The Council on Environmental Quality has submitted to Congress its third report on the status and progress of required environmental reviews for projects and activities receiving economic stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Section 1609(c) of the ARRA requires the president to report to Congress every 90 days, until Sept. 30, 2011, on the progress of projects funded by ARRA with regard to compliance with NEPA requirements and documentation. The latest report provides an overview of the 15 executive departments and nine agencies required to report on their NEPA status. As of Sept. 30, 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation had reported on the NEPA status of over 13,500 projects and activities, with over 14,650 NEPA reviews completed and 1,325 pending. For more information, link to the CEQ news release and the NEPAnet CEQ Task Force website. (11-2-09)

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The Federal Highway Administration has published the Summer 2009 issue of its Environmental Quarterly newsletter. The current edition includes the second of a two-part series of Frequently Asked Questions about the agency’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reevaluation process; presentations on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) from environmental sessions of the 2009 GIS for Transportation symposium; and information on the new federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The issue also describes FHWA’s Web-Biological Assessment (BA) tool and includes environmental calendar updates. For more information, link to Environmental Quarterly, Vol. 5, Issue 3. (9-9-09)

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Successful efforts at interagency collaboration and environmental stewardship as part of the Columbia River Crossing project are highlighted in the August 2009 issue of FHWA’s Successes in Stewardship newsletter. The ongoing project, which involves the replacement of an aging bridge connecting Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, includes transit and highway improvements designed to reduce congestion in the Interstate 5 corridor. As part of the project, 12 state and federal agencies formed the Interstate Collaborative Environmental Process (InterCEP) Group to advise the project team on the environmental process. Other successful collaborative components of the project include a unique greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis, an extensive public involvement process, and tribal consultation. In recognition of these environmental stewardship efforts, the draft environmental impact statement for the project was awarded the National Association of Environmental Professionals’ Environmental Excellence Award for NEPA excellence. According to FHWA, the project may serve as a model for future transportation projects because of its successful interagency collaboration and innovative GHG analysis. For more information, link to the August 2009 Successes in Stewardship Newsletter, The Columbia River Crossing Project: A Model for Collaboration and Environmental Stewardship. (8-4-09)

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The Federal Highway Administration has published its final report summarizing the third audit of the California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) program to assume federal authority for environmental reviews for transportation projects under the pilot program established by Section 6005 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).  The third audit report, published in the July 28, 2009, Federal Register, finds that Caltrans “continued to work toward meeting all responsibilities assumed” under the pilot program, as specified in the memorandum of understanding with FHWA. The third audit – which covers the start of the pilot program in July 2007 through January 2009, focusing on the most recent six month period – reviews the program’s compliance with criteria established in the FHWA/Caltrans MOU. It details areas of compliance as well as areas that need improvement or that are deemed deficient and must be improved.  For more information, link to the Federal Register notice. (7-28-09)

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Frequently Asked Questions about the Federal Highway Administration's NEPA reevaluation process are included in the Spring 2009 issue of FHWA's Environmental Quarterly newsletter. In the first of a two-part series, the FHWA Resource Center publication provides answers to the top seven frequently asked questions. The FAQs include the following questions:

• What is the purpose of a NEPA re-evaluation?
• When should a re-evaluation be conducted?
• If my project has not changed do I need to conduct a reevaluation?
• Is a reevaluation part of the NEPA process?
• Could a reevaluation substitute for a NEPA document (i.e. supplemental EIS)?
• Why do I have to prepare a written reevaluation?

• Could a reevaluation be performed on just the first phase of construction of a project?

For more information, link to Environmental Quarterly, Vol. 5, Issue 2. (5-22-09)

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Efforts by the Federal Highway Administration’s to implement new environmental reporting requirements for highway projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are documented in the July 2009 issue of FHWA’s Successes in Stewardship newsletter. The issue provides an overview of National Environmental Policy Act reporting requirements under ARRA, including the submittal of quarterly NEPA status reports to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. According to the newsletter, FHWA and state DOTs are successfully collaborating to complete the new NEPA reporting requirements and distribute $27.5 billion in ARRA funds allocated for highways. As of April 30, FHWA had reported on the NEPA status of over 4,000 projects. The agency also has launched a new automated database, the Recovery Act Data System (RADS), allowing state DOTs to directly upload updates and information on new ARRA projects. FHWA intends use RADS to track ARRA projects for compliance with NEPA. For more information, link to the July 2009 Successes in Stewardship Newsletter, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: FHWA as a Leader in NEPA Reporting. (7-2-09)

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The May 2009 issue of the Federal Highway Administration’s Successes in Stewardship newsletter describes key changes in the March 24, 2009, joint FHWA/FTA final rule that revised the federal environmental review procedures for highway and transit projects. Highlights of the rulemaking, which implemented provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), include two new activities to be designated as categorical exclusions under NEPA and modifications to the environmental review process that are particularly relevant for projects requiring an environmental impact statement. The newsletter describes key changes that affect six sections of SAFETEA-LU: Sections 6001, 6002, 6004 and 6005, 6010, and 3024. The newsletter also features changes that apply to federal lands and FTA programs and the establishment of an explicit categorical exclusion for intelligent transportation systems. For more information, link to the May 2009 Successes in Stewardship newsletter, FHWA/FTA Final Rule Update to Environmental Impact and Related Procedures. (5-4-09)

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