1、AASHTO PRACTITIONERS HANDBOOKThe Practitioners Handbook is produced by the AASHTO Center for Environmental Excellence. The Handbook provide practical advice on a range of environmental issues that arise during the planning, development, and operation of transportation projects. The Handbook is prima
2、rily intended for use by project managers and others who are responsible for coordinating compliance with a wide range of regulatory requirements. With their needs in mind, each Handbook includes: key issues to consider; a background briefi ng; practical tips for achieving compliance. In addition, k
3、ey regulations, guidance materials, and sample documents for each Handbook is posted on the Centers web site at http:/environment.transportation.orgMANAGING THE NEPA PROCESS FOR TOLL LANES AND TOLL ROADSConducting National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) studies projects involving toll lanes and tol
4、l roads involves many sensitive issues and complex considerations. Issues covered in this Handbook include: Developing plans and policies on tolling Building the project team Developing toll alternatives Framing the issues for decisions in the NEPA process Modeling the performance of tolled alternat
5、ives Evaluating impacts of tolled alternatives Synchronizing NEPA reviews with procurement process Considering tolling after NEPA is under way or completedAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Offi cials03July 2006AASHTO Center for Environmental ExcellenceManaging the NEPA Process
6、 for Toll Lanes and Toll Roads 1OverviewThis Handbook provides recommendations for conducting National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) studies for projects involving toll lanes and toll roads. It covers issues associated with the NEPA process itself, as well as a range of related issues, such as dev
7、eloping tolling policies in the transportation planning process and coordinating NEPA studies with a competitive procurement for a public-private partnership.Tolling has received increased attention in recent years as a method for addressing transportation needs. This trend has resulted from many fa
8、ctors, including the expanded availability of electronic toll collection; the inadequacy of traditional funding sources for transportation projects; the removal of certain legal restrictions on tolling under federal law; and the success of toll projects both in the United States and around the world
9、. Recent legislationthe Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Effi cient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)seems likely to accelerate the trend toward tolling, by creating new programs that allow for the development of toll lanes and toll roads. For NEPA practitioners, the conside
10、ration of tolled alternatives presents a range of new issues to consider. This Handbook provides an overview of the key issues and offers suggestions for consideration in preparing a NEPA study for a project that includes tolled alternatives. It is important to bear in mind that approaches to these
11、issues are rapidly evolving; decisions for each study must be made on a case-by-case basis by the agencies involved, and may be different from the approaches suggested in this Handbook.Key Issues to ConsiderTransportation Plans and PoliciesDoes the statewide and/or metropolitan long-range plan addre
12、ss tolling? In particular, does the plan include a policy specifi cally regarding tolling?Is this project part of a larger network of toll roads or toll lanes? How does the projects role in the larger network affect the purpose and need, termini, and alternatives to be considered for this project?Ha
13、ve tolls on this project been assumed by a state Department of Transportation (DOT) or metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for purposes of revenue forecasts used in transportation plans or programs? If so, what specifi c assumptions about tolls were made?Proposed Tolling ConceptWhat type of tol
14、ling is being proposed? For example, does the project involve all lanes tolled, express toll lanes, high occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes, or some other concept?Does the proposed project involve the conversion of existing free lanes to toll lanes? Or will tolls be established only on new lanes?What toll c
15、ollection technology is proposed? Is it all electronic toll collection (ETC)? Or will a cash payment option be provided? Or has no decision been made?What additional work is needed to develop or refi ne the basic tolling concept in order to complete the NEPA analysis? Who is responsible for this wor
16、k?Scope of NEPA AnalysisWill both toll and non-toll alternatives be considered? Or toll alternatives only? If toll alternatives only, why?Are there are any tolling concepts that are considered “out of bounds” for purposes of the NEPA study (for legal or 2006 by the American Association of State High
