This report contains the results of research into an environmental information management and decision support system (EIM&DSS) that can be applied to multimodal transportation planning, programming, project development, operations, and maintenance. This system was developed to meet the current and future needs of state departments of transportation (DOTs), metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and other large transportation agencies. The EIM&DSS complies with international environmental management system standards (ISO 14001). Presented as a handbook, the report presents an eight-step process for initiating, developing, maintaining, and evolving a system of data and information management and decision support. The handbook demonstrates the feasibility and application of environmental information management and support throughout the major activities of a large and complex transportation agency. This report should be useful to practitioners in state DOTs and MPOs and to others concerned with planning, programming, and implementing transportation projects or managing the environmental mitigation actions and commitments of those agencies. The report will also be useful as an educational resource on the concepts, tools, and procedures for ongoing environmental stewardship within transportation agencies. (Author/publisher) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_481.pdf
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