Guidelines developed to streamline NEPA and IDOT/MPO transportation planning processes

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969  (NEPA), which established policies to protect and enhance the environment, requires federally funded projects to include documented analysis of the environmental impacts of a proposed project, to identify alternatives, and to seek input from other stakeholders (including the public). These requirements apply to transportation agencies, which must consider potential impacts to the environment and take into account the transportation needs of the public. To satisfy the mandate and goals of NEPA, as well as abide by its own mission to demonstrate respect for the environment, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) funded a project through the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT). The ultimate objective is to provide assistance to IDOT and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in defining guidelines for incorporating NEPA policies into their planning processes for large-scale highway projects.

The project, “Incorporating NEPA into IDOT and MPO Planning Processes” (R27-132), was directed by a Technical Review Panel (TRP) initially chaired by Susan Stitt, currently the Urban Planning Section Chief for IDOT. Bruce Carmitchel, IDOT Senior Metro Planning Manager, now serves as TRP chair.

Principal investigator Nora El-Gohary has expertise in process modeling and integration, with a special interest in context-sensitive and stakeholder-conscious solutions. El-Gohary is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The research team includes Khaled El-Rayes, Liang Liu, and Xuan Lv—professor, associate professor, and graduate student, respectively, in the department.

According to El-Gohary, “The project addresses a key challenge for integrated environmental and transportation planning, which is fundamental to the development of sustainable transportation systems. When the NEPA process and transportation planning processes are not well-coordinated, the NEPA process may lead to duplication of work.”

Stitt adds, “The expected benefits of the project include a more efficient system where work would not have to be done multiple times, [which brings] time and money savings in the development of major highway projects.”

Bruce Carmitchel says that the guidance plan developed by El-Gohary and her team is currently being evaluated by IDOT to determine options for implementation.

A complete copy of the project report is available on ICT's website.