editor – Page 51 – Environmental Technical Assistance Program Newsletter

Colorado Proposes New Transportation Pollution Standards

The Colorado Transportation Commission proposed new transportation pollution reduction planning standards on August 16 that seek to cut greenhouse gas or GHG emissions from the state’s transportation sector while improving statewide air quality and reducing smog.

[Above photo by the Colorado DOT]

The proposed rule – known as the “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Planning Standard” – aims to “shape” how state and local governments plan projects to ensure future transportation infrastructure supports cleaner air and fights climate change, all while providing more “travel options” to Colorado residents.

Publication of this draft standard begins a 60-day public review period – running from August 13 through October 15 – during which the Colorado Department of Transportation plans to host both in-person and virtual public hearings as well as accept written comments.

The proposed rule would require the Colorado DOT and the state’s five Metropolitan Planning Organizations to determine total pollution and GHG emissions increase or decrease expected from future transportation projects while taking steps to ensure that total GHG emission levels do not exceed set reduction amounts.

This commission added that this approach would also help “streamline” the planning and delivery of innovations for improving quality of life and air quality, such as: Adding sidewalks, improving downtowns for active transportation with “complete streets,” improving local and intercity transit, and first-and-last-mile connectivity to transit facilities, and adding bike-sharing facilities.

“Transportation is our largest source of air pollutants, and this standard will help ensure that Coloradans have every possible ability to make a difference,” said Governor Jared Polis (D) in a statement.

The proposed rule would also implement a key provision of the state’s SB21-260 transportation legislation, which requires a number of steps to embed air quality and equity analysis and goals into transportation planning.

“What we build matters. It matters for safety, for our economy, for resiliency, and for our ability to reduce air pollution and improve the quality of places where Coloradans across the state live and thrive,” explained Shoshana Lew, Colorado DOT’s executive director.

“From smoke-filled air to a confluence of fire and 500-year flooding in Glenwood Canyon, we are reminded that we have no time to waste in fighting climate change in the transportation sector – and this policy will be an important step,” she added. “This draft standard wouldn’t be possible without the hundreds of hours of input we’ve received over the last few months, and I look forward to hearing from all stakeholders on this draft.”

New Mexico DOT Unveils Five-Year Pedestrian Safety Plan

The New Mexico Department of Transportation recently adopted a five-year pedestrian safety plan that focuses on reducing pedestrian fatalities statewide, making infrastructure improvements, launching informational pedestrian safety campaigns, plus change key policies and procedures.

[Above photo by the New Mexico DOT]

The agency said plan – formally known as the “New Mexico Pedestrian Safety Action Plan” – seeks to reverse a climb in the number of pedestrian fatalities statewide. New Mexico suffered 83 pedestrian fatalities in 2019, the highest per-capita pedestrian fatality rate in the country, with another 95 pedestrians suffering serious injuries that same year.

“We must take action and the department is committed to making pedestrians safer in New Mexico,” explained Transportation Secretary Mike Sandoval in a statement. “Comprehensive pedestrian safety isn’t just a governor’s priority, it isn’t just an NMDOT priority – it’s a country, state, county, and city priority.”

He noted that New Mexico DOT’s pedestrian safety project team developed its new five-year plan following two years of research and outreach, which included gathering internal, public, and external stakeholder input, as well as cataloging and adopting national best practices.

New Mexico DOT’s efforts reflect a larger push among state departments of transportation nationwide to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.

For example, while a report issued by the Governors Highway Safety Association showed pedestrian fatalities trended up in the first half of 2020, that same report also noted how several state-directed efforts are successfully improving pedestrian safety.

GHSA’s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report found that the U.S. pedestrian fatality rate increased 20 percent in the first six months of 2020 as speeding, distracted, and impaired driving – as well as other dangerous driving behaviors – increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet that report also found that pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2020 declined in 20 states and Washington D.C. compared with the same period in 2019. Meanwhile nine states – Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina – witnessed double-digit percentage and numeric declines in pedestrian fatalities in the first six months of 2020 compared to the same six-month period in 2019.

Environmental News Highlights – August 18, 2021

ETAP Podcast: Arizona DOT Talks Monarch Butterfly Needs

In this episode of the Environmental Technical Assistance Program or ETAP Podcast, Kris Gade, Ph.D. – a roadside resource specialist with the Arizona Department of Transportation – discusses Monarch butterfly conservation efforts; a butterfly species that’s experienced a dramatic dip in population over the past few decades.

[Above photo via Wikimedia Commons]

Once ubiquitous in North America and known by its striking orange and black wings. Monarch butterflies play a vital role as pollinators – helping support healthy plant ecosystems from the Great Smoky Mountains to Zion National Park.

