation is part of

this Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan emphasizes the

development of research tools and techniques that apply, not only to project development, but also to system planning, maintenance and operations, and redevelopment. In addition, the Environmental Research

Program develops training for managers to aid their decision-making on environmental and community impact assessment.

The 1998-2003 Strategic Plan

For Environmental Research

This Strategic Plan for Environmental Research provides

direction and focus for all areas of environmental research undertaken by, or on behalf of, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program from FY 1998 to FY 2003.

It articulates a vision of the desired outcomes of the

program and a framework for research decisions, enabling FHWA to target scarce resources to most effectively meet its research priorities. It describes how the

Environmental Research Program will continue to work

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cooperatively with our partners and stakeholders. Finally, it discusses our plan to evaluate our success in

meeting agency and program goals. Implementing this

Strategic Plan will help ensure that resources are used

wisely, that investment in research produces useful results and products, and that research effectively serves

the needs of FHWA’s many customers. Figure 4 provides an overview of the Strategic Plan.

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Figure 4: Overview of FHWA’s Strategic Plan

for Environmental Research2

2

Additional information on the Strategic Plan can be obtained from the FHWA Office of Environment and Planning web

page: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/oep_home.htm

Environmental Research Vision


Become an international leader in transportation environmental 

research, development, and technology transfer.

Environmental Research Mission


To develop and disseminate innovative and effective research

products and services that help FHWA and its partners

implement surface transportation programs in a manner that

protects and enhances the natural and human environment.

Focus Areas


Natural Environment


Human Environment


Integrated Decision-Making

Research Program Goals


Natural Environment


Air Quality and Climate

Wetlands

Water Quality, Habitat, and Ecosystems

Human Environment


Communities, Neighborhoods, & People

Environmental Justice

Noise

Cultural, Historic, Archaeological, &

 Scenic Resources

Integrated Decision-Making


Integrated Transportation and

 Environmental Decision-Making

Implementation


Strategies

Coordination and Partnership

Dissemination and Outreach

Commitment to Excellence

Performance Evaluation

Objectives


Actions

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 11

VISION AND MISSION OF THE

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAM

In order to support the agency’s strategic goal for the environment, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program has established the following vision and mission:

This mission statement provides direction for all of the research activities undertaken by the

Environmental Research Program. The emphasis is on results—developing information, analyses, tools, training, and technical assistance to make transportation decisions that are the most

beneficial for our communities and natural environment.

Vision

Become an international leader in transportation environmental research, development, and technology transfer.

Mission

To develop and disseminate innovative and effective research

products and services that help FHWA and its partners

implement surface transportation programs in a manner that

protects and enhances the natural and human environment.

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FOCUS AREAS AND PROGRAM GOALS

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program has established eight program goals that fall under our three focus areas. Each program goal is supported by a set of

strategic research objectives. Specific research actions

have been identified to achieve these objectives. The

goals of the Environmental Research Program’s focus

areas and of the programs within each focus area are

summarized below. In the following pages, the priority

needs within each program area are discussed, followed

by a description of the strategic objectives and supporting research actions that respond to these needs.

Focus Area:

Natural Environment

Goal:

Protect and improve the quality of the natural environment by developing and disseminating the

tools and expertise required to predict and assess

transportation impacts, apply optimal mitigation

and enhancement methods, and support environmentally sound transportation initiatives.

Programs:

Air Quality and Climate

Program Goal: Develop analytical techniques and

cost-effective mitigation strategies to reduce the

amount of transportation-related emissions and

greenhouse gases.

Wetlands

Program Goal: Develop tools, techniques, and methods to reduce direct and indirect adverse impacts

of Federal-aid highways on wetlands and increase

net wetland acreage.

Water Quality, Habitat, and Ecosystems

Program Goal: Develop tools, techniques and methods to reduce direct and indirect adverse impacts

of highways on water quality, habitat, and ecosystems to preserve and enhance human health, biological productivity, and ecological diversity.

Focus Area:

Human Environment

Goal:

Protect and enhance the human environment by

developing and disseminating the tools, techniques

and expertise required to: assess the beneficial and

adverse impacts of transportation decisions on

communities; apply optimal mitigation and enhancement methods; and support sound and equitable transportation plans, programs and projects.

Programs:

Communities, Neighborhoods, and People

Program Goal: Develop and disseminate the skills,

tools and information needed to achieve effective

transportation decision-making that protects and

enhances the human environment and quality of

life through full consideration of communities,

neighborhoods, and people.

Environmental Justice

Program Goal: Develop and disseminate the skills,

tools and information to assess, prevent and address

potential discriminatory effects and disproportionately high and adverse health and environmental

effects of transportation decisions on low-income

and minority populations.

Noise

Program Goal: Develop analysis techniques, abatement methods and effective noise compatible land

use planning tools to reduce the adverse impacts

of noise.

Cultural, Historic, Archaeological, and Scenic

Resources

Program Goal: Improve procedural and impact assessment methods for the identification, evaluation,

and protection of historic and archaeological resources and scenic quality.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 13

Focus Area:

Integrated

Decision-Making

Goal:

Redesign Federal environmental and transportation

decision-making to ensure an integrated process at

the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels that

achieves the best overall public interest decisions.

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Program:3

Integrated Transportation and Environmental

Decision-Making

Program Goal: Develop and disseminate skills, tools,

and information to redesign Federal environmental and transportation decision-making, and to ensure an integrated process at the Federal, State,

tribal, and local levels that achieves the best overall

public interest decisions.

3

This focus area also includes another program area, Real Estate Services, which is not within the scope of this plan. The

primary responsibility for this program rests with the Office of Real Estate Services.

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Air Quality and Climate

Program Goal: Develop analytical techniques and

cost-effective mitigation strategies to reduce the

amount of transportation-related emissions and

greenhouse gases.

Motor vehicle travel generates emissions of various

air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Pollutants of particular health-based concern are called criteria pollutants, for which the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency has established National Ambient Air Quality

Standards (NAAQS) that specify acceptable pollutant

concentration levels. In addition to health impacts, air

pollutants can reduce visibility, damage crops and vegetation, and damage materials and buildings. Air pollution also affects water quality and ecosystems. There

is a broad international consensus that carbon dioxide

and other greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing potentially harmful changes in the

Earth’s temperature.

The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA) of 1990 significantly increased the emphasis on demonstrating

that transportation investments do not hinder the ability of air quality nonattainment areas to achieve the

NAAQS. Transportation plans must be shown to conform with the purpose of the approved State Implementation Plan (SIP), which details the steps States will

take to attain the NAAQS. Reducing on-road mobile

source emissions by 20 percent in 10 years is identified as a strategic objective in FHWA’s National Strategic Plan. New NAAQS for small particulate matter and

ozone present new challenges to urban areas to meet

these standards. In addition, the threat of global climate change has important implications for transportation energy use nationwide. These pressures serve to

highlight the importance of FHWA’s research to support and inform policy development through targeted

research and to identify strategies for reducing transportation-related emissions. In order to meet this challenge, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program has

identified the following strategic research objectives and

activities:

Objective: Develop the analytical tools, and provide

training and technical assistance, to predict emissions

under the current NAAQS, greenhouse gas emissions,

and emissions under the new NAAQS (ozone

precursors and PM-2.5).

