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A newsletter from TxDOT's Environmental Affairs EENNVVISIONISIONISION Division Volume 5, Issue 1 Spring 1999 12 Pages Court ruling on transportation air quality impacts TxDOT operations and funding By BILL KNOWLES construction. The court ruling invalidated new, conforming transportation plans Environmental Affairs Division this EPA rule. when their current plans begin to lapse as A recent court ruling on how the Impacts from the ruling include: early as late 2000. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Without the flexibility allowed under • Without the flexibility allowed under enforces its rules may significantly delay a EPA regulations with which to advance EPA regulation, projects could be delayed large number of transportation projects in projects, hundreds of millions of dollars in three to four years. Projects would not be several areas across the nation. critical Texas transportation projects, allowed to continue until the area’s On March 2, 1999, the District of primarily in metropolitan areas, could be conforming transportation plan is Columbia Circuit Court issued a ruling significantly delayed by the court ruling. approved by the EPA. invalidating several provisions of the TxDOT and the Federal Highway • The court ruling will delay projects EPA’s Air Quality Conformity Administration (FHWA) are still that have already received federal Regulations. Central to the court ruling is evaluating the potential impacts, but early environmental clearance. Prior to the how regionally significant transportation indications are that the court ruling could court’s ruling, projects that met projects may proceed in the absence of a jeopardize up to 60 percent of federal requirements of the National conforming transportation plan (a plan highway funding in the state’s Environmental Policy Act were developed to meet federal air quality metropolitan areas. The first areas likely to grandfathered. standards) – an issue referred to as be impacted are Austin, San Antonio and • This is not just a TxDOT issue. The “conformity lapse.” Tyler-Longview, which are expected to be court ruling impacts regionally significant Before the court ruling, the EPA designated non-attainment by EPA as non-federally funded projects, including regulations allowed for projects that had early as July 2000. Current non-attainment city and county projects. been part of a previously conforming plan areas of Houston, Beaumont-Port Arthur, • Project delays could not have come at and that were environmentally approved to Dallas-Fort Worth and El Paso could be a worse time and will stall efforts to be “grandfathered” and proceed to impacted if they are unable to develop See COURT, Page 9 Environmental training In this issue offered to district staff Stormwater ENV will provide two making, and will also serve as a management tool environmental training improve their skills needed to to help decision makers make runoff education classes for district staff document decisions and the an informed, reasoned, kit created, starting in May. rationale for those decisions. legally defensible decision The first class, Other objectives of the and to help the interested and Page 5 “Transportation NEPA and course are: affected public respond — Decision making: Managing • To provide an effectively. and Documenting the understanding of integrated, In addition to the Regency Process,” will be offered May shared decision making as a Transportation NEPA class, 18-21 in Austin. The training context for environmental ENV will offer the suspension is designed to help attendees documentation, and “Environment in Project bridge reopened, develop a better • To produce, direct, Development” class July 26- understanding of NEPA contribute to or review 30. The class is offered for Page 6 (National Environmental environmental decision the second time this year due Policy Act) and documents that illuminate the transportation decision decision-making process and See ENV, Page 9 Page 2 ENVision Spring 1999 Neeley brings sense of humor to sometimes tedious jobs By JIM DOBBINS environmental manual. understands how each aspect of the Environmental Affairs Division “I like the fact that I can influence environmental clearance process works ENV’s Melissa Neeley knew at an TxDOT’s environmental policy,” Neeley together and is an invaluable asset to early age that she wanted to work for said. “I think TxDOT’s environmental TxDOT. Her sense of humor is TxDOT, where her father, Bill Neeley, appreciated as she has a way of lightening made a career in the Yoakum District and seemingly serious situations.” later became director of the Materials and ‘Her sense of humor is ap- A notorious practical joker, Neeley has Tests Division. preciated as she has a way of been the good-natured target of a few Neeley joined the department in May lightening seemingly serious pranks. 1980, when she went to work for the situations.’ “When I first promoted Melissa to a Houston District as an environmental supervisory position in the old specialist – her first job following her – Ken Bohuslav Environmental Section, then located at college career at Texas A&M University, Promontory Point in Austin, she was where she earned a bachelor’s degree in efforts have improved so much over the extremely proud to have an office with a political science and a master’s degree in years because we have a better educated door, and made numerous, often taunting urban planning. work force. I am proud that TxDOT has comments to the effect that she had a door Neeley’s younger brother, David, also instituted policies and procedures that and others did not. One day after work, works for TxDOT, serving as a project have given this agency credibility with one of her employees, Wayne Young, took engineer in the Waco District’s Hillsboro regulatory agencies and the public, and I her office door off the hinges as a prank Area Office. hope that I have played a part in that and hid it. About 8:10 the next morning, “There was a time when Melissa acceptance.” Melissa was meeting with someone in her thought that you had to be an A&M In recent years, Neeley served as the office when she suddenly noticed that the graduate to work for the department,” said lead staff person on the Transportation door was missing. She knew at once who the younger Neeley. “She believed this in Enhancement Project Evaluation the perpetrator was and came barreling out spite of the fact that our dad is a graduate Committee, which evaluated nominees for of her office shouting his name. Everyone of the University of Houston!” the Statewide Transportation else was in on the joke and had a good Neeley’s TxDOT career was Enhancement Program (STEP). STEP laugh,” Bohuslav said. interrupted by a two-year stint with a provides a conduit for obtaining federal Neeley played second base on the consulting firm, where she discovered, as funding for community projects that are short-lived ENV co-rec softball team in she puts it, “money isn’t everything and transportation related, such as renovating the Austin City League – a team likened to ethics do matter.” historic train stations or building hike and the “Bad News Bears” of movie fame. Neeley joined ENV’s predecessor, the bike trails. Neeley was instrumental in the “We were awful, I don’t think we won Environmental Section of the Design formation and success of the Continuous a single game,” said Tom Bruechert, an Division, in March 1987. Here, the Improvement Team on Environmental ENV Project Management Section field Yoakum native quickly earned a Coordination, which met with area supervisor who played on the team. reputation as an invaluable, “can-do” representatives of each district to “We couldn’t hit, field, catch or run the employee. determine who (ENV or the district staff) bases. I remember once when a line drive Elvia Gonzalez, a field area supervisor is responsible for each environmental was hit right at Melissa, she somehow in ENV’s Project Management Section, clearance task. Neeley also was managed to catch the ball. She was so has worked with Neeley for a number of instrumental in the development of the excited that she caught it, because years. Environment in Project Development typically, no one on the team made a catch “Melissa is very knowledgeable about class, a course that provides TxDOT like that. I think it made her night and we the NEPA (National Environmental Policy employees with an overview of the were all pleased for her.” Act) and the planning process,” Gonzalez environmental clearance process. Neeley is active in her church, where said. “She is very good at meeting short ENV Deputy Director Ken Bohuslav she is president of the congregation, sings deadlines and producing quality has worked with Neeley since she joined in the choir, and plays the bells. She documents. She also has a wonderful the Environmental Section of the Design volunteers her time with a number of sense of humor, which helps tremendously Division. charitable concerns, including Habitat for when the pressure is on.” “Melissa’s experience in transportation Humanity, literacy programs and annually Neeley enjoys the challenges of her environmental regulation is as broad as participates in the Austin Crop Walk, present position as the division’s anyone in TxDOT,” Bohuslav said. “She which raises funds to help feed the poor environmental planner, where, among has experience with a district, a here and in the developing world. Neeley other duties, she drafted TxDOT’s consultant, the Environmental Section of is the doting aunt of seven nieces and environmental rules and wrote the the Design Division and ENV. She three nephews, ages 2 through 17. ENVision Spring 1999 Page 3 Archeologists find pre-historic site on Milam County bridge project By JIM DOBBINS Environmental Affairs Division A practice used to search for archeological evidence in places where more traditional methods are ineffective produced results recently in Milam County.

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