Environment

Resources:

Clean Air Act
Coast Zone Management
Cumulative and Indirect Impacts
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Environmental Justice
Farmlands
Floodplains
Hazardous Materials
Magnuson-Stevens Act (Essential Fish Habitat, EFH)
National Historic Preservation Act (Section 106)
Navigable Waterways
Noise and Vibration
Property Acquisition
Section 4(f) (Department of Transportation Act)
Section 6(f) (Land and Water Conservation Fund Act)
Sole Source Aquifer
Tribal Consultation
Water Quality

Clean Air Act

Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Conformity Reference Guide Section F
Environmental Protection Agency's Green Book on Nonattainment Areas for Criteria Pollutants

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Ocean and
     Coastal Resource Management's list of state programs

Federal Highway Administration's Environmental Guidebook

Assessment Process
Federal Statues, Orders and Guidances
Federal Highway Administration's An Overview of Transportation and Environmental Justice
Mass Transit Projects

Guidance & Procedures (Joint)

Sound Transit Issue Papers

Hazardous Materials

Hazardous Material Background
FTA Process
Federal Statutes
Guidance
Useful Links

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
• U.S. EPA Superfund Webpage
• U.S. EPA Site Assessment Webpage
• U.S. EPA Brownfields Webpage

Magnuson-Stevens Act (Essential Fish Habitat, EFH)

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Amended through 01/12/2007)(05/2007)  [PDF]

Environmental Analysis and Review Information on Historic, Archeological, and Cultural Resources

Navigable Waterways

Federal Statues and Guidance

• The River and Harbor Act of 1899 - (33 U.S.C. 401 et. seq.) Requires the Secretary of the Army to issue permits for projects that affect navigable waterways, e.g. bridges, dams, or other structures.
  • Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
• Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act - (16 U.S.C. 661 et. seq.) Requires consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the appropriate state wildlife agency when a project will impound, divert, channelize, or otherwise control or modify the waters of any stream or other body of water.
  • Clean Water Act, Section 402: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

Noise and Vibration

Noise and Vibration Resource Information
Quick Links:

• Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment Guidance Manual [PDF]
• Noise Impact Assessment Spreadsheet [EXCEL]
• National Transit Institute's Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment Course

Property Acquisition

Real Estate
General Aquisition and Relocation Information Brochure [PDF]
Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition for Federal and
     Federally-Assisted Programs (Final Rule 49 CFR Part 24) [PDF]
FTA Circular 5010.1D dated 11/01/08 (Complete Circular)
     (Chapter 4, section 2, page 49) - Property Management - Real Property

Section 4(f) (Department of Transportation Act)

Overview of Section 4(f)
Section 4(f) Compliance Process
Guidance for Determining De Minimis Impacts to Section 4(f) Resources Memorandum

• Questions and Answers on the Application of the Section 4(f) De Minimis Impact Criteria

Federal Statutes and Guidance

• National Parks Services' Section 4(f) (49 U.S.C. 303) [PDF] - Establishes a national policy for the protection of public parks, historic sites, and public waterfowl and wildlife refuges.
• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Section 4(f) Policy Paper, March 2005 [PDF] - Guidance on Section (4f) compliance process applicable to mass transportation projects.

Section 6(f) (Land and Water Conservation Fund Act)

Compliance Responsibilities and Legal Protection
Title 36, Chapter 1, Part 59 - Land and Water Conservation Fund Program of Assistance to States; Post-Completion Compliance Responsibilities:

• Applicability (36 CFR 59.1) [PDF]
• Information Collection (36 CFR 59.2) [PDF]
• Conversion Requirements (36 CFR 59.3) [PDF]
• Residency Requirements (36 CFR 59.4) [PDF] 

Sole Source Aquifer

Enviromental Protection Agency's Source Water Protection Web Site
Sole Source Aquifer Checklist (06/02/2009) [WORD]

Tribal Consultation

Tribal Consultation and Coordination
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Guidance and Information

• Interagency Guidance: Transportation Funding for Federal Agency Coordination Associated with Environmental Streamlining Activities [PDF] — This Interagency Guidance addresses when reimbursement for tribal coordination is appropriate during the identification phase of the Section 106 process.
• FHWA Native American Coordination — The Native American Coordination Program provides guidance and technical assistance to Federally-recognized tribes in an effort to achieve a more effective working relationship with Indian tribal governments.
• Questions and Answers on Tribal Consultation — The Native American Coordination Program has compiled a list of 16 questions and answers related to the Section 106 Tribal Consultation Process.

FHWA/Department of Transportation Best Practices

• Tribal Consultation Best Practices [PDF] — The National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers recently completed a report on Tribal consultation best practices in historic preservation. This report includes perspectives from Tribal governments and government agencies.
• Iowa Native American Consultation procedures — In May 2001, the FHWA Iowa Division and the Iowa Department of Transportation partnered with the Iowa Office of the State Archeologist and the Iowa State Historic Preservation Officer to host the Tribal Summit on Historic Preservation and Transportation to develop a streamlined consultation process.

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Guidance on Consultation

• Consulting with Indian Tribes in the Section 106 Review Process — This ACHP Guidance clarifies Federal agencies’ roles during Section 106 consultation and outlines when Federal agencies must consult with Indian tribes and what the consultation must address.
• ACHP Policy Statement — This policy statement describes ACHP’s relationships with Indian Tribes and includes issues of tribal sovereignty, government-to-government consultation, trust responsibilities, and many others.

Tribal Grant Programs for Historic Preservation

• Historic Preservation Fund Grants to Indian Tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian Organization — This website provides information for the current cycle of the National Park Service's Tribal Preservation Program in support of historic preservation projects on tribal lands.

Streamlining Initiatives - Programmatic Agreements (PAs) with Tribes are effective tools to streamline projects and some examples of existing Tribal PAs.

• State Environmental Streamlining and Stewardship Practices Database - The State and Environmental Streamlining and Stewardship Practices database contains examples of streamlining and stewardship practices used by states to efficiently and effectively fulfill their NEPA obligations.

Water Quality

Background
Process for Protecting Water Quality
Federal Statute

• Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) - National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

Useful Links

• U.S. EPA Office of Water

Samples 

Sound Transit NEPA East Link Coordination Plan (12/2008)  [PDF]
Suquamish Indian Tribe - Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) (11/09/2007)  [PDF]
Valley Regional Transit Downtown Boise Multimodal Center Environmental Assessment (EA) (06/01/2009) [PDF]