A roundup of headlines curated for state transportation environmental professionals

FEDERAL ACTION

Wicker, Bennet Introduce American Infrastructure Bonds Act – Y’all Politics

EPA wants to help cities keep their transit systems clean – WFED Radio’s Federal Drive

COVID-19

AASHTO Council Meeting Highlights COVID-19 Impact on Transportation – AASHTO Journal

Millions of Americans Have Moved Due to Coronavirus – CItyLab

Understanding Resilience: The Impact of COVID-19 – Lehigh University

Mayor Durkan Announces Six-Year Seattle Transportation Benefit District Proposal to Aid in Equitable COVID-19 Recovery – Seattle DOT

‘Time Is Always Money’: Pandemic Lockdowns Hasten Infrastructure Work – New York Times

Bikeshare Ridership Down 44% During COVID-19 – USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Press release)

MTA and Transit Innovation Partnership Launch COVID-19 Response Challenge to Strengthen Public Transit – Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Press release)

How Urban Transport is Changing in the Age of COVID-19 – Earth Institute/Columbia University

NEPA

Make America Build Again: Reform NEPA Now – Forbes (Commentary)

President Trump, Secretary Chao to announce major policy change in AtlantaWAGA-TV

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

EPA battles Rover Pipeline in Ohio Supreme Court – Columbus Dispatch

Have a brilliant idea? Our research section wants to hear about it. – Iowa DOT

Meet Trevor Pawl, Michigan’s chief mobility officer Talking Michigan Transportation (Podcast)

Paving a stable pathway to future-proof transport systems – GreenBiz

It’s Time to Try Congestion Pricing in L.A. – CityLab (Opinion)

Stop Falling For The Congestion Con – Honolulu Civil Beat (Opinion)

Draft EIS unveiled for Port of Long Beach on-dock rail facility – Progressive Railroading

AIR QUALITY

SoCal Experienced Worst Air Quality In A Decade Over July 4th WeekendCBSN Los Angeles

Carbon emissions in electricity fell in 2019, even as economy grew – Washington Examiner

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Meet the Nuns Who Created Their Own Climate Solutions Fund – Mother Jones

Roundtable: The Urgency of Delivering Environmental Justice – and Clean Energy – in New Jersey – NJ Spotlight

Why the Larger Climate Movement Is Finally Embracing the Fight Against Environmental Racism – Time

NATURAL RESOURCES

Noise is air pollution – The Daily Item (Opinion)

Feds scrap plans to reintroduce grizzlies to North Cascades – Associated Press

Handheld platform technology uses single sample to deliver fast, easy results on water quality – Northwestern University

What’s the water quality in Alaska harbors like without cruise ship traffic? State scientists will find out this summer. – KHNS

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Nashville’s Downtown Tests the City-Within-a-City Concept – CityLab

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Fort Worth Bike Share hacked, users’ credit card info and names possibly compromised – Star-Telegram

New initiative opens some low-speed state roadways to healthy uses – Washington State DOT (Press release)

Caltrans Adopts Action Plan to Increase Walking, Bicycling Statewide – Caltrans (Press release)

New York as a Biking City? It Could Happen. And It Should. – New York Times (Commentary)

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

RFP: Measuring the Effectiveness of Public Involvement at Five State Departments of Transportation: Implementation of the NCHRP Research Report 905 Toolkit – TRB (RFP announcement)

TRB Committee on Environmental Analysis and Ecology Virtual Seminar – TRB

Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstration: Fair Value Commuting, Final Report – FTA

FHWA HEP research quarterly newsletter: Spring 2020 – FHWA

U.S. Department of Transportation Launches Summit on Pedestrian Safety – Virtual Series – FHWA

EDC News: Reduce Costs and Expedite Project Delivery with Project Bundling – FHWA

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Forest Service Handbook: Operation and Maintenance of Developed Recreation Sites – US Forest Service (Notice of availability for public comment)

Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification RuleEPA (Final rule)