Interim Policy and Questions and Answers on Public Involvement in Transportation Decisionmaking

SUMMARY: This notice announces the joint FHWA and FTA Interim Policy on

Public Involvement and Questions and Answers on Public Involvement in

Transportation Decisionmaking. The Interim Policy outlines the

principles the agencies intend to use in carrying out their

responsibilities for assuring that State departments of transportation,

metropolitan planning organizations, and transportation providers

involve the public in transportation decisionmaking from the earliest

stages of metropolitan and statewide transportation planning through

federally-aided transportation project development and construction.

The Questions and Answers on Public Involvement in Transportation

Decisionmaking are agency guidance on public involvement.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 30, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the Federal Highway

Administration, Office of the Chief Counsel, Docket No. 94-27, Room

4232, HCC-10, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. All

comments received will be available for examination at the above

address from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For the FHWA: Mrs. Florence W. Mills,

Environmental Programs Branch (HEP-32), (202) 366-2062 or Mr. Robert J.

Black, FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel (HCC-31), (202) 366-1359. For

the FTA: Mrs. Jennifer L. Weeks, Resource Management Division (TGM-21),

(202) 366-6510 or Mr. Scott A. Biehl, FTA Office of the Chief Counsel

(TCC-40), (202) 366-4063. Both agencies are located at 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours for the FHWA are from

7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., and for the FTA are from 8:30 a.m. to 5

p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recent statutes and regulations have

increased both the FHWA's and the FTA's longstanding responsibility for

public involvement in transportation decisionmaking. The metropolitan

and statewide planning provisions in sections 1024, 1025, and 3012 of

the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA),

Pub. L. 102-240, 105 Stat. 1914, 1955, 1962, and 2098, amended Title

23, U.S.C., and Title 49, U.S.C., chapter 53 (formerly the Federal

Transit Act) by revising 23 U.S.C. 134 and the FTA's planning

authorities. Title 23, U.S.C., and Title 49, U.S.C., govern the

metropolitan transportation planning process. The ISTEA also

established a new provision for statewide transportation planning at 23

U.S.C. 135. These statutes require that interested parties be afforded

an opportunity for public comment on transportation plans and programs

during the metropolitan and statewide transportation planning

processes. The FHWA and the FTA revised their previous planning

regulations to implement these changes and published the final

regulations on October 28, 1993 (58 FR 58040). These planning

regulations are found at 23 CFR Part 450.

There are three statutes and associated regulations governing

public involvement during the environmental studies stage of highway

and transit project development: (1) the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA), Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 852, as amended (codified at 42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), implemented in regulations found at 40 CFR Parts

1500-1508); (2) 23 U.S.C 128; and (3) 23 U.S.C. 109(h). The FHWA and

the FTA are in the early stages of revising their joint regulation on

environmental impact and related procedures found in 23 CFR Part 771.

As part of an ongoing commitment to public involvement throughout

the transportation planning and project development processes, the FHWA

and the FTA are soliciting public input on this Interim Policy and

guidance. The Interim Policy frames Federal policies on public

involvement in actions of the FHWA and the FTA. The Questions and

Answers provide additional information interpreting regulations with

respect to public involvement. The FHWA and the FTA are particularly

interested in comments on how their policy and guidance can effectively

support State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning

organizations, and transportation providers in developing and

implementing locally effective public involvement processes and

techniques which encompass all members of the public, including those

who are currently under served by our transportation system. The FHWA

and the FTA also seek information on additional public involvement

issues where guidance or technical information is needed. The two

agencies are issuing this Interim Policy and guidance to start

discussion on these topics. The Interim Policy and guidance are

effective as of December 5, 1994. The final policy will reflect the

comments received on the Interim Policy. Based on public and agency

input, the two agencies will consider additional guidance in public

involvement.

The text of the Interim Policy and the Questions and Answers

follows.

FHWA/FTA Interim Policy on Public Involvement

``I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society

but the people themselves.''--Thomas Jefferson

Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena's Strategic Plan

establishes the objective of putting people first in all of the

Department's endeavors. Consistent with this objective, it is the

policy of the FHWA and the FTA to aggressively support proactive public

involvement at all stages of planning and project development. State

departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and

transportation providers are required to develop, with the public,

effective involvement processes which are custom-tailored to local

conditions. The performance standards for these proactive public

involvement processes include early and continuous involvement;

reasonable public availability of technical and other information;

collaborative input on alternatives, evaluation criteria, and

mitigation needs; open public meetings where matters related to

Federal-aid highway and transit programs are being considered; and open

access to the decisionmaking process prior to closure.

