Arizona's Experience with Context Sensitive Solutions to Implement NEPA

Abstract

Since its inception in 1969, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has provided a basis for preventing damage to the environment, stimulating the health and welfare of citizens, and enriching the understanding of ecological systems and the natural resources important to the nation. Processes and understanding for the implementation of NEPA continue to evolve and improve. In transportation facility planning, design and construction, an innovative and effective use of NEPA is referred to as Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS). CSS provides a framework for elevating the traditional NEPA – highway design process to a need based concept approach for planning and design. The CSS concept emphasizes the same concepts as the NEPA decision framework, promoting a multidisciplinary collaboration to develop transportation resources in the context of physical, scenic, aesthetic, historic, environmental safety, and mobility constraints. CSS emphasizes in a more direct manner the need to have community insight as well as defining at the early planning stages the community values (defining the context where project is located), while striving for interdisciplinary collaboration as a mechanism for system consideration and coordination, to evaluation all prospects of purpose and need. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in Arizona are using some elements of CSS for analyzing success and identifying areas of potential improvement (lessons learned) in implementation of NEPA in project specific situations by: (1) using a documented, systematic and interdisciplinary approach; (2) giving the environment appropriate consideration with economic and technical considerations; and (3) including in proposals details on the environmental impacts, adverse impacts that can’t be avoided, alternatives to proposed action and, consequences of taking the proposed action. Components and approached to a CSS program within Arizona are evaluated and discussed. Elements and challenges of a particular ADOT example are presented, along with lessons learned.