Posts – Page 41 – Environmental Technical Assistance Program Newsletter

ETAP Podcast: School Bus Electrification

In this episode of the Environmental Technical Assistance Program or ETAP Podcast, Sue Gander (seen above) – director of the electric school bus initiative for the World Resources Institute – talks about how funds from the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA signed into law in November 2021 can help expand school bus electrification initiatives.

The ETAP podcast – a technical service program for state departments of transportation provided by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials – explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect transportation and infrastructure programs.

WRI’s Gander explains in this episode of the ETAP podcast that 20 million children, or about half of all American public school students, ride on a school bus every day. Children from coast to coast board one of the country’s nearly 500,000 school buses each morning and ride to class while those vehicles consume diesel, gasoline, natural gas, or propane at an average rate of seven miles to the gallon.

She notes on the podcast that electrification presents a major opportunity to reduce if not eliminate such fuel consumption by school buses – and the $5 billion contained within the IIJA offers an opportunity to state departments of transportation and other state agencies to replace existing buses with electric models and build EV recharging infrastructure to support their operation.

To listen to this podcast, click here.

AASHTO’s CEE Hosting Virtual Peer Exchange

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Center for Environmental Excellence will host a virtual peer exchange discussing alternative project delivery and the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA process on March 8 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm eastern.

That exchange will feature representatives from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Utah sharing their experiences using alternative project delivery methods, such as public-private partnerships or P3s and design-build contracts.

The discussion will highlight best practices when using alternative delivery methods as well as discuss the experiences of those states navigating the NEPA process when using an alternative delivery method.

The exchange also includes a question and answer session once the state presentations conclude.

To register for this virtual peer exchange, click here.

Workshop: Grid Integration of EV Charging Infrastructure

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently released its National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula program guidance, which tasks states to develop plans for electric charging infrastructure deployment along major highway corridors.

[Above photo by the Ohio DOT]

To help states develop such plans, the GridWise Alliance, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the National Association of State Energy Officials, and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners are hosting a workshop to explore electric grid considerations related to EV infrastructure investment under NEVI.

Held March 14 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm eastern, the workshop will feature:

Highlights from the GridWise Alliance paper ‘Near-Term Grid Investments for Integrating Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure.’
Industry insights on innovative technology solutions.
Utility perspectives on EV charging infrastructure deployment.
State perspectives on grid-EV challenges.
A group discussion period regarding which utility and technology firms provide the best support to states as they develop EV charging network investment plans.

To register for this workshop, click here.

Environmental News Highlights – February 23, 2022

Caltrans Awards $312M for Beautification Projects

As part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s landmark $1.1 billion Clean California initiative, the California Department of Transportation recently awarded $312 million for 126 beautification projects along the state’s highway system.

[Above photo by Caltrans]

Developed in close collaboration with tribal and local governments, non-profits, and businesses, those 126 beautification projects – due to begin in April – include art installations, green space (such as parks or community gardens), and proposals that “improve safety and promote community connections.”

Designed to foster cultural connections and civic pride, Caltrans noted in a statement that those projects should generate 3,600 jobs as part of the governor’s multi-year cleanup initiative to remove trash and beautify community gateways and public areas along highways, streets, and roads. The agency added that roughly 98 percent of those beautification projects would benefit historically underserved or excluded communities.

“With Clean California projects transforming more and more sites across the state, we’re taking the next step to create enriching public spaces that serve the needs of our diverse communities and that all of us can take pride in – starting in the neighborhoods that need it most,” said Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in a separate statement. “Working together, the state and local governments are advancing unique beautification projects that will make a positive impact for years to come.”

In addition to these awards for Clean California projects along the state right-of-way, the governor announced in December 2021 the availability of almost $300 million in grants to cities and counties for local projects that “clean and beautify” neighborhood streets, parks, and transit centers throughout California.

Caltrans will review the project proposals from cities, counties, transit agencies, tribal governments, and other governmental entities, then announce grant recipients on March 1.

Over the next three years, Caltrans estimates that the “Clean California” program will remove an additional 1.2 million cubic yards, or 21,000 tons, of trash from the state highway system alone. The initiative has already resulted in 6,300 tons of litter being removed from the State Highway System and, to date, Caltrans has hired 528 new team members, including 428 maintenance workers who collect litter and perform maintenance duties like graffiti removal.

NCDOT Providing Material for Artificial Reefs

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is providing more than 1,000 tons of damaged concrete pipe to help the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries shore up two artificial reefs.

[Above photo by NCDOT]

NCDOT sent those discarded culverts – which accumulated over the past several years as the result of an aggressive pipe replacement program in part due to damage caused by recent hurricanes – to the Port of Wilmington for eventual deployment off of the Brunswick County coast.

N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries – part of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality – maintains several artificial reefs that create habitat for fish and ideal fishing sites.