To achieve these objectives, the FHWA and FTA commit to:

1. Promoting an active role for the public in the development of

transportation plans, programs and projects from the early stages of

the planning process through detailed project development.

2. Promoting the shared obligation of the public and decisionmakers

to define goals and objectives for the State and/or metropolitan

transportation system, to identify transportation and related problems,

to develop alternatives to address the problems, and to evaluate the

alternatives on the basis of collaboratively identified criteria.

3. Ensuring that the public is actively involved in the development

of public involvement procedures in ways that go [[Page 5509]] beyond

commenting on draft procedures.

4. Strongly encouraging the State departments of transportation,

metropolitan planning organizations, and transportation providers to

aggressively seek to identify and involve the affected and interested

public, including those traditionally underserved by existing

transportation systems and facilities.

5. Strongly encouraging planning and implementing agencies to use

combinations of different public involvement techniques designed to

meet the diverse needs of the broad public.

6. Sponsoring outreach, training and technical assistance, and

providing information for Federal, State, regional, and local

transportation agencies on effective public involvement procedures.

7. Ensuring that statewide and metropolitan planning work programs

provide for effective public involvement.

8. Carefully evaluating public involvement processes and procedures

to assess their success at meeting the performance requirements

specified in the appropriate regulations during our joint certification

reviews, metropolitan planning and conformity findings, State

Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) approvals and project

oversight.

Gordon J. Linton, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration

Rodney E. Slater, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration

FHWA/FTA Questions and Answers on Public Involvement in Transportation

Decisionmaking

This guidance responds to questions raised during the eight

regional FHWA/FTA outreach meetings on the planning regulations (23 CFR

450) as well as at other meetings where the planning regulations have

been discussed.

1. Why are changes in public involvement needed under the

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and

related policies and regulations?

Public involvement in transportation investment decisionmaking is

central to accomplishing the vision of the ISTEA. The legislation

recognizes that transportation investment decisions have far-reaching

effects and thus it requires that metropolitan and statewide

transportation decisions consider a wide array of factors including

land use impacts and ``the overall social, economic, energy, and

environmental effects of transportation decisions'' (23 U.S.C. 134(f)

and 135(c)). Many of these factors reflect community values and are not

easily quantifiable. Public input is essential in adequately

considering them.

The legislation also recognizes the diversity of views on

transportation problems and investment options. The ISTEA states that,

prior to adopting plans or programs, the MPO or State DOT ``shall

provide citizens, affected public agencies, representatives of

transportation agency employees, private providers of transportation,

other affected employee representatives, and other interested parties

with a reasonable opportunity to comment'' (23 U.S.C. 134 and 135).

Federal DOT policy and FHWA and FTA regulations build on these

principles by requiring MPOs and State DOTs to establish their own

continuing public involvement processes which actively seek involvement

throughout transportation decisionmaking, from the earliest planning

stages, including the identification of the purpose and need, through

the development of the range of potential solutions, up to and

including the decision to implement specific solutions. These

regulations provide a basic set of performance standards indicating

what the FHWA and FTA expect public involvement for plans, programs,

major transportation investments, and transportation projects to

achieve. In sum, the ISTEA and its implementing regulations envision an

open decisionmaking process eliciting the input and active involvement

of all affected individuals, groups, and communities, and addressing

the full range of effects that the transportation investments may have

on our communities and our lives.

2. What are some of the key considerations in planning for

effective public involvement?

An effective public involvement process provides for an open

exchange of information and ideas between the public and transportation

decisionmakers. The overall objective of an area's public involvement

process is that it be proactive, provide complete information, timely

public notice, full public access to key decisions, and opportunities

for early and continuing involvement (23 CFR 450.212(a) and

450.316(b)(1)). It also provides mechanisms for the agency or agencies

to solicit public comments and ideas, identify circumstances and

impacts which may not have been known or anticipated by public

agencies, and, by doing so, to build support among the public who are

stakeholders in transportation investments which impact their

communities.

