Efficient and effective environmental review and permitting is crucial to the safe expansion and modernization of the nation’s transportation network and energy distribution infrastructure. Reducing administrative delays for transportation projects allows for projects to be delivered more quickly and directly supports U.S. DOT goals of infrastructure modernization, innovation, and safety.

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center provides environmental review and permitting expertise, which aligns with recent Presidential Executive Orders to expedite the development of critical transportation and energy infrastructure while complying with statutory and regulatory requirements. The U.S. DOT Volpe Center provides support to standardize and accelerate environmental review and permitting processes across its work with agencies across U.S. DOT, including FHWA, FRA, FTA, FAA, NHTSA, and PHMSA.

Categorical Exclusions

Building on decades of policy and practice, the U.S. DOT Volpe Center partners with federal agencies to analyze existing permitting workflows, identify bottlenecks, and develop procedures that align National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements with agency priorities. For example, the Volpe Center has helped identify ways to streamline environmental review processes including the use of categorical exclusions (CE) to comply with NEPA requirements. CEs are categories of actions that an agency has determined normally do not significantly affect the quality of the human environment.

The Volpe team substantiated and established CEs for NHTSA and PHMSA to streamline their environmental review process. This effort included consulting with U.S. DOT’s Office of the Secretary and the Council on Environmental Quality and preparing Federal Register materials to formalize CE establishment and adoptive actions. The Volpe Center is continuing to work with DOT Operating Administrations to establish, adopt, and utilize more CEs by following the requirements outlined in NEPA and the agency’s NEPA implementing procedures.

NEPA Assignment

In addition to establishing CEs, the Volpe Center helps FHWA, FTA, and FRA manage their NEPA Assignment programs. NEPA Assignment, which was established by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, allows the Secretary of Transportation to assign, and the state to assume, the Secretary’s responsibilities under NEPA for one or more highway projects, as well as one or more railroad, public transportation, and/or multimodal projects. NEPA Assignment has helped states streamline their environmental review processes and accelerate project delivery by giving states the ability to control their own project schedules and minimize the need for timely federal review processes.

There are currently nine states that have either FHWA CE Assignment, FHWA Program Assignment, or both, and several more states have recently expressed interest in taking on NEPA Assignment. As the program expands, the U.S. DOT Volpe Center is supporting both FHWA, FTA, and FRA in assisting states to receive and maintain NEPA Assignment responsibilities. This has included creating procedural documentation, developing templates and checklists, and assisting with state monitoring and audit efforts.

Accelerating Project Delivery

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center further creates guidance and templates to help agencies prepare streamlined NEPA documentation across diverse projects, from pipeline and rail projects to regulatory actions. By standardizing processes and improving inter agency coordination, the U.S. DOT Volpe Center helps reduce duplicative processes and ensures the environmental review process is incorporated into transportation infrastructure decisions. The Volpe team’s efforts have contributed to measurable gains in accelerating project delivery to support the Administration’s priorities and strengthen the nation’s transportation system.

About the U.S. DOT Volpe Center

Since 1970, the U.S. DOT Volpe Center has advanced transportation innovation for the public good, providing multimodal applied research, collaborating with federal, state, and industry partners, and multidisciplinary technical leadership and expertise to solve complex transportation challenges. Learn more at www.volpe.dot.gov.