17、way and Transportation Officials.All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.2 Managing the NEPA Process for Toll Lanes and Toll Roadspolicy reasons)? If so, how will this be documented?What toll rates will be assumed in the traffi c modeling in the NEPA study?Does the traffi c
18、 model have the capability to evaluate tolled alternatives? If not, what will be required to develop that capability, who will do it, and how long will it take?How will tolling affect the analysis of environmental justice, noise, and air quality impacts? Are there any other impact categories that mi
19、ght be affected by tolling?If NEPA has already been completed at the time tolling is fi rst considered, what additional work (re-evaluation or supplemental EIS) is needed to satisfy NEPA?Relationship of NEPA Process to Project Financing and ProcurementHow is the NEPA process being coordinated with o
20、ther aspects of project development, such as project fi nancing? Who is the “quarterback” for the overall effort within the State DOT?Will the project be developed solely by a public authority? Or will a publicprivate partnership be used? Is a traffi c and revenue study being prepared for purposes o
21、f a bond fi nancing or a potential private investment in the project? How does that study relate (in timing, assumptions, etc.) to the traffi c forecasts that are being prepared in the NEPA process?If a publicprivate partnership is contemplated:When will the selection of a private-sector partner occ
22、ur in relation to the NEPA process? If there is overlap with the NEPA process, how are the two being coordinated?What are the objectives of private sector investors (if known) and how do they relate to project assumptions and featuresfor example, project scope, termini, purpose and need, range of al
23、ternatives? Will the alternatives selection criteria in the NEPA process take into account the objectives of potential private investors? What ground rules will be established regarding communications between the NEPA team and any potential private investors?Who will be responsible for obtaining env
24、ironmental permits? Will this responsibility be placed on a private developer or on the State DOT?Legal IssuesWhat is the legal basis for tolling? Are there any conditions that must be met in order to obtain authorization to establish tolls on this facility?Are there any applicable state laws or pol
25、icies regarding tolling? To what extent do they affect the type of tolling alternatives that can be considered?Is additional state legislation required for the project? If so, what specifi c laws need to be enacted or changed? When will this be done in relation to the NEPA process?What is the likeli
26、hood of litigation challenging the project? How do litigation risks affect the strategy for involving private-sector partners? How do those risks affect the approach to NEPA compliance?Background BriefingThe fundamental NEPA requirements for a toll road project are no different from those applicable
27、 to any other project. But the introduction of tolling concepts into a NEPA study creates a series of new issues that give rise to new challenges for project teams. Many of these issues relate to the interplay between the NEPA process and other decision-making arenas, such as the transportation plan
28、ning process, which precedes NEPA, and the fi nancing and procurement process, which may overlap with or follow NEPA. 2006 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.Managing the NEPA Process for Toll La
29、nes and Toll Roads 3Applicability of NEPA to Toll Projects. The need for NEPA review is triggered when a project requires the approval of a federal agency. For toll road or toll lane projects, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval may be needed for (1) the use of federal funding for the pro
30、ject, (2) new and modifi ed Interstate access points, or (3) authorization to establish tolling on a federally funded highway.1(See “Legal Authorization to Toll” below.) Even if FHWA approval is not needed for a project, other federal agency approvals may be needed and thus could trigger NEPA. For e
31、xample, NEPA review could be triggered by the need to obtain permits for wetland impacts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It also could be triggered by the need for a bridge permit by the U.S. Coast Guard.Federal Responsibility for NEPA Compliance. The responsibility for NEPA compliance rests
32、on federal agencies. For highway projects that require FHWA approval, the lead federal agency typically is FHWA, which carries out its NEPA responsibilities in partnership with the State DOT. These NEPA responsibilities cannot be privatized; they cannot be “handed off” to a private developer. Theref
33、ore, even if a state seeks to shift many responsibilities for project development to a private developer, the state and FHWA must retain ownership of the NEPA process. Specifi c guidelines regarding the extent of a private developers involvement were provided by FHWA to Virginia DOT in a memorandum