[Editor’s note: In December 2020, the Transportation Research Board published a resource guide for state departments of transportation in their efforts to preserve and expand monarch butterfly habitat and support migration support efforts.]

As the eastern members of this iconic butterfly species prepare for their annual migration to Mexico, Gade explains on the podcast the ways state DOTs are helping support the Monarch’s survival and growth as a species.

To listen to this podcast, click here.

In March 2020, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials sent a two-page letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior supporting “expedited approval” of the voluntary national Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances or CCAA to further encourage the creation of pollinator habitats in highway rights-of-way – especially where the Monarch butterfly is concerned.

“The regulatory protections provided by this CCAA allow transportation agencies to continue vegetation management practices with less concern that these actions will lead to an increase in the costs of regulatory compliance if the monarch is listed under the Endangered Species Act,” AASHTO said in its letter. “We see the CCAA as advancing … guidance developed by the Federal Highway Administration on practices to support pollinator habitat,” the group added.

Biggest Expansion yet for U.S. Bicycle Route System

The Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials announced the designation of 18 new bicycle routes in five states, adding 2,903 miles to U.S. Bicycle Route System.

[Above photo by WSDOT]

The two groups said the new routes in California, Indiana, Ohio, Utah, and Washington State represent the largest addition to the USBRS to date in terms of both the number of designations and their total mileage. They added that two other routes – one in California and the other in Florida – were “realigned” to improve the bicycling experience.

With those new designations, the USBRS now extends 17,734 miles across 31 states and Washington, D.C., with at least 40 states currently developing U.S. Bicycle Routes.

“Twice each year, state departments of transportation play a significant role in the expansion of the U.S. Bicycle Route System by designating new routes,” said Jim Tymon, AASHTO’s executive director, in a statement.

“This summer, we are not only witnessing the highest number of designations in any single period to date, but we are also seeing why making improvements to existing routes when possible is important,” he noted. “In Northern California, for example, officials realigned U.S. Bicycle Route 50 to take advantage of a new paved path that is making cycling in the region safer and better than ever before.”

“With this addition of nearly 3,000 miles, the U.S. Bicycle Route System continues to pick up momentum — and the growth of the system benefits every person who has, is, or will be traveling by bike,” added Scott Pankratz, executive director of Adventure Cycling. “Adventure Cycling applauds our state department of transportation partners, who understand the role bike travel plays in our national infrastructure, supporting health and wellness, transforming communities, and increasing economic activity across the country.”

On February 23, AASHTO and Adventure Cycling signed a memorandum of understanding or MOU to formalize their 16-year partnership, which seeks to establish more than 50,000 miles of bike routes across the country.

AASHTO Hosting Environmental/Sustainability Webinar Series

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Committee on Environment & Sustainability (CES) and its subcommittees are hosting five webinars this September to discuss a wide array of recent trends, including those concerning environmental justice and transportation electrification at both the federal and state level.

[Above photo by the Missouri DOT]

Those webinars will occur each Thursday in September from 1:00-4:30 pm EST, with each session including a half-hour break.

The main purpose is to bring together all of AASHTO’s environmental members to analyze current and future environmental, sustainability, and equity policy efforts at the federal level along with a review of the latest “best practices” in those areas from participating state departments of transportation.

September 2: The “Opening Session” webinar will cover ongoing efforts regarding surface transportation reauthorization and include an update from the Federal Highway Administration. To register for this session, click here.
September 9: The Environmental Process subcommittee will cover environmental justice projects in both Minnesota and Oregon, as well as engage in regulatory discussion with participating state DOT attendees and FHWA officials. To register for this session, click here.
September 16: The Natural Resources subcommittee will cover a variety of topics including reduction of micro plastics from erosion and sediment control products, wildlife crossings, soil reuse, and stream mitigation. To register for this session, click here.
September 23: The Air Quality, Climate Change and Energy subcommittee will cover project level analysis and federal updates, as well as moderate a roundtable discussion regarding transportation electrification trends. To register for this session, click here.
September 30: The final session in this webinar series, hosted by the Cultural Resources subcommittee, will take a deep dive into post World War II construction and properties aging into National Register of Historic Places eligibility. To register for this session, click here.