It said artificial reefs create habitat for fish by creating three-dimensional structures that replicate the ecological functions of food and refuge fish and other marine life need to survive and create “crucial” spawning and foraging habitat for many commercially and recreationally important fish species.

The fisheries division has been working with NCDOT to find “new and cost-effective uses” for scrapped concrete pipe. Using that piping to build artificial reefs for marine life along the state’s coastline in a money saver, the agency noted – eliminating $65,000 in tipping fees to dispose of it in a construction and demolition landfill.

Ken Clark, an NCDOT district engineer, said the idea for donating the pipe arose during a conference for coastal resiliency. That is when he discovered the state’s marine fisheries division could repurpose his stockpile of precast concrete, barreled-shaped pipe to augment existing artificial reefs.

“We had considered many options on how to properly dispose of this unusable material when we formed this unique collaboration with the Division of Marine Fisheries last year,” he explained in a statement. “This program mutually benefits both state agencies.”

Other state departments of transportation are involved in similar artificial reef construction projects.

For example, in 2020, the New York State Department of Transportation began helping expand a series of artificial reefs off the shores of Long Island as part of a three-year-long multiagency effort – dumping a retired tugboat, 16 rail cars, and a streel turbine on Hempstead Reef.

“[We are] proud to work with our sister agencies on this important program, repurposing transportation materials to expand artificial reefs and support biodiversity, fishing, and tourism,” explained Marie Therese Dominguez, NYSDOT’s commissioner, in a statement at the time.

“It is another example of how [our state] is taking bold steps to protect our ecosystems and foster sustainable economic growth that will benefit current and future generations of New Yorkers,” she said.

Colorado DOT Issues Transportation Demand Grants

The Colorado Department of Transportation recently awarded $492,000 in grants to communities and organizations statewide in support of “transportation demand management” strategies that help relieve traffic congestion and lower greenhouse gas or GHG emissions.

[Above photo by the Colorado DOT]

“We’ve known for a long time that we can’t simply build our way out of congestion, and we’re proud to help these pioneering communities and organizations give people more options for traveling,” explained Shoshana Lew, Colorado DOT’s executive director, in a statement.

“Transportation demand management strategies can help manage congestion, restore air quality and reduce emissions,” she said. “They can also make communities more thriving and sustainable.”

Colorado DOT explained that transportation demand management seeks to provide travelers with more travel choices instead of relying on single-vehicle occupancy vehicles. Such choices can include mode, route, time of travel, and work location, the agency added.

Common transportation demand management strategies focus on transit, “micro-mobility” such as bikes and scooters, improvements to pedestrian infrastructure, smart growth policies, intelligent transportation systems, managed lanes, and the encouragement of “e-work” or remote work options. While such approaches are more common in large urban areas, Colorado DOT said many smaller communities could benefit from them as well – with its grant program designed to help them do so.

“There are organizations in the metro area that have been doing great work on these strategies for many years,” noted Kay Kelly, chief of innovative mobility for Colorado DOT. “We’re excited to see these grants help existing groups scale up successful projects and to be encouraging innovation and expansion of transportation demand management efforts to new audiences statewide.”

Other state departments of transportation are engaged in similar efforts.

For example, the Vermont Agency of Transportation awarded roughly $500,000 in grants via the Mobility and Transportation Innovation or MTI program in December 2021 to support “innovative strategies” that improve both mobility and access for transit-dependent Vermonters, reduce the use of single-occupancy vehicles for work trips, and reduce GHGs.

The agency noted that Vermont’s legislature specifically created that program with the passage of the state’s 2020 Transportation Bill in June 2020.

AASHTO’s CEE Hosting Virtual Peer Exchange

The exchange also includes a question and answer session once the state presentations conclude.

To register for this virtual peer exchange, click here.

Environmental News Highlights – February 16, 2022

FEDERAL ACTION

USDOT, DOE Launch EV Formula Program – AASHTO Journal

How Billions in Infrastructure Funding Could Worsen Global Warming – New York Times

Secretary Buttigieg talks road safety, self-driving cars, EVs, and unruly airline passengers – Yahoo Finance Live

USDOT can do more to ensure climate resilience, GAO reports – Government Matters

Congress must find common ground on climate – The Hill (Opinion)

COVID-19

Traffic Remains Below Pre-Covid Levels as Work Habits Change – Bloomberg

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Challenges to Electrifying City Fleets – Planetizen

4 federal agencies join Rockford airport asking for dismissal of lawsuit seeking to protect Bell Bowl Prairie – Chicago Tribune

Electric vehicles pose challenges for Montana highway plans – Longview News-Journal

Michigan Moves Ahead With Electric Vehicle Charging Road Project – Route Fifty

Demonstration shows how Washington State’s transportation system can go electric – KIRO-TV

An Infrastructure Bill with a Sustainable Twist – Innovation & Tech Today (Commentary)