Six useful key elements in planning for effective public

involvement are: (1) Clearly-defined purpose and objectives for

initiating a public dialogue on transportation plans, programs, and

projects, (2) Identification of specifically who the affected public

and other stakeholder groups are with respect to the plan(s),

program(s), and project(s) under development, (3) Identification of

techniques for engaging the public in the process, (4) Notification

procedures which effectively target affected groups, (5) Education and

assistance techniques which result in an accurate and full public

understanding of the transportation problem, potential solutions, and

obstacles and opportunities within various solutions to the problem,

and, (6) Follow through by public agencies demonstrating that

decisionmakers seriously considered public input.

3. What are the indicators of an effective public involvement

process?

A good indicator of an effective public involvement process is a

well informed public which feels it has opportunities to contribute

input into transportation decisionmaking processes through a broad

array of involvement opportunities at all stages of decisionmaking. In

contrast, an ineffective process is one that relies on one or two

public meetings or hearings to obtain input immediately prior to

decisionmaking on developed draft plans and programs. Public meetings

that are well attended, frequent news coverage on transportation

issues, public forums where a broad representation of diverse interests

is in attendance, and plans, TIPs, MIS alternatives, and project

designs which reflect an understanding and consideration of public

input are all indicators that the public involvement process is

effective.

4. When should an agency update its public involvement process?

The planning regulations do not specify a schedule for updating

public involvement processes. Rather, an existing process should be

updated whenever conditions indicate that it is ineffective. The

enhanced focus on public involvement in the ISTEA and the need for more

proactive outreach than has been the case in the past, however,

necessitate an evolutionary approach. The public involvement process

should be an integral part of an agency's activities and its adequacy

should be explicitly considered each time an agency makes major program

changes, initiates new studies to identify solutions to transportation

problems, and updates its plans.

5. How does the State DOT and/or MPO involve the public in

developing or revising the public involvement process? [[Page 5510]]

Involving the public in the development or revision of public

involvement processes helps MPOs and State DOTs identify involvement

approaches that work. Techniques for doing this include: distributing

easily understood materials explaining why this involvement is

important, holding focus groups on the transportation decisionmaking

process, brainstorming with the public including members of the public

who have not traditionally been involved in transportation decisions,

inviting the community to participate in presentations on the short-

term and long-term transportation challenges the region or State faces,

and making presentations to civic organizations, senior citizens'

groups, minority groups, and other public agencies who are stakeholders

in transportation decisions (i.e., health and human services

departments or economic development departments).

6. Is the State DOT or MPO required to have a 45-day public comment

period on revisions to its currently adopted public involvement

process?

Yes. The 45-day public comment period also applies to revisions to

an adopted public involvement process. Processes adopted before

November 23, 1993, must be reviewed and appropriately updated so they

are consistent with the joint planning regulations. If the review finds

that the previously adopted processes are consistent with the

regulations but have not been subjected to the 45-day comment period,

the State DOT or MPO must provide a 45-day comment period.

7. How do FHWA and FTA define the ``public''?

The ISTEA specifically identifies various segments of the public

and the transportation industry that must be given the opportunity to

participate, including ``citizens, affected public agencies,

representatives of transportation agency employees, other affected

employee representatives, private providers of transportation and other

interested parties'' (e.g., 23 U.S.C. 134(h)). The FHWA and FTA define

the public broadly as including all individuals or groups who are

potentially affected by transportation decisions. This includes anyone

who resides in, has interest in, or does business in a given area which

may be affected by transportation decisions. The public includes both

individuals and organized groups. In addition, it is important to

provide similar opportunities for the participation of all private and

public providers of transportation services, including, but not limited

to, the trucking and rail freight industries, rail passenger industry,

taxi cab operators, and all conventional and unconventional transit

service operators. Finally, those persons traditionally underserved by

existing transportation systems such as low income or minority

households and the elderly should be explicitly encouraged to

participate in the public involvement process.

8. How should an agency identify and address the transportation

needs of persons and groups who have been traditionally underserved by

existing transportation systems?

This presents a formidable challenge to transportation agencies

because these individuals and groups often do not have the resources to

travel to meetings, an ability to participate in meetings scheduled

during their work hours, or an understanding of how or why to get

involved in the transportation decisionmaking process.