To ensure that transportation investments contribute to attainment of the NAAQS and support the

President’s global climate change initiative, U.S. DOT,

States and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)

need tools to predict and assess the implications of investment on emissions. The assessment of transportation-related emissions presents challenges to the transportation sector. In particular, the new NAAQS for fine

particulates (PM-2.5) raise many difficult questions for

transportation professionals because much is unknown

about the chemical composition of particulates and

about the contribution that transportation sources make

to the formation of fine particulate matter. In addition,

the new NAAQS for ozone require that nonattainment

areas, Regions, and States develop new strategies to

address regional ozone transport. These pressures highlight the need to support and inform policy development through targeted research on pollutant formation

and transport. To meet this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a PM-2.5 emissions

model.

■ Develop improved methodologies to model oxides

of nitrogen (NOX), particularly from heavy duty vehicles.

■ Develop improved analytical techniques for tracking and quantifying greenhouse gas emissions.

■ Develop, with EPA, an integrated approach to better link transportation models with emissions models to estimate the emissions impacts of Intelligent

Transportation Systems (ITS) and other transportation strategies.

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PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

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■ Develop improved user-friendly methodologies and

guidance for States and MPOs to assess the effects

of transportation investments, including Congestion

Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program

(CMAQ) projects, on air quality.

■ Develop comprehensive model training packages,

including CD-ROMs.

Objective: Identify and disseminate information on

cost-effective strategies, including transportation

control measures (TCMs) and technological

innovations, to reduce emissions of criteria pollutants

and greenhouse gases from transportation sources.

States and Metropolitan Planning Organizations

(MPOs) need to have an array of cost-effective strategies to ensure that transportation investments contribute to air quality and greenhouse gas goals. The CMAQ

program, established under the Intermodal Surface

Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), provides funds

to States for air quality improvement projects. There is

a need to enhance the effectiveness of CMAQ projects

and ensure that transportation planning fully considers emissions impacts. To meet this objective, FHWA’s

Environmental Research Program will:

■ Identify, document, and disseminate information

on cost-effective local and regional transportation

strategies, including ITS strategies and pricing

mechanisms, that improve air quality.

■ Identify and evaluate technological innovations to

improve air quality.

■ Analyze potential strategies to reduce greenhouse

gas emissions.

■ Establish effective partnerships with the Research

and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), the

Department of Energy, and others on global climate

change initiatives, including new vehicle technologies.

■ Assess, in conjunction with other research efforts in

the FHWA Office of Environment and Planning, the

air quality impacts of alternative land use strategies.

Objective: Develop, implement and evaluate a

campaign to educate the public and policy makers on

the relationship between transportation choices and

emissions impacts.

Motor vehicle emissions are affected by individual

travel choices and decisions made by state and local

officials on transportation investments and motor vehicle emissions programs, such as inspection and maintenance projects. In order to achieve a public consensus on strategies to reduce emissions from transportation sources, a better understanding of public perceptions and support for transportation and air quality

programs is needed. To meet this objective, FHWA’s

Environmental Research Program will:

■ Research, analyze, develop, and test communications methods, including use of the Internet, to better inform policy makers and the public about the

relationship between individual transportation decisions and transportation-related emissions.

■ Develop and institutionalize a national coalition of

public and private transportation and air quality

organizations.

■ Implement a national public education campaign

at three pilot and 25 additional sites on the relationship between transportation choices and emissions impacts.

■ Evaluate campaign effectiveness.

■ Develop and disseminate information on global climate change.

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Wetlands

Program Goal: Develop tools, techniques, and

methods to reduce direct and indirect adverse

impacts of Federal-aid highways on wetlands and

increase net wetland acreage.

Wetlands are important to both the environment

and the economy. Wetlands provide a wide range of

benefits that include habitat, support of commercial

and recreational fisheries, reduction of flood damages,

and abatement of water pollution. The construction,

use, and maintenance of highway systems have direct

and indirect effects on wetland resources and other

aquatic ecosystems. Due to the linear nature of highway projects, many cross watercourses and some may

have unavoidable adverse effects on wetlands. In addition, land use changes associated with highway construction create indirect impacts on wetland resources.

Impacts to wetlands are regulated under Section 404

of the Clean Water Act.

Whereas past efforts have focused on no net loss

of wetlands, recent priorities have shifted to producing

net increases in wetland acreage. FHWA’s National Strategic Plan sets a goal of a 50 percent increase in net

wetland acreage resulting from Federal-aid highway

projects in 10 years. Achieving this goal will serve as

one indicator that the agency is meeting its strategic

objective to protect and enhance ecosystems.

A critical challenge for FHWA is to develop information, policies, and tools to ensure resource managers and transportation decision-makers use the most

efficient and effective approaches to mitigate transportation impacts on wetlands, and to replace lost wetland functions and area. Wetland managers and transportation planners and designers must emphasize integration of transportation project development with

watershed-level resource management plans. The results of effective research will provide the tools to help

managers, regulators, and transportation decision-makers protect and enhance watershed values and provide

the scientific knowledge to build consensus for policy

and regulatory decisions.

In order to meet FHWA’s objective to protect and

enhance ecosystems, FHWA’s Environmental Research

Program will focus on the following strategic objectives:

Objective: Develop tools for integrating transportation system planning and watershed-based resource

management to enhance and preserve natural

resource values and functions.

Wetland mitigation needs are currently identified

on a project-by-project basis, as required by the regulatory process and project design and construction

schedules. This situation fosters a piecemeal approach

to mitigation that might not address the management

needs for watershed resources. Watershed-based planning has the potential to improve the effectiveness of

mitigation, reduce mitigation costs, and help prevent

adverse cumulative and indirect impacts from transportation projects. Although resource agencies are promoting watershed planning, a comprehensive watershed planning process that includes transportation issues and considerations has not been developed. To

meet this need, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop ongoing communication and partnerships

among watershed stakeholders, regulatory agencies,

and the transportation community in watershed

and transportation planning.

■ Analyze watershed resources and recommend techniques and practices to reduce or minimize transportation impacts on watershed functions and values.

■ Develop a pilot program to serve as a model for the

integration of transportation system planning and

watershed management.

Objective: Develop approaches to analyze and

minimize indirect and cumulative impacts of highway

development, reconstruction, and maintenance on

wetlands.

While methods to assess direct impacts of highways

on wetland function are currently being advanced, there

is little understanding of the indirect and cumulative

effects of highways on wetlands. These impacts are not

accounted for under the Section 404 permit process.

Better understanding of indirect and cumulative

impacts is necessary for decision-makers to fully account for these effects in land use and transportation

planning. To meet this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 17

Water Quality, Habitat, and Ecosystems

■ Synthesize studies on the linkages between highway

development, reconstruction, and maintenance, and

indirect impacts on wetlands and water quality.

■ Identify methods to assess the indirect and cumulative impacts of highway development, reconstruction,

and maintenance on wetlands and water quality.

Objective: Develop and provide information on costeffective techniques to mitigate unavoidable wetland

impacts.