CTDOT Releases Updated Five-Year Capital Plan with Renewed Sustainability Commitment – Conecticut DOT (Media release)

AIR QUALITY

Caltrans Helps SBCAG Deploy Zero Emission Bus – AASHTO Journal

Air Board Agrees to Hold Clean Cars Rulemaking Hearing – City of Albuquerque

Are Trains or Buses Better for the Environment? – Governing

New Study Links Traffic Pollution to Pediatric Asthma – Discover

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Biden administration seeks equity in guidance for electric vehicle charging network – The Hill

Supervisors Adopt Road Map for Environmental Justice Office to Protect Vulnerable Communities – Times of San Diego

NATURAL RESOURCES

AASHTO Comments on Proposed WOTUS Revisions – AASHTO Journal

How Mapping Beaver Wetlands Can Chart a Path to a Better Water Future – Walton Family Foundation

An unexpected item is blocking cities’ climate change prep: obsolete rainfall records – NPR

FAA Raises Concerns After Sunnyvale Uses Lasers To Keep Crows Out Of Downtown – KPIX-TV

What causes a city to issue a boil water notice? – KXAN-TV

Rhode Island’s CRMC needs fundamental change – Providence Journal (Opinion)

CULTURAL RESOURCES

New York City’s Plan for a Queens Greenway Moves Forward, Connects Parks for Bicyclists and Pedestrians – Flushing Post

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Burgeoning bike cities emerge across America – Axios

With Bike Buses, Kid Cyclists Dominate the Road – CityLab

Stop, look, go: Project in Jacksonville, NC created to keep pedestrians safety – WNCT-TV

FDOT to update A1A in Brevard County to improve pedestrian safety – WOFL-TV

How Micromobility Impacts Cities…And You – Metro (Blog)

ConnectSmart: Making Houston More Connected and Less Congested – Texas Department of Transportation (Media release)

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions: Just Transition Webinar Series – Government Perspectives – TRB

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Enhancing Highway Workforce Development Opportunities Contracting Initiative – FHWA (Notice)

Land Uses; Special Uses; Procedures for Operating Plans and Agreements for Powerline Facility Maintenance and Vegetation Management Within and Abutting the Linear Right-of-Way for a Powerline Facility – Forest Service (Final rule; technical amendment)

Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program: Proposal To Find That Texas Has Satisfied Conditions on Earlier Approval – NOAA and EPA (Notice of proposed finding; request for comments)

National Advisory Council – FEMA (Solicitation; request for applicants for appointment to the National Advisory Council; correction)

Virginia Resource Advisory Committee; Meeting – Forest Service (Notice of virtual meeting)

Transportation Electrification Focus of NASEO Conference

The National Association of State Energy Officials 2022 Policy Outlook Conference held in Washington D.C. February 8-11 focused in part on the ways states and federal agencies can work together to support transportation electrification.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, participated in a panel discussion on February 10 regarding how states are ramping up support for the construction of a nationwide network of electric vehicle or EV chargers.

[Editor’s note: The U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Energy formally launched a new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or “NEVI” formula program on February 10 as well that will provide nearly $5 billion over five years to help states create a national network of some 500,000 electric vehicle-charging stations.]

During the panel, Tymon noted that AASHTO has formed two inter-committee “working groups” to aid efforts by state departments of transportation around the country to support the Biden administration’s plan to build 500,000 EV chargers by 2030.

Those two AASHTO-led groups – the EV Inter-Committee Working Group and EV Practitioner’s Working Group – seek to address what Tymon called the “technical and logistical challenges” facing the administration’s plan to build 500,000 EV chargers within the next eight years. He noted that AASHTO addresses many of these issues in letters sent to the Federal Highway Administration on January 14 and January 28.

*AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon speaking to NASEO*

“Our members … understand that the [EV charger] buildout needs to be consistent and coordinated across the country in order to provide reliable and accessible service to all EV drivers,” Tymon explained in written remarks prepared ahead of the conference.

“For example, chargers need to be universal so that any vehicle can use them; the chargers need to be reliable with uptimes of at least 95 percent; and payment methods need to be consistent, uniform, and available to all members of the public,” he said.

Moreover, while consistency is important, he said this build-out effort requires “flexibility” in certain areas. “For example, rural communities are going to have different needs than urban corridors,” he emphasized. “In order for efficient implementation to occur, states will need the flexibility to implement plans that meet the needs of their communities, while keeping the bigger picture in mind.”

Tymon pointed out that collaboration between state agencies such as state DOTs and state energy offices “will be instrumental” in achieving the goals set out in the $7.5 billion EV program established by the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in November 2021.

“AASHTO looks forward to doing what we can to support our members as they continue these successful relationships with their sister agencies and regionally with their peers across state lines,” he said. “No one sector can be successful on its own. This is a massive undertaking and continual communication – of challenges and concerns, best practices and lessons learned – will be key to the success of this huge implementation project.”