The Regional Transportation Plan — 2018 Appendix C Public Engagement and Outreach May 2018 Puget Sound Regional Council May 2018 Funding for this document provided in part by member jurisdictions, grants from U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration and Washington State Department of Transportation. PSRC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, see https://www.psrc.org/title-vi or call 206-587-4819. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information: Individuals requiring reasonable accommodations may request written materials in alternate formats, sign language interpreters, physical accessibility accommodations, or other reasonable accommodations by contacting the ADA Coordinator, Thu Le, at 206-464-6175, with two weeks’ advance notice. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact the ADA Coordinator, Thu Le, through TTY Relay 711. Additional copies of this document may be obtained by contacting: Puget Sound Regional Council Information Center 1011 Western Avenue, Suite 500 Seattle, Washington 98104-1035 206-464-7532 • [email protected] • psrc.org Appendix C. Public Engagement and Outreach I. Overview This document provides an overview of public engagement and outreach efforts undertaken by the Puget Sound Regional Council for the Regional Transportation Plan. PSRC originally developed the plan in 2010 to identify the region's transportation needs out to the year 2040 and to lay out a course to sustain and improve the transportation system to meet the region's anticipated growth. Since 2010, PSRC has conducted limited-scope updates to bring the regional transportation plan into compliance with new state and federal planning requirements. The scope of these updates addressed new policy topics to make the plan current and to update the project list, cost estimates, and forecasts of anticipated revenue. This plan will continue to ask and answer this central question: How can the region best provide the mobility required to support more people and more jobs while it also sustains the region's natural environment and its economic vitality, and as it improves system safety and efficiency and enhances the region's overall quality of life? The PSRC Public Participation Plan for the Puget Sound Regional Council (adopted in 1994 and most recently updated in 2017) specifically outlines the public review process the agency must conduct to prepare the Metropolitan (Regional) Transportation Plan pursuant to state and federal laws including the FAST ACT, the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), and the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). According to the agency's public participation plan, PSRC may employ a variety of notification and participation procedures to encourage "early and continuous" involvement of citizens, jurisdictions, communities, and other interests in the planning and decision-making processes of PSRC. The agency’s public participation plan also allows PSRC to conduct additional outreach efforts as appropriate to provide opportunities for engagement including such activities as workshops, open houses, forums, and other events. Public engagement in regional transportation planning is essential for making good decisions that uphold the region’s quality of life and ensure that future needs are met as the region grows. To that end, PSRC is committed to providing opportunities for the public to express concerns and issues during the development of the regional transportation plan. This commitment relies on a variety of methods and techniques to reach out to the wide range of people, groups, organizations, partner agencies, stakeholders, and member agencies with an interest in transportation decisions. Federal and State Compliance The outreach effort complied with established and recently adopted federal and state requirements: • Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), Public Law as passed by Congress and signed by President Obama on December 4, 2015. • Executive Order 13166 Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency • Title VI and Executive Order 12898 addressing environmental justice populations • The 1994 United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Order to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations • The 1998 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations Regional Transportation Plan Appendix C: Public Engagement and Outreach 1 • The 1999 FHWA and Federal Transit Authority (FTA) Memorandum Implementing Title VI Requirements in Metropolitan Planning • Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) - Individuals requiring reasonable accommodations may request written materials in alternate formats, sign language interpreters, physical accessibility accommodations, or other reasonable accommodations by contacting the ADA Coordinator, Thu Le at 206-464-6175, with two weeks advance notice. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact Thu Le through TTY Relay 711. • FTA C 4703.1 – Environmental Justice Policy Guidance • FTA C 9070.1G - Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities • State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), RCW 43.21C • SAFETEA-LU Section 6001 (2005) addressing resource agencies Consistency with PSRC’s Public Participation Plan 1. Ensure notification and participation of all populations, including people of color, low-income and special needs groups. 2. Plan review 45-day public comment period Addressing Resource Agencies and Tribes Section 1201 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) for addressing resource agencies and tribes was carried forward into the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The following identifies the fundamental principles of Section 1201: • Planning process shall be continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive • Develop plan in consultation with federal, state, tribal, and local agencies in charge of: o Land use management o Natural resources o Environmental protection o Conservation o Historic preservation • Review and compare the evolving transportation plan with: o State and tribal conservation plans and maps o Inventories of natural and historic resources • Discuss potential mitigation activities in consultation with Federal, State, and tribal wildlife, land management, and regulatory agencies • Include Equity as one of the criteria for evaluating plan alternatives Environmental Justice Requirements FTA/ FHWA joint planning regulations for public engagement require seeking out and considering the needs of those historically underserved by existing transportation systems, such as low-income, minority households, who may face challenges accessing employment and other services. This includes requirements for where to hold public meetings and the methods of engagement to use: o Hold public meetings at convenient and accessible locations and times o Employ visualization techniques to describe plans o Make public information available in electronically accessible formats Regional Transportation Plan Appendix C: Public Engagement and Outreach 2 Special Needs FTA C 9070.1G - Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities must include participation by stakeholders identified in the law: seniors; individuals with disabilities; representatives of public, private, and nonprofit transportation and human service providers; and other members of the public. State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Per federal statutory requirements, the Regional Transportation Plan must be updated in 2018 to reflect changes in the region since the plan was adopted in May 2014 and amended in June 2015. This will be done within the framework of the current plan and existing Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and will continue to support the adopted VISION 2040 regional growth strategy and economic objectives through an integrated mobility, environmental, and financial strategy. PSRC uses SEPA to guide its environmental review for key decision-making. SEPA procedures adopted by PSRC require that whenever PSRC issues a determination of non-significance (DNS) under WAC 197- 11-340(2) or a determination of significance (DS) under WAC 197-11-360(3), PSRC shall give public notice of the availability of those documents on PSRC’s website, give notice to the entities listed in WAC 197-11-340(2)(b), and give notice to anyone who has specifically requested in writing to be notified about the particular proposal. Those notification steps will also be followed whenever PSRC issues a Draft EIS under WAC 197-11-455 or a Supplemental EIS under WAC 197-11-620, or whenever PSRC proposes to change its adopted SEPA procedures. Whenever PSRC issues an Addendum to an EIS under WAC 197-11-625, notice of the availability of the Addendum shall be given on PSRC’s website and provided to recipients of the initial Draft EIS or Final EIS being addended. For this update, PSRC intends to issue an Addendum to the 2010 Transportation 2040 EIS. The PSRC SEPA notification procedures listed above may be supplemented by issuing a news release to major newspapers and news outlets and other notification techniques, such as sending a postcard, newsletter, publication, or email. When undergoing a SEPA process, PSRC often works with an environmental planning group to gain an understanding of the environmental issues