Compensatory mitigation for unavoidable wetland

impacts typically requires DOTs to be closely involved

in the development or restoration of compensation sites

including land purchase; mitigation design, construction, and monitoring of replacement wetlands; and

long-term maintenance. Various methods have been

identified to compensate for unavoidable impacts to

wetlands that may be less costly, such as wetland banking and use of fee-based compensation. Additional information on these techniques is needed to develop a

consensus with regulatory agencies on the effectiveness and applicability of these methods and to ensure

that state and local agencies have the capacity to carry

them out effectively. In order to meet this objective,

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Identify and evaluate appropriate wetland mitigation methods and techniques.

■ Identify appropriate use of in-lieu fee programs and

approaches.

■ Work with regulatory agencies to develop consensus on cost-effective methods and approaches.

■ Provide information on cost-effective mitigation

methods to State and local agencies and assistance

to implement them effectively.

Objective: Identify new wetlands restoration

techniques along with techniques to modify existing

wetland restoration designs to improve water quality

and ecological results.

Annually, millions of dollars are spent on planning,

design, and construction of wetlands to mitigate transportation impacts. Many projects involve particular

construction techniques that are expensive and of uncertain ecological value. To truly be a steward of the

environment, FHWA must ensure that the wetlands it

develops are cost-effective and function in a manner

that is beneficial to water quality and species. To meet

this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

will:

■ Study the relationship between wetlands, water

quality, and habitat (wetlands functions).

■ Evaluate techniques for improving water quality

and ecological success of wetland construction

projects.

■ Evaluate tools to assess cumulative water quality

and ecosystem impacts of highway stormwater runoff on an area-wide or watershed basis.

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Program Goal: Develop tools, techniques, and

methods to reduce the direct and indirect adverse

impacts of highways on water quality, habitat,

and ecosystems to preserve and enhance human

health, biological productivity, and ecological

diversity.

The construction, use, and maintenance of transportation systems have potential primary and indirect

effects on water quality, habitat, and ecosystems. Since

all highway sections lie within or cross a watershed, all

phases of infrastructure development have the potential for impacting surface and ground water resources.

Pollutants in surface runoff from roadway facilities and

motor vehicle emissions are delivered to surface waters and infiltrate to groundwater. In addition, maintenance of facilities, such as application of pesticides and

herbicides to roadside vegetation, and de-icing may

have water quality impacts. Highways have direct

effects on ecosystems and species through habitat fragmentation and disruption. In some cases, roadside vegetation management practices have also introduced

non-native plant species to habitats, which may

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18 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

adversely affect ecosystem productivity and species

diversity. In addition, hazardous waste and redevelopment of contaminated properties can impact human

health. Indirect impacts of transportation on patterns

of growth and future development also can have

important impacts.

A number of environmental regulations define requirements related to natural resources, including the

Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Fish and

Wildlife Coordination Act, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In addition to complying with these laws, FHWA

seeks to take a proactive approach to prevent adverse

impacts of highway development and redevelopment

on water quality, habitat, and ecosystems. Such an approach emphasizes comprehensive watershed and ecosystem planning, rather than a piecemeal or projectbased approach.

This strategic research program goal supports

FHWA’s strategic objective to improve the quality of the

natural environment by protecting and enhancing ecosystems. To carry out this program goal, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program has established the following strategic research objectives:

Objective: Develop watershed-based and other areawide assessment techniques that identify the impact

of highway development, operation, and reconstruction on water quality and ecosystems.

Studies of highway runoff have traditionally been

driven by regulatory requirements relating to the constituents and concentrations present in runoff. Indirect,

delayed or synergistic effects are not fully studied and

there remain uncertainties about the nature of shortand long-term effects of highway runoff on surface and

groundwater environments. Similarly, there is a lack of

data concerning thresholds of impacts on ecosystems

and species. In addition, comprehensive information

on background water quality is not currently a component of impact assessment studies. Changes due to

implementation of watershed-based resource management programs will require continuing research to provide the transportation community with tools for areawide impact assessment. In order to meet these needs,

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop techniques to determine and assess the

contribution of air pollutants and atmospheric fallout to water quality degradation.

■ Identify the impacts of highway development

through studies of habitat function and stability and

toxicological research.

■ Develop new and update existing tools to characterize and predict contributions to water pollution

from roads versus other watershed sources.

■ Inventory and categorize the indirect impacts of

highway development on water quality, habitat, and

ecosystems.

■ Develop training on highway water quality issues,

such as erosion and sediment control and

stormwater runoff.

Objective: Identify cost-effective techniques to reduce

adverse impacts of highway development,

reconstruction, and maintenance on water quality,

watersheds, and ecosystems.

Reauthorization of the Clean Water Act and the VicePresident’s Clean Water Initiative will likely provide

impetus for transportation decision-makers to implement new ways to reduce water quality impacts from

highways, particularly through application of water

quality and wetland protection programs on a watershed basis. To achieve this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Identify tools and techniques to assess the longterm effectiveness of water quality best management practices, including ultra-urban techniques.

■ Identify methods to retrofit existing highway facilities to enhance and improve water quality, reduce

highway runoff, and enhance the effectiveness of

existing mitigation methods.

Objective: Develop highway maintenance and

vegetation management guidance for protecting and

restoring water quality and habitat.

Existing infrastructure, maintenance, and operation

have significant impacts on water quality and habitat.

In particular, roadside vegetation management and system maintenance can have significant water and ecosystem impacts. Environmental stewardship requires

research to lessen adverse effects from existing infrastructure and ongoing highway activities. Methods need

to be developed and communicated so that State DOTs

can maintain their systems in an environmentally sensitive way and restore the natural environment. In order to do so, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

will:

■ Evaluate economic and ecological effects of various roadside management and maintenance techniques.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 19

Communities, Neighborhoods, and People

■ Develop native plant restoration techniques specific

to roadside use, especially following weed control

projects and other rehabilitation efforts.

■ Identify, assess, and promote the use of Integrated

Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) plans on

a state-by-state basis.

■ Identify inventories and catalogue native plant species and their interaction with roadside habitats to

understand factors affecting their sustainability.

Objective: Develop methods to assess the safe use of

waste materials in highway construction, reconstruction, and maintenance, and to consider brownfields and other contaminated properties during

transportation development.

Federal, State, and local agencies are under increasing pressure to consider the use of waste and recycled

materials during the development, operation, and maintenance of transportation facilities. At the same time,

development of transportation infrastructure will increasingly be impacted by hazardous waste issues as

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regulatory requirements increase. As the ability to locate projects in areas which are free of pre-existing

contamination declines, and as efforts to support the

redevelopment of brownfields grow, transportation will

increasingly encounter hazardous waste issues in reuse of contaminated properties. Operation and maintenance also offer opportunities to prevent creation of

hazardous waste. To meet this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Identify techniques for the safe use of recycled or

waste materials in highway construction.

■ Identify techniques to minimize or mitigate water

quality degradation and soil contamination from

waste and recycled materials.

■ Analyze the environmental effects, liability, and

other issues associated with the use of brownfields

and develop procedures to identify ways to minimize transportation agencies’ liability and other

concerns associated with use of other contaminated

properties.