The identification of these groups and individuals also presents a

challenge. Transportation agencies should begin by identifying

organized groups including persons with disabilities, minority

community groups, ethnic groups and organizations, and Native

Americans. Executive Order 12898, ``Federal Actions to Address

Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income

Populations'' directs Federal agencies to conduct existing programs so

as to identify and address disproportionately high and adverse

environmental effects on minority, low income, and Native American

communities. Techniques and strategies to identify the transportation

underserved include: notices in non-English language newspapers; public

service announcements on radio stations which tailor their programming

to non-English speaking Americans; and fliers and notices on public

involvement opportunities distributed to senior citizens' centers,

minority neighborhoods, urban housing projects.

Addressing the needs of these groups will require gaining a

thorough understanding both of why they have been traditionally

underserved and of what their current and future transportation needs

are. Continuous interaction between these groups and transportation

professionals will be critical to better serving their needs in the

future.

9. Who are the public and private providers and users of

unconventional transportation services and how should they be included

in the public involvement process?

Unconventional mass transportation services include school buses;

transportation for the elderly, persons with disabilities, and children

in Head Start; and other non-fixed route or unscheduled transportation.

Both users and providers are members of the general public. Users of

these unconventional transportation services tend to be underserved by

the mainstream transportation system, and should be treated as such by

the public involvement process. Traditionally, providers of

unconventional transportation are social service agencies providing

specialized, dedicated transit services (e.g., vans or buses) to fill

gaps in the mobility needs of participants in certain public and

private programs. These providers should be approached similarly to

other public agencies. Their input should be sought out on effective

ways to address transportation problems because they have experience in

serving many of the traditionally underserved which traditional

transportation agencies may not have. Other public and private

transportation providers, which may or may not be considered to be

``conventional,'' similarly need to be actively involved in MPO and

State transportation decisionmaking. These may include trucking and

rail freight carriers, representatives of transportation employees, and

representatives of ports and airports. The creation of special

committees or advisory groups may provide an organized structure to

receive the input of transportation industry groups on an ongoing

basis.

10. How do the public involvement requirements for project

development and the NEPA process apply to public involvement for major

transportation investment studies (MIS)?

An MPO's overall public involvement process should describe the

approach to be used to involve the public in any MIS conducted in that

metropolitan planning area, regardless of whether the lead agency for

the MIS is the MPO itself, the State DOT, or the transit operator. At

the start of the interagency consultation, the cooperating agencies

need to tailor a specific public involvement strategy for the MIS. The

strategy should engage the public in the consideration of the purpose

and need for a major investment as well as in the development and

evaluation of all alternatives. If the MIS incorporates development of

a NEPA document, the public involvement strategy must comply with the

public involvement provisions of 23 CFR Part 771 or 40 CFR Part 622.

11. With respect to Federal Lands Agency projects (especially

Indian Reservation Roads projects), how can the State DOT and MPO

ensure that public involvement has taken place [[Page 5511]] within the

planning process in the STIP/TIP?

First, it is necessary for the State and MPO to provide for active

involvement by the Federal Lands Agencies and Indian tribal governments

in statewide or metropolitan transportation planning and programming.

Such involvement allows all participants to coordinate plans and

programs of projects under consideration by the various implementing

agencies. However, when planning for the involvement of Indian tribal

governments, it is important for agency staff to recognize and be

sensitive to tribal customs and to the nationally recognized

sovereignty of tribal governments. As a result, tribal governments

should be actively sought for participation in the development of

metropolitan and State plans and programs as independent government

bodies rather than as specific minority groups.

Second, each of the Federal Lands Agencies has its own procedures

for transportation planning that comply with guidance from the FHWA's

Federal Lands Highway Office which administers the Federal Lands

Highway Program. Public involvement may not always occur during the

development of transportation improvement programs for each Federal

Lands Agency or Indian tribe. Therefore, while metropolitan area public

involvement on the metropolitan TIP can serve as a surrogate for public

involvement on the STIP for that area, no such assumption can be made

for a Federal Lands Agency or tribal TIP. Because the Federal Lands

Agency or tribal public involvement process may not satisfy the State

DOT or MPO public involvement process for transportation planning, the

State DOT and MPO must determine whether other public involvement

measures are needed.

Third, the State and MPO (with FHWA and FTA field offices, as

appropriate) should work proactively with the Federal Lands Agencies

and Indian Tribal Governments to gain an understanding of procedures

regarding development of each agency's TIP. These procedures may vary

considerably from agency to agency. Areas to examine include the

schedule for TIP development; the format of the TIP; and plans for

meeting with various groups, members of the public, and Tribal

Governments during TIP development.

