A roundup of headlines curated for state transportation environmental professionals
FEDERAL ACTION
House T&I Releases Five-Year $494B Surface Transportation Bill – AASHTO Journal
AASHTO’s Statement on House Surface Transportation Bill – AASHTO Journal
Proposed Rule: Increasing Consistency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process – EPA (Announcement)
Trump seeks to scale back environmental reviews for projects – Associated Press (see Federal Register Notices below)
Gateway Tunnel opposed by Trump could get funding from new House bill – NJ.com
Conservation bill clears one Senate hurdle, but more remain – Roll Call
COVID-19
Transportation Industry Asks President to Support COVID-19 Funding Relief for State DOTs – AASHTO Journal
RTD taps national medical researcher for insights on recovering from COVID-19 – Regional Transportation District (Press release)
How COVID-19 could speed up smart-city visions – Deutsche Welle
The pandemic response slashed traffic; what did it teach us about transportation planning? – Wisconsin State Journal
NEPA
What Trump’s permit order means for NEPA, energy and race – E&E News
Outdated NEPA needs modernizing. Just ask Warren Buffett – Utility Dive (Opinion)
INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY
Michigan DOT Assesses Needs, Starts Repairs After Extensive Flooding – Transport Topics
North Texas Innovation Alliance Consortium Launches to Create the Most Connected, Smart and Resilient Region in the Country – North Texas Innovation Alliance (Press release)
Environment Report: Climate Plans Across the Region Are Hitting Roadblocks – Voice of San Diego
U.S. Water Infrastructure Has One Dam Big Problem – Triple Pundit
Siting Board Approves Its Largest Wind Farm to Date – New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (Press release)
With Fewer People in the Way, Transportation Projects Speed Ahead – New York Times (subscription)
Issues Of The Environment: Prioritizing Urban Planning In Combatting Impacts Of Climate Change – WEMU
Environmental Protection and Infrastructure Investments Are Necessities, Not Luxuries – Earth Institute/Columbia University (Opinion)
AIR QUALITY
Carbon Neutral vs Carbon Negative: What’s the Difference? – Business News Wales
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
EPW Hearing: Infrastructure Vital to Economic Recovery, Social Equity – AASHTO Journal
Why communities fighting for fair policing also demand environmental justice – Los Angeles Times (subscription)
NATURAL RESOURCES
Planners who want to restore East Bay marshland seek public input – East Bay Times
Australia’s Water Is Vanishing – Bloomberg
CULTURAL RESOURCES
Amid Protest and Pandemic, Urban Parks Show Their Worth – CityLab
HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Trails for two-wheelers: A look at the United States Bicycle Route System – MultiBriefs
Michigan moves to overhaul its waste industry to favor recycling over landfills – Lansing State Journal
Cities criticized for shutting down bikeshare amid protests, pandemic – CNN
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy: “INVEST in America Act” Goes Far To Deliver the Transportation Infrastructure America Needs – Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (Press release)
House draft transportation bill contains $6.3B for biking and walking infrastructure – Bicycle Retailer
TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS
“Tell Us ‘Our’ Story”: “What is your vision for the Transportation Research Board 100 years from now?” – TRB
TRB 2021 Annual Meeting: Paper submissions due August 1 – TRB (Announcement)
RFP: Emergency Response: Organizational and Operational Models Used by State DOTs – TRB (RFP availability)
TR News: Implications of the California Wildfires for Health, Communities, and Preparedness – TRB (Publication Announcement)
Asset Management Approaches to Identifying and Evaluating Assets Damaged Due to Emergency Events – NCHRP (Publication Announcement)
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES
EO on Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities – White House (Executive Order)
Bighorn National Forest; Wyoming; Invasive and Other Select Plant Management – Forest Service (Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement)
Forest Service Manual 2750; Special Uses Management Manual; Leasing Forest Service Administrative Sites – Forest Service (Notice of availability)