Program Goal: Develop and disseminate the skills,

tools, and information needed to achieve effective

transportation decision-making that protects and

enhances the human environment and quality

of life through full consideration of communities,

neighborhoods, and people.

The 1970 Federal Highway Act, passed the same

time as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),

places a responsibility on FHWA to fully consider adverse effects of transportation on community cohesion;

public facilities; employment; tax and property values;

displacement of people, businesses, and farms; and

community and regional growth. The U.S. DOT and

FHWA Strategic Plans and the FHWA Environmental

Policy Statement highlight the importance of putting

people first and fully considering communities, neighborhoods, and people in transportation decision-making. The President’s Report on Sustainable Development

underscores the importance of sustainable transportation projects that contribute to sustainable communities. The DOT Livable Communities Program emphasizes that transportation is about more than concrete,

asphalt, steel, and vehicles. It is also about people’s dayto-day lives, which are affected by the location and

appearance of transportation facilities, the design of

streets and sidewalks, and the placement of on-street

parking. FHWA initiatives in “Flexibility in Highway

Design” further emphasize providing safe and community-friendly transportation projects nationwide.

A priority of the Environmental Research Program is

to help FHWA, State DOTs, Federal agencies, Native American tribes, grassroot groups and the public understand

how to ensure full consideration of communities, neighborhoods, and people in transportation decision-making.

To meet this goal, the Environmental Research Program

has established the following objectives:

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20 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Objective: Increase knowledge and understanding of

how to more effectively consider during decisionmaking the impacts and benefits of transportation

facilities on communities, neighborhoods, and people.

Transportation investments have major influences

on society, with significant economic and social consequences. However, in many instances in the past,

impacts on people have not received the attention they

deserve. Assessing transportation impacts on communities, neighborhoods, and people alerts affected communities and residents, as well as transportation planners and decision-makers, of the likely consequences

of a project, and ensures that human values and concerns receive proper attention during transportation

decision-making. Having knowledge and a clear understanding of how to more effectively consider these

impacts and benefits of communities, neighborhoods,

and people will result in better transportation decisionmaking. To support this objective, the FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Evaluate the effectiveness of existing knowledge,

skills, and tools for assessing community and neighborhood impacts of transportation projects.

■ Develop and improve methods, tools, and procedures to ensure full consideration of communities,

neighborhoods, and people in transportation decision-making.

■ Develop and disseminate case studies that demonstrate how transportation projects have been

planned, designed, and constructed to: be neighborhood friendly; avoid, minimize, and mitigate

impacts; and enhance the livability of communities and neighborhoods.

■ Develop and provide training to improve the skills

and expertise necessary to effectively conduct community impact assessments during the transportation decision-making process.

Objective: Identify and determine the application of

existing public involvement tools and training to

enhance the consideration of community,

neighborhood and people concerns during

transportation decision-making.

Public involvement, as part of the community impact assessment process, helps ensure that transportation policies and investments embrace the concerns of

neighborhoods, communities, and society as a whole.

Understanding the relationship between transportation

actions and community life leads to conflict minimization and the resolution of potential problems. Active

involvement of affected parties leads to better decisions

and greater acceptance of projects, while creating a

sense of community ownership and enhancing agency

credibility. Practitioners need to better understand the

approaches needed to make public involvement effective. To meet this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Provide tools and methods to communicate how to

meaningfully use public participation to improve

transportation decision-making.

■ Revise and provide training to FHWA, State DOTs,

grassroot groups and other partners on public involvement as part of the transportation decisionmaking process.

Objective: Develop and increase knowledge and

understanding of innovative options, including

flexible design and enhancement activities, to ensure

that transportation projects fit harmoniously within

communities.

One of the greatest challenges the transportation

community faces is providing safe, efficient transportation service that conserves, and even enhances the

environmental, scenic, historic, and community resources that are so vital to our way of life. FHWA, along

with our partners, must continue to seek opportunities

to use flexible design, enhancement activities, and innovative tools to help sustain important community

interests without compromising safety. This includes

incorporating proactive ideas and community-oriented

designs for transportation facilities to improve transportation decision-making and preserve the character

of our Nation’s communities. To achieve this objective,

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Analyze and disseminate information on Transportation Enhancement projects, traffic calming, flexible design, and other innovative approaches to

ensure that transportation systems enhance communities.

■ Develop prototype procedures and case examples

for streamlining implementation of transportation

enhancement activities.

■ Develop and provide training to State and local

transportation agencies on applying flexible design

concepts, Transportation Enhancement projects,

traffic calming, and other innovative approaches.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 21

Program Goal: Develop and disseminate the skills,

tools, and information to assess, prevent, and

address potential discriminatory effects and

disproportionately high and adverse health and

environmental effects of transportation decisions

on low-income and minority populations.

FHWA’s commitment to prevent potential discriminatory effects and disproportionately high and adverse

health and environmental effects of transportation decisions on low-income and minority populations is reflected in the Environmental Policy Statement. It states:

“We must act on our obligation to foster environmental

justice by ensuring that our transportation system does

not unfairly affect any one segment of our society and

that it equitably distributes benefits as well. To meet these

goals, the FHWA must achieve an unprecedented level of

collaboration and consensus-building with our partners.”

It has been FHWA’s long-standing policy to actively

ensure nondiscrimination in Federally-funded activities under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Under

Title VI and related statutes, each Federal agency is required to ensure that no person is excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving

Federal financial assistance on the basis of race, color,

national origin, age, sex, disability, or religion.

The President’s Executive Order No.12898, and the

DOT and FHWA orders on environmental justice direct

that programs, policies, and activities not have a disproportionately high and adverse health and environmental effect on minority and low-income communities. These orders are a reaffirmation of the principles

of Title VI and related statutes, the NEPA process, and

other Federal environmental laws.

A priority of the Environmental Research Program is

to help FHWA, State DOTs, grassroot groups, Native American tribes, the public, and other partners understand how

to effectively assess, prevent, and address potential discriminatory effects and disproportionately high and adverse environmental and health effects of transportation

decisions on low-income and minority populations.

Objective: Develop tools and techniques and

disseminate information to assess, prevent, and

address potential discriminatory effects and

disproportionately high and adverse environmental

effects of transportation decisions on low-income and

minority populations.

To prevent discriminatory and disproportionately

high and adverse effects of transportation on specific

populations, FHWA, State DOTs, Native American tribes,

grassroot groups, the public, and other partners must

be able to identify who is affected by transportation

projects and whether the effects might be discriminatory or disproportionately high and adverse. Early identification of potential effects requires transportation

officials to understand Title VI and environmental justice principles and have the tools and techniques to

assess project effects. To support this objective, FHWA’s

Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop user-friendly guidance and information

packages to help our partners effectively assess,

prevent, and address discriminatory effects and disproportionately high and adverse effects of transportation decisions.

■ Design methodologies to assess environmental

and health effects on low-income and minority

populations.

■ Identify and determine practical ways to provide

low-income and minority populations with effective access to the transportation decision-making

process and its products.

■ Build workable partnerships and strategies, through

Community Based Meetings and other forums,

among FHWA, State DOTs, grassroot groups, Native

American tribes and other partners on integrating

environmental justice and Title VI considerations

during transportation decision-making.