34、dated May 6, 2003.2Policy Decisions as Foundation for NEPA Review. The scope of the NEPA review required for a toll road project will depend to a great extent on policy decisions made outside the NEPA process. For example, these policy decisions may include a commitment to rely upon toll revenues as
35、 part of the states or MPOs overall fi nancial plan for funding needed transportation improvements. Similarly, a state or MPO could decide as part of its planning process to develop a network of express toll lanes or to designate certain regional corridors for the development of toll roads. These po
36、licy decisions, if properly developed and documented, can be relied upon in the NEPA process when defi ning the purpose and need and range of alternatives. Thus, decisions made before the NEPA process begins can play an important role in determining the scope of the NEPA review. For further informat
37、ion, see the FHWA memorandum to the FHWA Colorado Division Offi ce, dated October 15, 2004, and the FHWA/FTA program guidance on linking planning and NEPA, dated February 23, 2005.3Coordination of NEPA with Procurement Decisions. The NEPA process for a toll project may be undertaken in parallel with
38、 a procurement process in which the State DOT seeks private-sector partners to participate in the development of the project. The FHWA design-build regulations, issued in 1999, prohibited states from issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to developers before NEPA was completed. In 2004, FHWA initiat
39、ed Special Experimental Program 15 (SEP-15), which allowed this requirement to be waived, so that an RFP could be issued prior to NEPA completion. Section 1503 of SAFETEA-LU directs FHWA to revise its designbuild regulations, so that an RFP can be issued before completion of NEPA. With this change i
40、n the regulations, it will be possible to select a private-sector developer, enter into a contract, and give a notice to proceed (with preliminary engineering only) before concluding NEPA. Thus, states will have broader fl exibility in determining the timing of the procurement process.4Legal Authori
41、zation to Toll. Federal law restricts tolling on highways constructed with federal-aid highway funds. The most severe restrictions apply to Interstate highways. Therefore, to establish a toll road or toll lane, it often is necessary to obtain federal authorization for tolling. There are several fede
42、ral laws under which this authorization can be granted.5For some projects, tolling can be approved under Section 129 of Title 23. Others require approval under one of the tolling pilot programs: the Value Pricing Pilot; the Interstate Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot; the Express Toll Lanes P
43、ilot; and the Interstate Construction Pilot. For projects involving high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, tolling may be allowed under a new law, Section 166 of Title 23. All of these laws contain specifi c conditions that must be met in order for tolling to be authorized; those conditions should be cons
44、idered when defi ning tolled alternatives for a project.61 It also is important to remember that innovative fi nance techniques that rely upon federal funds to pay bonds, or that use federal loans or loan guarantees to support a project fi nancing, are considered a form of federal funding, and thus
45、require FHWA approval, which triggers the need for NEPA review.2 This memorandum is available on the Centers web site, http:/environment.transportation.org3 Both of these documents are available on the Centers web site, http:/environment.transportation.org4 Applicable regulations, guidance, and othe
46、r materials related to the issuance of an RFP during the NEPA process are available on the Centers web site, at http:/environment.transportation.org5 This legislation is available on the Centers web site, at http:/environment.transportation.org6 Many HOV lanes were constructed with funds that were p
47、rovided under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program or with transit funding provided by the Federal Transit Administration. For those types of facilities, it is important to coordinate with FHWA and FTA, respectively, in order to determine any conditions that need to b
48、e met before converting HOV lanes to HOT lanes. 2006 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.4 Managing the NEPA Process for Toll Lanes and Toll RoadsPractical Tips1 | Laying the Policy Foundation The
49、 statewide planning process provides the state with an opportunity to set forth its vision for the transportation system. The goals and priorities established in the statewide planning process can lay the groundwork for NEPA studies for individual toll projects. The same is true for an MPO with regard to metropolitan planning. Using the planning process to defi ne the role of tolling in the statewide or metropolitan long-range plan can be helpful in establishing the scope, purpose and need, and range of alternatives of th
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