In an ongoing effort to take a “hard look” at existing processes, the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has enhanced our procedures to track project commitments as well as avoidance and minimization measures (AMMs). The enhancements more fully integrate these important processes into NCDOTs readily available SharePoint platform for each of its projects. The integration will improve the Department's performance and consistency in reducing the impacts of transportation projects on the human and natural environment. Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the North Carolina Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), federal and state agencies are required to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. As part of its assessments, NCDOT frequently makes Special Project Commitments to minimize, avoid, or otherwise mitigate the effects of its projects on environmental and community resources. NCDOTs current process for Special Project Commitments originated in the 1990s when it established a policy of putting commitments made to regulatory agencies and other stakeholders on green paper. Known as “the Green Sheets”, commitments were established throughout the environmental document and design phase and then advanced through the construction phase of a project. However, there was no formal system in place to ensure that these commitments were tracked or implemented.

After reviewing the practices of other states, NCDOT worked with their IT team to establish the Project Commitments Dashboard using the standard SharePoint library for each project. The Dashboard allows users to enter commitments, assign a responsible party, establish due dates, and view the status of each commitment, including their validity and fulfillment. AMMs are steps taken by NCDOT to avoid or reduce potential impacts to the human or natural environment. Regulations such as Section 404 of the Clean Water Act require project proponents like NCDOT to first avoid ‘impacts to a resource,’ then minimize impacts if the resource cannot be avoided, and finally, provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts. This critical mitigation sequence is required to comply with the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines, with similar requirements for Section 106 historic resources and Section 7 protected species. With improved tracking of AMMs, NCDOT anticipates providing clearer regulatory documentation and streamlining regulatory approvals. NCDOT is creating a SharePoint-based Avoidance and Minimization Tracker for each project. This tracking tool is being developed in phases, beginning with a simple listing of measures. Future improvements may include adding details to the measures, tying spatial data to our award-winning ATLAS platform, and automation to streamline regulatory review. Ultimately these 21st-century tools will help NCDOT maintain transparency with its resource agency partners and enhance consistency and productivity.

Kat Bukowy, AICP
Transportation Planner and Project Manager
HNTB

Kat Bukowy has more than 15 years of experience in NEPA/SEPA compliance and project management. In her current role at HNTB, Kat manages diverse projects ranging from greenway development and bridge replacements to major interstate improvements. She is also assisting NCDOT as it updates the 404 Merger Process agreement with FHWA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the North Carolina Division of Water Resources. In addition, she is supporting the Department as it works to integrate its processes into web-based platforms.

John Jamison, PWS
Western Regional Team Lead
NCDOT - Environmental Policy Unit

John has more than 20 years of diverse experience as an environmental scientist, planner, and project manager in North Carolina. He is currently the western regional lead for NCDOT’s Environmental Policy Unit, providing oversight of NEPA/SEPA documentation and Merger implementation as well as developing NCDOT guidance for an array of environmental processes. In his prior role as an environmental consultant for more than 15 years, he has managed numerous transportation contracts, projects, and environmental tasks.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) proposes to construct a new interchange with I-26 approximately 6 miles south of Asheville, North Carolina. The interchange will connect to a roadway currently under construction by a private developer that will be accepted into the state system upon completion. Federal funding is anticipated, and FHWA and NCDOT expect the documentation to be a NEPA Type III Categorical Exclusion (CE) in Spring 2022.

This project is uniquely situated between two active construction projects: NCDOTs I-26 widening project to the east and Project Ranger, a multicomponent private development. Project Ranger occurs on a large tract of undeveloped land west of I-26 that is bisected by the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor and bound by the environmentally sensitive French Broad River on the north, west, and south. Active USACE permits govern both construction projects and each permit consists of separate USFWS Biological Opinions. In addition to the overlapping, active permits and known protected species issues (Gray bat, Northern long-eared bat, and Appalachian elktoe), other challenges include proximity to historic properties; an economic development element; and aggressive delivery schedule for construction. For these reasons, this project was placed in NCDOTs Section 404/NEPA Merger Process. The Merger Process is a structured method to discuss the NEPA review process while also addressing the eventual needs of the Section 404/401 permitting agencies at critical project development milestones (e.g., Purpose and Need, Detailed Study Alternatives to be Carried Forward, LEDPA, etc.). Early interagency coordination with FHWA, USACE and NC Division of Water Resources (DWR) informed the decision to place the project in Merger and was critical in the identification of the core transportation issues and development of the project purpose and need. Challenges encountered in the Merger Process include a general aversion for the adjacent private development projects and concerns with the pace of development.