Objective: Develop and improve skill levels to ensure

that environmental justice and Title VI principles are

effectively applied in the transportation decisionmaking process.

In order to ensure nondiscrimination in Federallyfunded activities and prevent disproportionately high

and adverse health and environment effects on lowincome and minority communities, FHWA, State DOTs,

grassroot groups, Native American tribes, the public and

other partners must have the expertise to apply enviEnvironmental Justice

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22 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Noise

highway traffic and construction noise, and of

abatement measures.

In order to make informed decisions to reduce noise

impacts on people, transportation officials must have

accurate assessments of the noise impacts and abatement opportunities resulting from proposed transportation improvements, as well as those associated with

existing transportation systems. In addition, people frequently complain about the noise that results from

specific pavement types and surface textures. Pavement

designers need to address these concerns for tire/pavement noise, recognizing the importance that must be

placed on pavement safety and durability. To meet this

objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

will:

■ Complete and distribute a new generation highway

traffic noise prediction model (TNM).

■ Develop procedures to consider atmospheric conditions in highway traffic noise prediction.

■ Investigate highway traffic noise problems related

to pavement type and texture, in cooperation with

pavement designers and safety specialists.

■ Develop a comprehensive, multi-modal transportation noise prediction methodology, in cooperation with other transportation modes.

Objective: Develop optimal measures to abate highway

traffic noise.

To reduce the overall adverse effects of highway

traffic noise, transportation officials need cost-effective, state-of-the-art noise mitigation techniques that

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Program Goal: Develop analysis techniques,

abatement methods, and effective noise compatible land use planning tools to reduce the adverse

impacts of noise.

Noise is one of the most direct adverse environmental intrusions that people notice from highway transportation. Nearly every person in the United States is

somehow affected by noise from transportation

sources. Transportation noise may affect the ability of

people to carry on conversations, to concentrate in

work and school settings, and to sleep. As a result, noise

has direct impacts on the quality of life in neighborhoods and communities and on satisfaction with our

Nation’s transportation system.

Noise is a major issue associated with the design

and construction of new transportation systems, as well

as with improvements to existing systems. There are

various ways to reduce the adverse impact of highway

noise on people. Traditionally, efforts have focused on

noise barriers. However, noise barriers can be expensive, and they have received mixed reviews from communities. Motorists sometimes find noise barriers aesthetically unpleasing and find that they lead to a monotonous driving experience, while residents adjacent

to highways greatly value the noise reduction benefits

provided by barriers.

In order to meet FHWA’s objective to enhance community and social benefits of highway transportation

and to increase public satisfaction with highway systems, research efforts to address noise impacts will focus on the following strategic objectives:

Objective: Develop state-of-the-art analysis

techniques to accurately evaluate the effects of

ronmental justice and nondiscrimination principles

during transportation decision-making. To achieve this

objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

will:

■ Develop and provide training and conduct outreach

efforts to improve the skills and expertise necessary to prevent, assess, and address potential discriminatory effects and disproportionately high and

adverse environmental and health effects of transportation decisions on low-income and minority

populations.

■ Showcase the success stories, best practices, and

model community initiatives, which incorporate

principles of Title VI and environmental justice in

transportation decisions, including the effective

application of mitigation and enhancement

strategies.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 23

Cultural, Historic, Archaeological,

And Scenic Resources

are positively received by people. The availability of

better modeling techniques and new materials provide

opportunities to design barriers that are further improved, at potentially lower costs. To meet this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Identify new, innovative approaches to abate the

impacts of highway traffic noise.

■ Develop and distribute improved, more cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing noise barrier designs.

Objective: Develop innovative methods and techniques

that promote noise compatible land use planning.

The impacts of highway traffic noise should be reduced through a program of shared responsibility.

Transportation officials need to encourage local governments and private developers to control new growth

and development in such a way that land uses adjacent to highways are compatible with traffic noise or

that adverse traffic noise effects are minimized. To meet

this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

will:

■ Develop and distribute a videotape to emphasize

noise compatible land use planning.

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■ Investigate and distribute case studies of successful noise compatible land use planning programs.

Objective: Develop training and outreach materials

to increase the knowledge and understanding of the

analysis and abatement of highway traffic and

construction noise.

The analysis and abatement of highway traffic noise

involve a mixture of objective and subjective phenomena. Transportation officials need to improve the flow

of noise-related information and communication at all

levels, particularly with the general public. Highway

traffic noise training and educational opportunities

need to be enhanced. To meet this objective, FHWA’s

Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop and distribute a brochure that presents the

results of successful traffic noise abatement measures.

■ Develop and maintain databases and distribute

noise barrier listing and barrier construction trends.

■ Develop and distribute a training CD-ROM for the

new generation highway traffic noise prediction

model (TNM).

Program Goal: Improve procedural and impact

assessment methods for the identification,

evaluation, and protection of historic and

archaeological resources and scenic quality.

Sponsors of transportation projects have a continuing responsibility to identify, evaluate, and consider

project effects on cultural, historic, and archaeological

resources. These resources include archaeological sites,

historic structures, architectural and engineering properties, and traditional cultural properties and places historically important to Native Americans, Hawaiians, and

Alaskans. Investigations are performed in compliance

with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation

Act of 1966, as well as other Federal and State laws and

regulations. As project planning continues to evolve,

State DOTs and other agencies are faced with a changing

situation that increasingly requires the re-evaluation of

existing procedures, techniques, approaches and resources. In addition, as part of FHWA’s strategic objective

to enhance community and social benefits of highway

transportation, efforts should be made to proactively identify how transportation decisions can benefit cultural resources. Such benefits include sharing the information

gained from cultural resource studies with communities

to enhance cultural tourism.

To meet FHWA’s strategic objective, the Environmental Research Program will focus on the following

research objectives:

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24 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Objective: Develop data management techniques and

predictive tools to assess the direct, indirect, and

cumulative impacts of highway development,

reconstruction, and maintenance on cultural

resources in planning and project development.

Development resulting from transportation investment has significant impacts on cultural and historic

resources. In addition, indirect and cumulative effects

on cultural resources are not well defined or understood and are not consistently considered in the assessment of project effects. Many state historic preservation offices maintain files, reports, and site survey

forms from investigations that have been conducted,

but few have had the capacity to aggressively model

and disseminate this data in cooperation with the State

DOT. Early identification of potential public controversy

or possible fatal flaws related to cultural resources

would improve transportation decision-making. To

meet this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research

Program will:

■ Develop a database of cultural, historic, and archaeological resources to help improve the project

planning, review, and approval process.

■ Develop tools, guidance, and training to improve

understanding of indirect and long-term impacts

of highway development on cultural, historic, and

archaeological resources.

■ Synthesize efforts to model the location of cultural,

historic, and archaeological properties and evaluate their effectiveness for planning purposes.

Objective: Develop cost-effective approaches to

preserve, rehabilitate, restore, and reconstruct

cultural, historic, and scenic resources.

In addition to considering cultural resources, transportation planners and officials need cost-effective

approaches to preserve, rehabilitate, and restore these

resources in project planning and development. To meet

this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

will:

■ Develop second-generation historic and archaeological preservation training materials and curricula

and conduct pilot training.

