National Environmental Policy Act

General
Public works projects are subject to state and federal laws, statutes, regulations and guidance. Environmental compliance for projects with federal funding occurs under the umbrella of the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). NEPA requires an agency to take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts of a project and document the extent to which a project will or will not have a significant environmental impact. Environmental compliance under state jurisdiction in Texas follows a process similar to NEPA requirements and procedures. TxDOT environmental compliance programs are administered by the Environmental Affairs Division (ENV), which provides an
Environmental Compliance Toolkits web page
.
Federal Requirements
  1. 42 U.S.C. §§4321 et seq. – National Environmental Policy
    – Requires federal actions to consider projects’ environmental impacts before making a decision to construct. Includes requirement to consider what level of documentation is needed to support the decision.
  2. 40 CFR Part 1500-1508
    – Provides Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations for implementing NEPA.
  3. 23 CFR Part 771
    – Provides Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) regulations for implementing NEPA.
  4. 23 U.S.C. §139
    ,
    MAP-21 §1305
    – Requires implementation of specified procedures for establishing the need and purpose, alternatives, evaluation methods and a coordination plan for projects requiring an environmental impact statement. Additional environmental requirements are contained throughout these regulations.
  5. Memorandum of Understanding
    between the Federal Highway Administration and the Texas Department of Transportation Concerning State of Texas’ Participation in The Project Delivery Program Pursuant to 23 U.S.C. §327 – Assigns to TxDOT most of FHWA’s responsibilities under NEPA and most other environmental requirements.
  6. 40 CFR Part 93
    – Provides Environmental Protection Agency regulations implementing transportation conformity.
  7. 23 CFR §450.220
    – Provides FHWA regulations requiring project selection from the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
Guidance for these subjects and others can be found at the
FHWA Environmental Review Toolkit website
.
State Requirements
  1. 43 TAC Chapter 2
    – Specifies the general environmental requirements needed to obtain environmental approval from TxDOT.
  2. Texas Transportation Code, Title 6, Roadways
    – Contains environmental requirements applying to specific project types scattered throughout Title 6.
Required Practices
The process for complying with NEPA is complex and is described in detail in the
LGPM Guide
and additional documents referenced in the Best Practices Workbook.