Since the enactment of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century in 1998, the Federal Highway Administration has focused on reducing the length of time to process environmental documents for major transportation projects while remaining effective environmental stewards. Streamlining entails establishing realistic timeframes for transport and environmental resource agencies to develop projects, and then working cooperatively to adhere to those timeframes. The coordination of multiple overlapping environmental reviews, analyses, and permitting actions is essential to achieve realistic timeframes. Experience in developing and implementing streamlining solutions indicates that the most effective practices occur at the project level. This article provides a step-by-step guide to practices that States employ to streamline the environmental review process in conjunction with timely completion of transportation projects.
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