■ Develop decision-making guidance on preservation,

restoration, and rehabilitation of historic bridges.

■ Develop tools and guidance to incorporate Native

American and ethnic cultural traditions into project

planning.

Objective: Develop effective techniques to inform the

public about the results of investigations that identify

cultural, historic, and archaeological resources in

their communities through a wide range of

partnerships.

Although most transportation projects are funded by

the public, few citizens are aware of the results of cultural

resource investigations or the value of these resources.

Information shared with communities could provide

people with a greater appreciation of their community’s

historical and cultural resources. To respond to this need,

the Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop partnerships with academic institutions to

collate and synthesize the results of DOT-sponsored

investigations and disseminate the findings to the

public and preservation professionals.

■ Share successful efforts by public agencies to inform the public of the results of historic and archaeological investigation.

■ Synthesize and share models to help communities

utilize information from transportation investigations and historic properties in their historic heritage tourism plans.

■ Develop partnerships with community-based

groups and with transportation agencies to encourage communities to define their cultural/historic

values, as they relate to transportation planning.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 25

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Integrated Transportation and

Environmental Decision-Making

Program Goal: Develop and disseminate the skills,

tools, and information to redesign Federal

environmental and transportation decisionmaking, and to ensure an integrated process at

the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels that

achieves the best overall public interest decisions.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Federal Government to use all practicable

means and measures to create and maintain conditions

under which people and nature exist in harmony. Since

the passage of NEPA, the FHWA has built a framework

of policies and procedures to help meet its social, economic, environmental, and transportation responsibilities.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and

the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) have been

working together for some time to make the transportation decision-making and NEPA process more efficient

and more effective. Through joint efforts with the CEQ,

the U.S. DOT has brought together Federal, State, and

local officials and non-governmental representatives

across the country to share innovative ideas and to recommend ways to effectively integrate the NEPA process in transportation decision-making.

Building on these efforts, National Performance Review recommendations, and Congressional interest, FHWA

is seeking ways to redesign Federal environmental and

transportation decision-making to ensure an integrated

process at the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels that

achieves the best overall public interest decisions.

In order to achieve the intentions of the Intermodal

Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), the FHWA

Environmental Policy Statement, and other legislation

and initiatives, FHWA and our partners must achieve

and practice an environmental ethic that accomplishes

transportation goals in accordance with environmental standards through shared decision-making with

other stakeholders in the process. This requires environmentally-conscious leadership within transportation

agencies. Furthermore, as FHWA, States, and other partners seek to meet transportation needs, we must use a

shared decision-making process that balances consideration of impacts on resources and societal values with

transportation needs.

A priority of the Environmental Research Program

is to help FHWA, State DOTs, local entities, Federal agencies, Native American tribes and the public understand

how to effectively integrate environmental and transportation decision-making to achieve decisions in the

best overall public interest. To meet this goal, the Environmental Research Program has established the following strategic research objectives:

Objective: Increase decision-maker and practitioner

knowledge and understanding of how to integrate and

enhance environmental and transportation decisionmaking.

To improve the manner in which environmental

considerations are incorporated in transportation decision-making, FHWA, State DOTs, Native American

tribes, the public, and other partners need to understand how to best integrate environmental and transportation decision-making processes. To help in this

effort, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop quality standards and performance measures, and identify critical factors that may impede

or facilitate an integrated transportation decisionmaking process.

■ Develop user-friendly regulations, guidance, and

information packets on implementing an integrated

Federal, State, and local environmental and transportation decision-making processes for surface

transportation projects.

■ Conduct extensive outreach to assist in the development and implementation of all efforts to integrate and enhance Federal, State, and local environmental and transportation decision-making processes for surface transportation projects.

■ Conduct a demonstration project and showcase a

State DOT’s effort to integrate and enhance environmental and transportation decision-making at

the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels.

■ Showcase innovative approaches taken at the State,

Regional, and/or Metropolitan level to achieve process integration.

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26 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Objective: Develop and demonstrate state-of-the-art

methods, tools, and technologies to assist in

integrating and enhancing the environmental and

transportation decision-making process.

Transportation decisions have impacts on multiple

environmental media and affect the natural and human environments in a variety of ways. An integrated

transportation and environmental decision-making

process is needed to achieve the best public interest

decisions. To achieve this result, transportation professionals and decision-makers need state-of-the-art

approaches and tools to assess the direct, cumulative,

secondary, and indirect impacts and benefits of transportation decisions. To carry out this objective, FHWA’s

Environmental Research Program will:

■ Demonstrate and evaluate the application of advanced technologies, such as geographic information systems, expert systems, visualization techniques, and interactive training techniques, including their benefits for enhancing transportation decisions and processes.

■ Demonstrate jointly with our Federal partners the

appropriate application of assessment methodologies

for cumulative and indirect effects of transportation

decisions on the natural and human environment.

Objective: Develop and improve expertise on problem

solving, consensus building, and collaborative

decision-making.

FHWA’s Environmental Policy Statement, national

initiatives, and training courses make a commitment

to actively involve our partners and all affected parties

in an open, cooperative, and collaborative process. Redesign of environmental and transportation decisionmaking requires FHWA, State DOTs and other partners

to work together to effectively implement the NEPA

process as initially intended. To achieve this objective,

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Design a strategic and interrelated environmental

training curriculum, including courses that reflect

principles of an integrated and effective environmental and transportation decision-making process.

■ Showcase win-win outcomes of interagency coordination, collaboration, and decision-making on transportation projects with environmental considerations.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 27

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

The Environmental Research Program has developed

strategies to most effectively implement the goals and

objectives of this Strategic Plan. These strategies enable FHWA to continue to offer a research program that

is responsive, cost-effective, and of the highest quality.

The implementation strategies described here support the goals and policy on research, technology transfer, and training detailed in the FHWA 1994 Environmental Policy Statement. According to that document,

it is FHWA policy to:

■ Conduct active and responsive research needed to

advance state-of-the-art knowledge of transportation’s linkage to and effects on the natural environment, neighborhoods, and communities. This includes pursuing research on the health and environmental effects of transportation on, and benefits of transportation for, minority and low-income

populations.

■ Develop joint research and training efforts with Federal, State, and local transportation and environmental resource and regulatory agencies. Promote

an interchange of training among these and other

partners.

■ Expand current efforts to disseminate state-of-theart information on environmental protection, impact evaluation, mitigation, and enhancement. To

this end, use forums such as experimental and demonstration projects, technical conferences and training programs, electronic bulletin boards, and other

technology transfer activities to promote the incorporation of research results into practice.

■ Seek, through research and application of sound management and “intelligent transportation” practices,

ways to improve the transportation design and operational characteristics of existing and new transportation facilities from an environmental perspective.

■ Expand and improve FHWA’s environmental training curriculum, and develop environmental training targeted at managers.

The Environmental Research Program shares this

commitment to improving the processes and mechanisms through which research information and technology are shared with the transportation community.

The implementation strategies which follow are designed to allow for continuous input to identify research

needs, timely distribution of research products, and

recognition of excellence in transportation and environmental research. Furthermore, the discussion includes mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of

our research programs to assure their continuing responsiveness to current needs and situations.

