Page 20 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 3

of what agency or person undertakes such other actions. Cumulative impacts can result
from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of
time.
All of these effects must be considered in evaluating the environmental impacts of high-
way projects.

1.2 FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS GOVERNING
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND
THE ENVIRONMENT

The following discussion is intended to provide an overview of the principal federal
requirements affecting the development and maintenance of highways. These include
federal laws, regulations, executive orders, agency advisories, policy memoranda, and
guidance documents. Federal laws are enacted legislation that establish a set of rules or
principles codified in the United States Code (USC). Federal regulations implement federal
laws and are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). DOT and Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA are codified in 23 CFR
Part 771 (United States Department of Transportation Environmental Impact and Related
Procedures), and 40 CFR Parts 1500–1508 (Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations Implementing NEPA). Environmental regulations have been promulgated by
each federal agency. These include regulations promulgated by DOT, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of the Interior (USDOI),
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and can
be found in the CFRs of the specific agency having jurisdiction over the environmental
issue of concern.
In addition to NEPA and the resource-specific legislation summarized in Art. 1.3 of
this chapter, there are a number of DOT requirements that affect the planning and envi-
ronmental review of highway projects. These include

• Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 (23 USC §303)
• The Intermodal Surface Transportation Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-240)
• The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (Public Law 105-178)
• The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (Public Law 109-59, “SAFETEA-LU”)
• The National Highway Designation Act of 1995 (Section 29 of USC Title 23)

Provided below are brief descriptions of each of these statutes.
Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 (23 USC §303, “Section
4(f)”). Section 4(f) prohibits the administrator of the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) from approving the use of land from a significant publicly owned park, recre-
ation area, or wildlife and waterfowl refuge, or any significant historic site for transporta-
tion purposes unless a determination is made that
• There is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use of land from the property.
• The action includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the property resulting from
such use.