What is SAFETEA-LU?

SAFETEA-LU stands for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. It is the transportation funding act that was signed on August 10, 2005.

SAFETEA-LU authorizes the federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 5-year period 2005-2009. Through its different sections, it addresses the many challenges facing our transportation system today such as improving safety, reducing traffic congestion, improving efficiency (such as coordinated planning and environmental streamlining), environmental stewardship, and transportation related research and studies.
 
Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU addresses Environmental Streamlining and Stewardship. It requires transportation agencies to work together with natural, cultural, and historic resource agencies to establish realistic time-frames for the environmental review of transportation projects. These agencies then need to work cooperatively to adhere to those timeframes, while they are protecting and enhancing the environment. The efficient and effective coordination of multiple environmental reviews, analysis, and permitting actions is essential to meeting the Environmental Streamlining and Stewardship mandates for highway and transit projects under SAFETEA-LU.

This coordinated review process also includes input from the public to ensure that all environmental protections, as well as other issues are addressed.

How does SAFETEA-LU effect the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)?

The environmental review process defined in Section 6002 and later summarized in the Final Guidance provides a framework for carrying out existing requirements under NEPA and other laws; it does not supersede those existing procedures. In other words, this process is best understood as an “overlay” on existing environmental review procedures, which continue to apply to highway and transit projects. Specifically, the new environmental review process creates a new category of “participating agencies” and establishes specific review and comment points prior to issuing the draft EIS. It also requires the development of a coordination plan with an optional schedule. The review and comment points added to the traditional NEPA steps are:

• Public and agency involvement when developing the project's purpose and need;
• Public and agency involvement when developing the project's alternatives; and
• Collaboration with the participating agencies (no public involvement is required) in determining the appropriate impact assessment methodologies to be used and the level of detail required for the analysis of alternatives.

How is WSDOT integrating SAFETEA-LU's procedural requirements into its environmental review process?

Because SAFETEA-LU introduces procedural steps above and beyond what has been traditionally required for an EIS, WSDOT staff has worked to prepare guidance and tools to help assist project teams in keeping their NEPA EIS SAFETEA-LU compliant. It is important to note that within WSDOT, the SAFETEA-LU process only applies to Federal Aid highway and transit projects that published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) after August 10, 2005. The Efficient Environmental Review Process steps tables (pdf 44 kb) summarizes our new EIS process.

What to do and where can I find the information I need to get started on a WSDOT NEPA EIS?

As discussed in the above-referenced table, the initial step in starting a WSDOT NEPA EIS is notifying the Environmental Services office NEPA contact (pdf 14 kb) that an EIS is being developed. This important step will help ensure broad agreement on the NEPA compliance strategy. After the NEPA compliance strategy has been identified then the project team is ready to move on to the task of developing the EIS. 

In order to meet SAFETEA-LU's procedural requirements, WSDOT has created a collection of templates. These templates are provided for convenience and to help maintain statewide consistancy. Navigate to the next page for more information, guidance, and helpful tips in getting through the SAFETEA-LU compliant process.