In addition to supporting the FHWA Environmental

Policy Statement, the implementation strategies presented here support the Corporate Management Strategies as they are described in the FHWA and U.S. DOT

Strategic Plans.

Putting This Strategic Plan to Work

To guide the implementation of this Strategic Plan, the

Environmental Research Program is developing strategic and tactical “road maps”: action plans to ensure

effective and timely progress in each focus area. These

road maps will guide the selection of environmental

research projects that will best support FHWA’s strategic objectives. The road maps lay out specific milestones and schedules to assist managers in overseeing

research progress, identify key partners and customers, specify outreach and dissemination plans, and detail the approach to program evaluation. They will assist the Environmental Research Program in targeting

resources to continuously improve research efforts,

ensure the usefulness of research products to customers, and identify emerging research needs in a timely

manner.

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28 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Four Implementation Strategies

The implementation component of our Strategic Plan

consists of four implementation strategies. For each

strategy, goals, objectives, and initiatives have been

identified. The implementation strategies and their

associated research delivery goals are as follows:

Coordination and Partnership — Work in partnership

with our customers and stakeholders to identify

needs, undertake research, and evaluate results.

Dissemination and Outreach — Ensure timely and

effective dissemination of research so that it yields

results in practice.

Commitment to Excellence — Cultivate a commitment

to excellence in environmental and transportation

research and a work ethic that rewards excellence.

Performance Evaluation — Continually evaluate the

effectiveness of our environmental research efforts

and our responsiveness to customer needs.

Coordination and Partnership

Implementation Goal: Partner with our customers

and stakeholders to identify needs, undertake

research, and evaluate results.

Effective communication and coordination with our

customers, stakeholders, and partners is critical to successfully implement this Strategic Plan. The Environmental Research Program needs to listen to what our

internal and external customers have to say about their

information and training needs. In addition, a great deal

of research is undertaken and supported by academic

institutions, other Federal agencies, research laboratories, and private organizations. FHWA must take advantage of opportunities to coordinate and leverage research activities to get the most out of our research

dollars. In accordance with this goal, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program has established the following objectives:

Objective: Listen to our customers, both internal and

external, to identify the quality research products and

services they need.

FHWA’s customers in State and local government,

at the Federal level, and in the general public have specific research needs which they would like to see the

Environmental Research Program address. In order to

ensure that research efforts get results, FHWA must listen to its customers and develop strategies to respond

to their needs. To carry out this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop a mechanism(s) for stakeholders to provide suggestions on research needs and approaches

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on an ongoing basis. This may be accomplished

through an Internet access site, through trade associations and stakeholder groups, or through other

mechanisms as appropriate.

■ Seek input on training needs and enhance training

accessibility. Collect periodic information from Divisions and Regions to assess training needs of

FHWA field office staff, State and local agencies, and

key stakeholder groups.

Objective: Aggressively pursue improved communication and collaboration with Federal, State, local, and

tribal partners, and seek new partnerships in the

transportation and environmental communities to

undertake research and dissemination.

Research is conducted by other Federal agencies,

agencies at the State and local levels, transportation and

environmental organizations, and academic institutions. To ensure that FHWA resources are invested

wisely in research, FHWA needs to know about research

being conducted by others to reduce duplication or to

contribute additional perspectives. FHWA may wish to

undertake partnerships in carrying out research. Communication and collaboration will ensure that research

results are accepted by a broad spectrum of interests

with results that can be used for regulatory and policy

development. To carry out this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Develop mechanisms for continued coordination

between FHWA and other government agencies and

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 29

organizations that also conduct environmental research. These mechanisms would be designed to

ensure coordination in research planning, problem

identification, and dissemination.

■ Facilitate and sponsor communications forums or

workshops on research program activities among

various U.S. DOT-funded entities (e.g. U.S. DOT’s

Volpe National Transportation Center and the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE)).

■ Develop methods to promote collaboration on research, sharing of research results among agencies

and stakeholder groups, and leveraging of research

funding sources. Collaborations should include organizations such as university research centers,

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs),

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges

and Universities, environmental organizations, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and Transportation Research Board (e.g. National Cooperative

Highway Research Program, Transit Cooperative

Research Program).

■ Showcase and reward collaborative approaches to

research and fund leveraging arrangements between Federal agencies, Indian governing organizations, States, Metropolitan Planning Organizations

(MPOs), research institutions, and NGOs.

■ Establish international networks for sharing information on environmental and transportation research through scanning tours, conferences, and

collaborative research efforts.

■ Identify research, training, and other projects suitable for co-sponsorship, beginning in FY 1999.

Objective: Increase the participation of all institutions

of higher education, including Historically Black

Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving

Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities,

and other Minority Institutions of Higher Education

(MIHEs), in transportation and environmental

research.

Through academic research, FHWA hopes to better

understand the complex and evolving relationships

between transportation and the environment. The

Transportation Environmental Research Program

(TERP) is a multi-year endeavor that targets college and

university participation in the FHWA research agenda.

Through TERP and other innovative ventures, the FHWA

Environmental Research Program is committed to increasing the involvement of HBCUs and other MIHEs

in transportation environmental research. Expanded

efforts will seek to encourage and increase on-campus

research, and collaborations of faculty and students

with FHWA. To carry out this objective, the Environmental Research Program will:

■ Expand outreach of the Transportation Environmental Research Program (TERP) with colleges and

universities through direct mailings.

■ Assess research capabilities of HBCUs and other

MIHEs, and share information with other potential

partners.

■ Identify innovative strategies for increasing involvement of HBCUs and MIHEs in environmental and

transportation research, or, where appropriate, increasing the capacities of these institutions in particular research areas.

Dissemination and Outreach

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Implementation Goal: Ensure timely and effective

dissemination of research so that it yields results

in practice.

If FHWA and its partners are to effectively protect

and enhance the natural and human environment, the

Environmental Research Program must ensure that

customers receive research results and products. Moreover, customers must have the expertise needed to understand and incorporate research results into practice.

Research products and results must be available to users when they need them. To meet this implementation goal, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program has

established the following objectives:

Objective: Design research projects and develop

research products with technology transfer in mind

from the outset.

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30 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

Increasing the level of awareness about research

programs and activities increases the effectiveness of

the Environmental Research Program. A strong dissemination plan, therefore, should be an integral part of

every research program. Incorporating such a plan will

ensure that research products are shared with potential users in a variety of ways. To achieve this objective,

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Require that all research work programs include

dissemination and evaluation components and an

explicit identification of the target audience for the

research.

■ Design research reports to be brief and concise, and

geared toward their intended audiences.

■ Design modeling tools as software applications, and

develop manuals and informational material in

user-friendly formats.

Objective: Use a wide variety of accessible outreach

and communication measures to ensure that research

products are received and understood by customers.

FHWA must provide a variety of accessible forums

for information. The state-of-the-art in communications

technology is evolving rapidly, allowing new methods

to reach our customers. Research results, technical assistance, and opportunities for collaboration must be

communicated in a way that is user-friendly and easy

to access. To achieve this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Establish a clearinghouse for research that is customer-oriented and enables users to quickly and

economically find and access information, tools, or

other research products.

