POTENTIAL PLANNING LEVEL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS & MITIGATION MEASURES GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF PLANNING ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION The new federal transportation bill, Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or “SAFETEA-LU”, was signed by President Bush on August 10, 2005 and includes several new planning requirements. It instructs State DOTs and MPOs to include in their long range transportation plans (LRTP) and transportation improvement programs (TIP) “a discussion of the environmental mitigation activities and potential areas to carry out these activities, including activities that may have the greatest potential to restore and maintain the environmental functions affected by the metropolitan transportation plan. The discussion shall be developed in consultation with federal, state and tribal land management, wildlife and regulatory agencies." The State DOTs and MPOs may establish reasonable timeframes for performing this consultation (Sect. 450.322(f)7). In order to meet these requirements, it is essential to know how Federal regulations actually define mitigation: Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action. Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation. Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment. Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action. Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments. Source: 40 CFR 1508.20 An ordered approach to mitigation, known as "sequencing", involves understanding the affected environment and assessing transportation effects throughout project development. Effective mitigation starts at the beginning of the NEPA process, not at the end. Mitigation must be included as an integral part of the alternatives development and analysis process. SEQUENCING:“AVOID --> MINIMIZE --> REPAIR/RESTORE --> REDUCE OVER TIME --> COMPENSATE “ FHWA's mitigation policy states: “Measures necessary to mitigate adverse impacts will be incorporated into the action and are eligible for Federal funding when the Administration determines that: • The impacts for which mitigation is proposed actually result from the Administration action; and • The proposed mitigation represents a reasonable public expenditure after considering the impacts of the action and the benefits of the proposed mitigation measures. In making this determination, the Administration will consider, among other factors, the extent to which the proposed measures would assist in complying with a Federal statute, Executive Order, or Administration regulation or policy. Source: 23 CFR 771.105(d) Common Terms & Acronyms COMMON TERMS AND ACRONYMS Area of Potential Effect (APE) - The area in which effects may occur to environmental resources as a result of a proposed project. Carbon Monoxide (CO) - A colorless, odorless, tasteless, poisonous gas that impedes oxygenation of blood; it is produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, including gasoline, oil, and wood. Environmental Justice (EJ) – Executive Order (EO) 12898, signed in 1994 that requires the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, or economic status with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of Federal environmental laws, regulations and policies. Fair treatment means that no group of people shall bear a disproportionately high share of the negative environmental impacts that result from a particular project or program and shall share in the benefits derived from such projects and programs. Environmental Mitigation Activities- Strategies, policies, programs, actions, and activities that, over time, will serve to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, or compensate for (by replacing or providing substitute resources) the impacts to or disruption of elements of the human and natural environment associated with the implementation of a long-range statewide transportation plan or metropolitan transportation plan. The human and natural environment includes, for example, neighborhoods and communities, homes and businesses, cultural resources, parks and recreation areas, waters of the U.S., forested and other natural areas, agricultural areas, endangered and threatened species, and the ambient air. The environmental mitigation strategies and activities are intended to be regional in scope, even though the mitigation may address potential project-level impacts. The environmental mitigation strategies and activities must be developed in consultation with Federal, State, and Tribal wildlife, land management, and regulatory agencies during the statewide and metropolitan transportation planning processes and be reflected in all adopted transportation plans. Lead - a metal found naturally in the environment as well as in manufactured products. The major sources of lead emissions have historically been motor vehicles (such as cars and trucks) and industrial sources. Due to the phase out of leaded gasoline, metals processing is the major source of lead emissions to the air today. The highest levels of lead in air are generally found near lead smelters. Other stationary sources are waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid battery manufacturers. Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan (also known as Statewide Transportation Plan) The official, statewide, multimodal, transportation plan covering a period of no less than 20 years developed through the statewide transportation planning process. Mitigation Bank-a site where wetlands, streams and/or other aquatic resources or natural habitats are restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved, expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized impacts to similar resources. For purposes of the Clean Water Act, Section 404 (33 U.S.C. 1344), use of a mitigation bank can only be authorized when impacts are unavoidable. Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) means the forum for cooperative transportation decision-making for the metropolitan planning area pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 134 and 49 U.S.C. 5303. National Register of Historic Places (NR or NRHP) - A program administered by the National Park Service (NPS); for the purpose of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), properties currently listed in or determined eligible for listing in the NR are considered to be historic. Natural Habitat- a complex of natural, primarily native or indigenous vegetation, not currently subject to cultivation or artificial landscaping, a primary purpose of which is to provide habitat for wildlife, either terrestrial or aquatic. For purposes of this part, habitat has the same meaning as natural habitat. This definition excludes rights-of-way that are acquired with Federal transportation funds specifically for highway purposes Nitrogen Oxide (NO ) – Oxides of Nitrogen; the primary criteria pollutant of diesel trucks and X buses and is a primary contributor to exceedances of ground level ozone. On-site, In-kind Mitigation- Compensatory mitigation which replaces wetlands, streams or natural habitat area or functions lost as a result of a highway project with the same or like wetland, streams, or habitat type and functions adjacent or contiguous to the site of the impact. Ozone - a gas that occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be "good" or "bad" for your health and the environment, depending on its location in the atmosphere Particulate Matter- also called particle is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small, they can only be detected using an electron microscope. Section 4(f) (USDOT Act of 1966) (49 USC 303) - Requires that before land from a significant publicly owned park, recreation area, national wildlife or waterfowl refuge, or any significant historic site (regardless of ownership) can be converted to a transportation use it must be demonstrated that there is no prudent or feasible alternative to that use and that the project includes all possible planning to minimize harm. Section 106 (National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 [NHPA]) - Requires that with all Federal undertakings, consideration be given to the effects and the minimization of harm to historic resources (historic and archaeological) that are listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NR). Sulfur Dioxide-, or SO2, belongs to the family of sulfur oxide gases (SOx). These gases dissolve easily in water. Sulfur is prevalent in all raw materials, including crude oil, coal, and ore that contains common metals like aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, and iron. SOx gases are formed when fuel containing sulfur, such as coal and oil, is burned, and when gasoline is extracted from oil, or metals are extracted from ore. SO2 dissolves in water vapor to form acid, and interacts with other gases and particles in the air to form sulfates and other products. Threatened and Endangered Species (T&E) - Refers to threatened, endangered and/or species of management concern formally listed by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) relative to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The FWS publishes lists of T&E species by county. Traffic Noise Impacts-