12. Does reasonable public access to technical and policy

information include access to technical assumptions underlying the

planning and emissions models used in carrying out transportation

decisionmaking and air quality conformity determinations?

Yes. Under the ISTEA and related regulations, the public must have

reasonable access to technical assumptions and specifications used in

planning and emissions models. This includes access to input

assumptions such as population projections, land use projections,

fares, tolls, levels of service, the structure and specifications of

travel demand and other evaluation tools. To the maximum extent

possible, all technical information should be made available in formats

which are easily accessible and understandable by the general public.

Special requests for raw data, data in specific formats, or

requests for other information must be considered in terms of their

reasonableness with respect to preparation time and costs. Public

involvement procedures should include parameters for determining

reasonableness. In order to facilitate public involvement yet conserve

limited staff resources, State DOTs and MPOs should consider making

information available to interested parties on a regular basis through

communication tools such as: reports, electronic bulletin boards,

computer disks, data compilations, briefings, question and answer

sessions, and telephone hotlines. Reports or other written documents

should be easily accessible to the public in public libraries,

educational institutions, government offices, or other places and at

times convenient to the public.

When the public agency receives a request to perform an analysis

that it had not considered, the State DOT or MPO needs to make a

determination as to the reasonableness of the request. If the State DOT

or MPO decides to perform the analysis, it should make all relevant

information available to all interested parties. If it decides not to

include the analysis as part of its transportation decisionmaking, it

should respond to the request by indicating why it decided not to do

so. The early involvement of interested parties in the analytical

process can facilitate early agreement on the scope and range of

analyses to be conducted by the public agency.

When agency staff conducts analyses that are not required for the

transportation planning process and on which non-Federal funds are

used, the agency is not obligated to make such information available.

State DOTs and MPOs are encouraged to make such information available,

given the premise that transportation decisionmaking is an open

process. Similarly, State DOTs and MPOs should review State and local

regulations which may mandate that such information be made available

to the public.

13. How can State DOTs and MPOs demonstrate ``explicit

consideration and response to public input,'' as required by 23 CFR

450.212 and 23 CFR 450.316?

State DOTs and MPOs should incorporate input from the public into

decisionmaking, when warranted, with the understanding that not all

parties will get exactly what they want. However, the public must

receive assurance that its input is valued and considered in

decisionmaking so that it feels that the time and energy expended in

getting involved is meaningful and worthwhile. To do this, State DOTs

and MPOs should both maintain records of public involvement activities,

input, comments, and concerns as well as document requests for

information and responses to input received during the public

involvement process. Agencies can keep records and provide feedback in

a variety of ways. Techniques for providing feedback include: regularly

published newsletters, special inserts into general circulation

newspapers, radio programs, telephone hotlines with project updates,

public access television programs, and reports or publications

describing how projects or programs are progressing.

Under the Environmental Protection Agency's transportation

conformity regulations (40 CFR 51), when an MPO receives significant

comments on a metropolitan transportation plan or TIP from the public

or through the interagency consultation process, it must provide a

summary, analysis, and report on how the comments were responded to as

part of the final metropolitan transportation plan and TIP.

14. What types of revisions to plans, TIPs, and STIPs do not

require additional opportunity for public comment and/or publication

under 23 CFR 450.316(b)(viii) and 23 CFR 450.212(d)?

Minor changes in plans, TIPs, and STIPs generally can be made after

the MPO or State DOT has completed its public comment process without

further opportunities for public involvement. Examples may include:

minor changes in project scope or costs, and moving minor or non-

controversial projects among the first 3 years of the TIP/STIP.

However, MPOs and State DOTs should identify what are to be considered

as minor changes, with the public, during the development of the public

involvement process. What may appear to be minor to the public agency

may not be considered minor to the public. This gives the public the

chance to provide input on these definitions and [[Page 5512]] for a

common understanding on the public involvement procedures to be used to

deal with specific types of changes to TIPs and STIPs.

(23 U.S.C. 109(h), 128, and 315; 49 CFR 1.48; sections 1024, 1025,

and 3012, Pub. L. 102-240, 105 Stat. 1914)

Issued on: January 19, 1995.

Rodney E. Slater,

Federal Highway Adminstration.

Gordon J. Linton,

Federal Transit Administration.

[FR Doc. 95-2063 Filed 1-26-95; 8:45 am]

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