A roundup of headlines curated for state transportation environmental professionals

FEDERAL ACTION

Biden shortlist for White House key environmental post shows focus on environmental justice – Reuters

Biden Administration has many hurdles to leap in addressing surface transportation infrastructure – Logistics Management

Lawmakers request new GAO studies on pandemic’s effect on the aviation industry – Washington Post

Lawmakers Want Data to Decide the Future of America’s Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure – Nextgov

Former DOT chief to potential Biden picks: Beware of agency turf wars – FreightWaves

COVID-19

VTrans’ $600,000 Covid sign blitz targets travel to and from state – VTDigger

WYDOT praises federal emergency declaration extension as COVID pandemic persists – Oil City News

Austin’s mobility challenges analyzed during and after Covid-19 – Austin Business Journal

The Pandemic Took $750 Million From VA’s Transportation Budget. Here’s What Happens Now. – Dogwood

COVID May Impact NH’s Ability to Plow Roads, Official Says – NECN

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

FHWA reveals updated Jason’s Law truck parking survey – Land Line

First U.S. Offshore Wind Tower Factory Proposed For Port Of Albany – WAMC Radio

Electric Cargo Bikes Are Debuting in City Fleets – Route Fifty

Sound Transit light rail trains are now running on clean energy – Sound Transit (Press release)

Congress should prioritize infrastructure investment – Crain’s Chicago Business (Op-ed)

AIR QUALITY

Oil Refineries See Profit in Turning Kitchen Grease Into Diesel – New York Times

Transit Expert Calls The MBTA’s $89M Plan For New Silver Line Buses ‘Greenwashing’ – WBUR Radio

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Environmental Justice Crusader Eyed for White House Council – The Quint

Virginia to hire its first environmental justice director – Bay Journal News Service

Facing a funding crisis, Caltrain doubled down on racial and social equity, and it worked -Architect’s Newspaper (Op-ed)

Leaving a social legacy from infrastructure – Infrastructure Intelligence (Commentary)

NATURAL RESOURCES

TRPA starts work to remove invasive plants in Taylor, Tallac creeks Tahoe Daily Tribune

Mitigation “bank” near Greeley will offset wetland damage, meet Clean Water Act rules – Colorado Sun

EPA awards $187,000 to Pennsylvania to support wetlands restoration – Daily American

Clean water projects highlighted in national ‘green infrastructure’ report – VTDigger

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

43rd Street Pedestrian Bridge Over Lake Shore Drive To Be Replaced With Accessible Overpass – Block Club Chicago

RTD partners with Lyft in mobile ticketing app – Denver Post

Honolulu bikeshare program lost city about $460K in 2019 – AP

Implementation requires money where our mouth is – Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Opinion)

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Updated Survey of Laws and Regulations Applicable to Airport Commercial Ground Transportation – ACRP

Improving Health Care through Transportation – TCRP

Measuring and Managing Freight System Resilience Workshop – TRB/FHWA

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Expansion and Extension of the Modified Emergency Declaration No. 2020-002 Under 49 CFR § 390.25 – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (Announcement)

Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit – EPA (Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment)

Notice of Final Adoption of and Effective Date; Federal Environment Element, Section G of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital – National Capital Planning Commission (Notice of final adoption of and effective date)

Canadian Pacific Railway Company – Control Exemption – Detroit River Tunnel Company – Surface Transportation Board (Notice)

Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program; Alaska Department of Transportation Third Audit Report – FHWA (Notice; Request for comment)