Environmental News Highlights – August 11, 2021

FEDERAL ACTION

AASHTO Lauds Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill – AASHTO News Release

Fuel Efficiency, Electric Vehicle Mandates on the Horizon – AASHTO Journal

Booker Reintroduces Sweeping Environmental Justice Bill – Senator Cory Booker (Media release)

COVID-19

More workers are returning to the office. The pandemic-era commute might be changed forever. – Washington Post

Governor mandates vaccinations for transit workers as New York’s Covid cases surge – CNBC

NEPA

Revived Trump reforms in infrastructure bill could be freight-project windfall – American Shipper

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Pete Buttigieg And Michael Regan On What The Infrastructure Deal Does For The Climate – NPR’s All Things Considered

Climate in the infrastructure bill: A substantial investment in resilience. – New York Times

AIR QUALITY

New Mexico to impose new rules on vehicle emissions, aims to curb greenhouse gas – Carlsbad Current-Argus

Chicago Bus Shelters Monitor Air Quality – ITS International

Old and new solutions pave way to net-zero emissions farming, studies show – Mongabay

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Governors aim to reduce racial disparities in traffic enforcement, safety – WTOP Radio

Cut in infrastructure money for communities hurt by highways disappoints advocates – NBC News

NATURAL RESOURCES

AASHTO Suggests Changes to Section 401 of Clean Water Act – AASHTO Journal

19 AGs to EPA: Roll back Trump’s clean-water rule ASAP – Reuters

The Darker Side of Tree-Planting Pledges – CityLab

Governor DeWine Announces $5 Million in H2Ohio Grants for Ohio River Basin Wetland Projects – Office of the Governor, State of Ohio (Media release)

CULTURAL RESOURCES

How Cleveland’s ‘Guardians of Traffic’ Made the Big Leagues – CityLab

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Moving Caltrans Into The Future Of Active Transportation – ITE Talks Transportation (Podcast)

Drivers must now move over when passing people walking and on bikes – NJ.com

After voted ‘Most Dangerous City for Driving,’ Dallas embraces Vision Zero goal to eliminate fatal crashes – Spectrum News 1

Here’s how e-scooter unicorn Bird plans to use geofencing tech to protect pedestrians – Silicon Canals

Transit Leaders Praise Innovative On-Demand Programs – Government Technology

Agency of Transportation Awards $3.3 Million in Bicycle and Pedestrian Grants – Vermont Agency of Transportation (Media release)

Hawaii DOT & Partners Launch 12th Annual Statewide Pedestrian Safety Month – Hawaii DOT (Media Release)

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Racial Equity Addendum to Critical Issues in Transportation – TRB

TRB Webinar: LED Roadway Lighting’s Effect on Driver Sleep Health and Alertness – TRB

Environmental Resilience of Transportation Infrastructure Should Be Assessed for All Federally Funded Projects, Says New Report – National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Media release)

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Notice of Public Meetings Regarding ‘‘Waters of the United States’’; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request for Recommendations – Corps of Engineers and EPA (Notice; announcement of public meeting dates and solicitation of pre-proposal feedback)

Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category. – EPA (Notice of rulemaking initiative)

Public Hearing for Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards – EPA (Notification of public hearing)

FY 2021 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Passenger Ferry Grant Program – FTA (Notice of funding opportunity)

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Alaska – Bureau of Land Management (Notice of intent)

Marine Mammals; Incidental Take During Specified Activities; North Slope, Alaska – Fish and Wildlife Service (Final rule)

Alaska Region Supplement to Forest Service Manual 2720: Special Uses; Outfitting and Guiding Permit for Strictly Point-To-Point Commercial Transportation To, From, and Within the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center Subunit of the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area – Forest Service (Extension of comment period)

Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary; Announcement of Public Meetings – NOAA (Notice of virtual public meetings; correction)

Wyoming Regulatory Program – Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (Proposed rule; opening of public comment period and opportunity for public hearing on proposed amendment)

TRB Report: Include Resilience in Project Benefit-Cost Analysis

A new report issued by the Transportation Research Board calls on the U.S. Department of Transportation to include resilience factors within the benefit-cost analysis or BCA for infrastructure project justifications.

[Above photo by the Ohio DOT]

TRB’s report – entitled Investing in Transportation Resilience: A Framework for Informed Choices – also recommends that resilience be measured and assessed using an “analytic framework” that incorporates detailed inventories of existing and planned assets, such as roads, runways, bridges, docks, and rail lines. It also seeks to include resilience within assessments of the characteristics and likelihood of future natural hazards, along with predictions of the vulnerability of the assets and their critical functions to those hazards.

[Editor’s note: In a related effort, the U.S. General Accounting Office recently issued a “Disaster Resilience Framework” to serve as an analytical guide for federal actions aimed at promoting resilience to natural disasters and changes in the climate across many policy areas, including transportation.]

The report – sponsored by USDOT and undertaken by the Transportation Resilience Metrics Committee – recommends that Congress fund a further study to define the types of data that transportation agencies need for resilience analysis, identify potential sources for this data, and explore how to make that data “more suitable” for analysis.

“Storms, floods, droughts, and other natural hazards are combining with sea-level rise and other effects of climate change to disrupt the functioning of the nation’s transportations systems,” said Joseph Schofer, professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate dean at Northwestern University, in a statement.