This presentation will utilize a Case Study to describe the structure and goals of NCDOT's Merger Process and its application to this somewhat unique project. Successes and challenges encountered on this project will be detailed including, but not limited to, indirect and cumulative analyses; NEPA class of action; Section 7 consultation; and Section 106 consultation. Though currently in progress, the final NEPA document should be completed by May 2022, along with a resolution of environmental issues.

Adam Archual
Sr. Environmental Planner and Architectural Historian
Gannett Fleming

Adam Archual is a Senior Environmental Planner and Architectural Historian for Gannett Flemings Raleigh, NC office. He specializes in environmental compliance for transportation projects and has contributed to and managed projects for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance as well as state-equivalent environmental documents. He also conducts Section 106 compliance surveys of historic resources and produces National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility evaluations and effects assessments.  

John Jamison, PWS
Western Regional Team Lead
NCDOT - Environmental Policy Unit

John has more than 20 years of diverse experience as an environmental scientist, planner, and project manager in North Carolina. He is currently the western regional lead for NCDOT’s Environmental Policy Unit, providing oversight of NEPA/SEPA documentation and Merger implementation as well as developing NCDOT guidance for an array of environmental processes. In his prior role as an environmental consultant for more than 15 years, he has managed numerous transportation contracts, projects, and environmental tasks.

A challenging part of environmental impact analysis is determining when a change to the existing environment is substantial enough that an impact occurs and warrants mitigation. Incorporating VMT into transportation impact analysis is a transformative change that shifts the focus from measuring impacts to drivers to measuring the impact of driving. VMT helps describe the environmental consequences of land use and transportation network decisions while LOS describes traffic operations effects.

Communities long focused on single locations and the delay experienced by people in cars are shifting gears to look at network-wide efficiency and the experience of all people traveling.LOS relies on letter grades, much like a report card, to describe the comfort and convenience of driving from a driver's perspective. While getting a good LOS grade (e.g., LOS A-C) may be desirable to drivers, it represents an inefficient use of public space, not to mention a variety of other adverse environmental effects. Expanding impact analysis metrics to include VMT can help provide a more complete perspective of the potential effects of land use and transportation decisions.VMT metrics can take many forms depending on the type of project or impact analysis. It provides direct equivalencies for other environmental effects, such as emissions and energy consumption. It is also an indicator for safety because areas with low VMT generation rates have less frequent and less severe collisions.California was the first state to mandate the use of VMT as the preferred metric for environmental impacts to the transportation system. Because of the important connection between VMT and greenhouse gas (GHG)/air pollutant emissions, safety, energy consumption, and land-use efficiency, public agencies in other states such as Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington are now investigating VMT impact applications.

The presentation will discuss the key purposes for VMT as a transportation metric, decisions necessary to use VMT, and share case study examples of VMT impact analysis.

Kwasi Donkor, PTP
Senior Associate
Fehr & Peers

Kwasi Donkor is a Senior Associate with Fehr & Peers and has over 15 years of experience in transportation planning. He has managed various model development projects, traffic studies, and multimodal transportation planning projects. Kwasi has experience working with a variety of modeling software packages and has specific expertise in VMT analysis and integrating Big Data applications in travel demand forecasting.

Kathrin Tellez, AICP, PTP, RSP1
Principal
Fehr & Peers

Kathrin Tellez, AICP, PTP, RSP1, is a Principal in Fehr & Peers’ Orlando office with over 20 years of experience in transportation impact assessment, transportation/land use planning, site plan review, parking studies, and transportation safety assessments. Before relocating to Orlando, she helped several California jurisdictions transition from a delay-based level of service metric to VMT for environmental review purposes, as required under California’s Senate Bill 743. She is well versed in the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Protection Act requirements as they relate to Transportation and has prepared the transportation and circulation sections of numerous environmental documents.