The agreement was originally signed on September 13, 1996. The certification step was a logical follow-up to an overall documentation streamlining effort to obtain approvals of Categorical Exclusions. The most gratifying aspect of it was the strong shared desire by FHWA and New Jersey DOT to cut paperwork without compromising the quality of analysis and environmental decisions. The sense of common purpose and collaboration was exhilarating and led to additional initiatives. For example, the agreement development team worked with the State Historic Preservation Office to establish a “no-effect” list to ensure completion of the Section 106 process. This effort had to be conducted in parallel to enable successful development of the CE agreement. Prior to the enactment of the agreement, New Jersey DOT noticed a trend that they tended to over study things with the result being a higher level environmental document (Finding of No Significant Impact). This agreement put a process in place that ensures and demonstrates compliance with environmental laws in a streamlined manner.

This agreement is considered a testament to the creative collaborative spirit of agency staff involved in the development.