“Investing in resilience will require us to make carefully considered choices about how we spend money today to generate benefits that may not be realized until long into the future,” added Schofer, who authored TRB’s report.

The report also stressed that to make resilience a “routine and deliberate element” of transportation investments, Congress should consider requiring all federally funded projects involving long-lived assets to undergo “well-defined” resilience assessments that account for the risks from natural disasters and changing climate conditions.

State departments of transportation are also ramping up their focus on resilience strategies.

For example, a panel of state DOT executives and managers – as well as a team leader from the Federal Highway Administration – shared their insights on infrastructure resilience via a peer exchange during the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 2021 virtual spring meeting in May.

“We are seeing events such as wildfires, flooding, and hurricanes becoming more extreme and occurring more often,” explained Edwin Sniffen, deputy director of highways for the Hawaii Department of Transportation. “We are also seeing more ‘man-made’ issues, too, such as cybersecurity, terrorist attacks, and the like. So it is super important to make our [infrastructure] systems more resilient.”

Sniffen also stressed that formula funding mechanisms are critical to building more resilience into the nation’s transportation system during a hearing on May 13 before the Senate Committee on Appropriations. “When considering funding for resilience, the current core formula program eligibility could be expanded to consider resilience improvements,” he said during his testimony. “Or formula funding could be set aside to focus on resilience-related planning, coordination, and evacuation; or, a discretionary grant program for adaptation strategies could be established. [However] AASHTO generally recommends avoiding new plans, programs, and analysis processes as this increases cost and burden to state DOTs.”

Connecticut DOT Helping Battle Spotted Lanternfly Invasion

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to battle an invasion of the “spotted lanternfly,” which could severely affect the state’s agricultural crops – particularly apples, grapes, and hops, and ornamental trees.

[Above photo via Wikimedia Commons]

The spotted lanternfly – formally known as Lycorma delicatul – is not actually a fly, but an exotic and invasive sap-feeding planthopper that feeds on more than 70 species of plants. The preferred “host” of the spotted lanternfly is a plant known as “tree-of-heaven” or “Ailanthus altissima,” which itself is highly invasive and abundant along highways, in urban areas, and along the edges of agricultural and industrial areas.

The agency said in a statement that the concern is that the feeding of spotted lanternfly nymphs and adults on sap from trees and vines weakens the entire plant, while the excretions from these leaf-hopping insects encourage the growth of black sooty mold, thereby reducing photosynthesis.

As a result, agricultural crops face reduced yields due to the lanternfly’s feeding on fruit and general weakening of plants, if not destroying them outright.

To help combat the spread of this invasive species, the Connecticut DOT is spreading the word via informational posters and flyers at its rest stops about the spotted lanternfly invasion and is helping place traps in highway right-of-ways to help gauge the spread of this invasive pest. The agency added that it is training Connecticut field personnel in identification, reporting, and proper precautions to halt the spread of the lanternfly.

The agency also noted that during the months of August through November the adults of this pest can attach themselves or “hitchhike” on vehicles and trailers, so it is asking travelers to check their vehicles the lanternfly, and – if found – to take a picture, destroy the insect, and report it to The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

State departments of transportation across the country are regularly engaged in a variety of efforts to beat back invasive insect and plant species.

For example, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet highway crews engage in an annual effort – usually at the beginning of March – to control the spread of invasive plant species that can damage transportation infrastructure as well as interfere with motorist “line-of-sight.”

Such efforts sometimes involve usual tactics, as well. For instance, the California Department of Transportation launched a pilot project in February 2020 that used 300 goats for nearly a month to help remove invasive non-native weeds such as bur clover, mustard, and thistle from a 20-acre site adjacent to Highway 1 just north of the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse. Instead of relying on herbicides, Caltrans said the goal of this project is to deploy a “more sustainable approach” to revitalizing the native coastal prairie adjacent to a highway realignment project originally completed in 2017.

AASHTO’s ETAP Podcast: Monarch Butterfly Conservation with Kris Gade

Once ubiquitous in North America, the Monarch’s striking orange and black wings are likely the first image that comes to mind when picturing a butterfly. The Monarch is famed not only for its beauty but also for its role in a healthy ecosystem- the pollinators are a critical support to some uniquely American landmarks: from the Great Smoky Mountains to Zion National Park. Yet, over the past few decades, the Monarch has experienced a dramatic dip in population.

As the eastern members of this iconic species prepare for their annual migration to Mexico, we’ll sit down with Arizona Department of Transportation’s Roadside Resource Specialist, Kris Gade– one of the professionals leading the charge for Monarch conservation.

https://aashtos-etap-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/aashtos-etap-podcast-monarch-butterfly-conservation-with-kris-gade