■ Use innovative means of communication such as

experimental and demonstration projects, technical conferences and training programs, the Internet,

interactive CDs, speakers bureaus, and other technology transfer activities.

Objective: Provide effective training and technical

assistance to our transportation partners.

The information and tools developed through research must be incorporated into every stage of transportation program and project development, including

policy, planning, and decision-making. Training and

technical assistance will ensure that transportation

partners have the expertise to most effectively use

newly-developed knowledge, skills, and tools. To

achieve this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research

Program will:

■ Develop joint training efforts with Federal, State, and

local transportation and environmental resource

and regulatory agencies. Promote an interchange

of training among these and other partners.

■ Develop environmental training specifically for

managers.

■ Provide mechanisms for systematic evaluation of

training courses by participants, and conduct outreach to colleges and universities to incorporate

relevant training into undergraduate and graduate

curricula.

■ Provide for training sessions via interactive video

(long-distance learning courses) and ensure easy

access to such sessions through the technology

transfer program and through U.S. DOT-funded research institutions.

Objective: Increase the visibility of the Environmental

Research Program, and elevate the level of awareness

of research products and services among customers.

FHWA’s customers need to be informed about research results, ongoing projects, and training and technical assistance. Elevating the visibility of the Environmental Research Program is an important step in ensuring that research yields desired outcomes. To achieve

this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program

will:

■ Routinely disseminate information about research

efforts in progress or recently completed, including how customers and stakeholders can access

research products.

■ Regularly include summaries of environmental research activities, findings, and products in newsletters and publications, and in internal updates to

management within the U.S. DOT and its modal

administrations.

■ Increase submissions of articles about environmental research in transportation and environmental

publications.

■ Develop a marketing plan for the Environmental

Research Program for both internal and external

application.

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Strategic Plan for Environmental Research ■ 31

Commitment to Excellence

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Implementation Goal: Cultivate a commitment

to excellence in environmental and transportation

research and a work ethic that rewards excellence.

To achieve excellence in environmental and transportation research under the Environmental Research

Program, FHWA staff within the Environmental Analysis and Environmental Operations Divisions will personally be involved in creating and sustaining values

of environmental stewardship, organizational direction,

customer focus, performance monitoring, and performance excellence. In addition, FHWA wants to recognize and support excellence in research and technology transfer by its partners and stakeholders. As part

of this strategy, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program has established the following objectives:

Objective: Enhance FHWA’s commitment to excellence

in transportation and environmental research.

FHWA’s Environmental Research Program staff are

committed to the highest standards of excellence in facilitating and communicating environmental research.

To support this commitment, the Environmental Research Program will:

■ Link research activities to program responsibilities

within FHWA.

■ Recognize and reward FHWA staff excellence in facilitating and overseeing research, disseminating

research results, and providing technical assistance

and training.

Objective: Recognize stakeholders and partners for

excellence in environmental research.

FHWA encourages excellence in the research efforts

of partners and stakeholders whose work provides a

tremendous amount of information that is used by our

customers. To accomplish this objective, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program will:

■ Showcase exemplary research projects through

brochures and awards for excellence in environmental research.

■ Identify exemplary research products and services

of partners and stakeholders in FHWA outreach efforts.

Performance Evaluation

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Implementation Goal: Continually evaluate the

effectiveness of our environmental research

efforts and our responsiveness to customer needs.

Performance evaluation helps to determine how

well the Environmental Research Program is meeting

its strategic goals. It also helps to ensure that we respond to changing needs and conditions, with a continued emphasis on achieving significant and tangible

results that directly contribute to FHWA’s top priorities.

FHWA Performance Measures

Performance evaluation occurs at all levels of our organization. At the agency level, the FHWA National Strategic Plan identifies clear measures to evaluate our

progress in meeting each of FHWA’s strategic goals. For

FHWA’s goal of protecting and enhancing the natural

environment and communities, there are three performance indicators:

■ Increase public satisfaction with highway systems

and highway projects as a beneficial part of their

community.

■ Reduce on-road mobile source emissions by 20 percent in 10 years.

■ Increase net wetland hectare area (acreage) resulting from Federal-aid highway projects by 50 percent in 10 years.

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32 ■ Strategic Plan for Environmental Research

The research priorities outlined in this Environmental Research Strategic Plan directly contribute to FHWA’s

ability to meet these performance measures.

Environmental Research Program and

Project Evaluation

The Environmental Research Program regularly evaluates our program as part of the process of identifying

needs and developing work statements for future research. This evaluation involves a clear assessment of

the progress made to date in meeting our objectives,

the quality of the efforts completed, and identification

of areas requiring additional work. Feedback from a

range of partners and stakeholders is received as part

of this review.

In the coming years, the Environmental Research

Program will further strengthen our approach to performance evaluation. In particular, we will build our

capacity to gauge customer satisfaction and increase

our responsiveness to their needs through a more formal customer satisfaction evaluation process. In addition, we will develop a routine process of program review and modification based on the program objectives

in this Strategic Plan for Environmental Research. At

both a program-wide and project level, our performance

evaluation will assess our performance in three ways:

Efficiency

Program Efficiency: Were staff and contracted resources

allocated to best meet priority objectives?

Project Efficiency: Did we do what we said we would

do? Were products and program milestones

achieved on time and within budget?

Effectiveness

Program Effectiveness: Are we making the progress we

expected toward meeting our program objectives?

Were the projects that were undertaken successful

in supporting the achievement of priority program

objectives?

Project Effectiveness: Were products and program initiatives of high quality? Are they meeting the needs

for which they were intended?

Customer Satisfaction

Program Satisfaction: How satisfied are our customers

with the performance of the research program overall?

Project Satisfaction: How satisfied are our customers

with specific products and program initiatives? Are

available products and services reaching our intended customers? Are they being used? Are they

being used effectively?

Specific objectives to achieve a more comprehensive

approach to performance evaluation are:

Objective: Assess customer satisfaction with, and use

of, FHWA’s Environmental Research Program.

To ensure that the Environmental Research Program

continuously improves its ability to meet the needs of

our customers and partners, FHWA’s Environmental

Research Program will:

■ Develop a performance and customer satisfaction

reporting system to provide continuous feedback

on the effectiveness and timeliness of completed

research.

■ Develop a process for obtaining continuous feedback of customer needs for research products and

services, to inform the development of future research priorities.

Objective: Evaluate performance at meeting strategic

environmental research goals and objectives.

To ensure the effectiveness of the Environmental

Research Program, FHWA must periodically evaluate

the effectiveness of the program at achieving strategic

research goals and objectives. To meet this need, the

FHWA Environmental Research Program will:

■ Incorporate a plan for program-specific evaluation

as part of the tactical road map for each program

area, using evaluation measures and techniques

appropriate to each program.

■ Conduct an annual performance review, starting in

FY 99, to assess progress toward achieving the strategic goals and objectives as stated in the Environmental Research Strategic Plan, and revise future

plans as indicated.

■ Monitor emerging trends, customer needs, and the

external environment to adjust our strategic research plan as needed.

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