{
  "id": "RL32024",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32024",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101687,
      "date": "2003-08-06",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:40:32.945544",
      "title": "Background on NEPA Implementation for Highway Projects: Streamlining the Process",
      "summary": "Before a federally funded surface transportation project can proceed, the Department of\nTransportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) must ensure compliance with all\nlocal, state, and federal legal requirements regarding the environment, including the National\nEnvironmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C.  4321 et seq.). NEPA requires all federal\nagencies to provide an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for every proposed major federal\naction  significantly  affecting the quality of the environment. Projects with uncertain or\ninsignificant\nimpacts also require documentation. Such projects either require an Environmental Assessment\n(EA) or are categorically excluded from requirements to prepare an EA or EIS.\n  In addition to NEPA, any given transportation project may require compliance with a wide\nvariety of legal requirements, enforceable by multiple agencies. For example, impacts of a highway\nproject may trigger requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C.  470) or\nthe Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C.  1251). FHWA regulations require that compliance with all\napplicable environmental laws, executive orders, and other legal requirements be documented within\nthe appropriate NEPA documentation (a concept referred to as the \"NEPA umbrella\").\n  There has been a long-standing perception that high-profile highway construction projects have\nbeen delayed by implementation of NEPA's requirements. However, until recently, there was only\nanecdotal information directly linking the \"NEPA process\" to widespread highway project delays. \nSeveral studies conducted by the General Accounting Office and the FHWA have attempted to\ndetermine a distinct connection between NEPA compliance and highway project delays.\n  In 1998, Congress passed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21,  P.L.\n105-178 ) that reauthorized the federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety,\nand transit for fiscal years 1998-2003. To address concerns regarding highway project delays,\nCongress included Section 1309 in TEA-21, \"Environmental Streamlining,\" that required DOT to\ndevelop and implement a \"coordinated environmental review process\" for projects having a\nsignificant impact on the environment. That process was intended to encourage full and early\nparticipation by all agencies required to participate in a highway project.\n  Since TEA-21 was enacted, numerous administrative activities have been undertaken to\nfacilitate streamlining. However, corresponding regulations have not been finalized. Continued\nefforts to streamline the NEPA process are expected in legislation to reauthorize surface\ntransportation programs for fiscal years 2004-2009. This report provides background on the NEPA\nprocess and discusses streamlining activities to date. It does not cover current debate on streamlining\nefforts related to the reauthorization legislation (see  CRS Report RL32032 ,  Streamlining\nEnvironmental Reviews of Highway and Transit Projects: Analysis of SAFETEA and Recent\nLegislative Activities ). This report will be updated when changes to the NEPA process are\nin place.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32024",
          "sha1": "18cb8d7970311bfaf993ba31c8284fe9a68759c0",
          "filename": "files/20030806_RL32024_18cb8d7970311bfaf993ba31c8284fe9a68759c0.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32024",
          "sha1": "7d6063ed591196ade1cc1b05f16f69b32a457bf4",
          "filename": "files/20030806_RL32024_7d6063ed591196ade1cc1b05f16f69b32a457bf4.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Environmental Policy"
  ]
}