United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-08-02 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:RCED-94-211 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-211 P0b002ee18039b08f f:rc94211 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-211 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-211 RCED-94-211 Interagency relations Environmental legislation Highway planning Funds management Road construction Federal aid for highways Environmental monitoring Public roads or highways Water resources conservation Highway research Highway Trust Fund Letter Report RCED Environmental and permit reviews for federal-aid highway projects are complex and require coordination from as many as 30 federal, state, and local highway, environmental, and planning agencies, as well as public comment and review. GAO was asked to report on federal and state efforts to streamline environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1977, assess whether these efforts will expedite the reviews, and determine the amount of Highway Trust Fund money that is spent for mitigating adverse effects on the environment. GAO found that highway and environmental review agencies have developed processes to streamline the reviews for highway projects that have an impact on wetlands. These processes integrate reviews under the act and section 404, making them concurrent rather than sequential; emphasize early interagency coordination; and include procedures to resolve disputes. When the new processes are fully implemented, agencies expect to expedite all project reviews, which have typically taken over 5 years to complete. However, while the new processes will save time, barriers still exist that could limit the success of the new procedures. Environmental agencies may not have sufficient staff to fully participate in review meetings, which could limit consensus, and the new processes do not clarify how the participating agencies should assess a project's cumulative impact on the environment, a traditional source of delay. As for cost, the Federal Highway Administration has not defined what constitutes an environmental cost and does not routinely track how much states spend to mitigate the highway projects' impact on the environment. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-211/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-211.htm GAO/RCED-94-211 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-211 Letter Report GAO/RCED-94-211; Highway Planning: Agencies Are Attempting to Expedite Environmental Reviews, but Barriers Remain; Interagency relations Environmental legislation Highway planning Funds management Road construction Federal aid for highways Environmental monitoring Public roads or highways Water resources conservation Highway research Highway Trust Fund