quires preparation and processing of an environmental statement. In making his judgment the FHWA division engineer should consider, in addition to the written reassessment prepared by the HA (see paragraph 5c) for each such highway section, the status of the design; right-of-way acquisition including demolition of improvements within the right-of-way; number of families already rehoused and those yet to be rehoused; construction scheduling; benefits to accrue; significant impacts; and measures to minimize any adverse impacts of the highway.

c. Highway sections which received design approval on or after January 1, 1970, and before February 1, 1971, that are classed as a major action are to be reassessed by the HA in consultation with the FHWA division engineer or his representative. The written reassessment should consider if the highway plans were developed in such a manner as to minimize adverse environmental consequences.

d. A highway section involving an historic site included the National Register of Historic Places shall be coordinated with the State Liaison Officer for Historic Preservation and representatives of the Office of Archeology and Preservation of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, as set forth in Appendix A. The provisions of Section 470f, 16 U.S.C., should be satisfied before submitting the final environmental/Section 4(f) statement of the FHWA (see paragraph 2c).

e. Design approval may be regarded as having been obtained prior to February 1, 1971, if any one of the following conditions is satisfied.

(1) Prior to the issuance of revised PPM 20–8 dated Januray 14, 1969, procedures of the FHWA (then the Bureau of Public Roads) did not require a HA to receive a formally documented FHWA design approval before undertaking right-of-way acquisition and/or preparation of the plans, specifications and estimate (PS&E). Therefore, design approval was that action or series of actions by which the FHWA indicated to the HA that the essential elements of the highway as set out in paragraph 10 of the PPM 20-8 were satisfactory or acceptable for preparation of the PS&E. Such actions may have consisted of review and comments upon preliminary plans, schematic drawings, design studies, layouts or reports or unconditional approval to acquire all the right-of-way for a project. The HA shall identify those projects (both Federal-aid and non-Federalaid) in the above category which it anticipates Federal-aid funds will be requested for a subsequent stage and furnish the FHWA division engineer for his concurrence a letter similar to Appendix B of this memorandum citing the document(s) or action(s) which it believes are equivalent to design approval. The FHWA division engineer's concurrence in the HA's determination will serve as verification that the previous actions or approvals were in effect design approval.

(2) Written approval by the FHWA of the design submitted in accordance with paragraph 10 of PPM 20-8 dated January 14, 1969.

(3) Similar type evidence that an official of the State highway department approved the design prior to February 1, 1971, for projects administered under an approved Secondary Road Plan. Such evidence need not be submitted to the FHWA division engineer for concurrence but shall be available in the State highway department's files.

f. A single environmental statement, or negative declaration, is applicable to jointly planned undertakings between the FHWA and other Federal agencies. The lead agency will be responsible for the appropriate document (i.e. the HA for a proposed highway section that also requires a U.S. Coast Guard action for bridge clearance over navigable water). Highway section proposals submitted for an FHWA approval shall include a copy of the statement prepared and processed by another Federal agency or reference to such a statement previously furnished to FHWA. A highway section in this category will generally be of the nature where there is no actual transfer of funds to the FHWA and FHWA acts only in the capacity of a review agency or consultant advisor to the other Federal agency. g. An environmental statement shall not be required in connection with any highway section that is urgently needed because of a national emergency, a disaster, a catastrophic failure, or similar great urgency. The HA may request and the FHWA may exempt such urgently needed highway sections from the environmental statement requirement after consultation with the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and the Council on Environmental Quality.

6. PROCEDURES (SEE APPENDIXES C AND D FOR A FLOW CHART)

The highway section included in an environmental statement should be as long as practicable to permit consideration of environmental matters on a broad scope. Peacemealing proposed highway improvements in separate environmental statements should be avoided. If possible, the highway section should be of substantial length that would normally be included in a multi-year highway improvement program.

a. A proposal to develop or improve a highway section should be coordinated in the early stages with appropriate local, State, and Federal agencies (paragraph 5a of PPM 20-8 and paragraph 4 of IM 50-1-70). Initiation of coordination at the beginning of the location study will assist in identifying natural and cultural areas of significance, agency and public concerns and help in determining the need for and preparation of an environmental statement. Existing coordination mechanisms, such as above cited, (public hearings, Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-95 reviews) and other established procedures for coordination should be used to the greatest extent practicable. The information obtained through coordination and the highway studies (technical, engineering, social, economic, and environmental, as appropriate) should also be used in evaluating the potential environmental impact (both beneficial and detrimental) of the highway section proposal.

(1) The environmental statement and/or Section 4(f) statements may be a part of the study report for the highway location, if desired; however, if included in the study report, the statements are to be consolidated in one place in the report and in a form that can be reproduced separate from the report.

b. Draft environmental statements, when required (see paragraph 5), including Section 4(f) information, shall be prepared by the HA (see Appendix E for contents and format) and circulated for comment during the location study. The environmental statement should be prepared utilizing a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will assure that environmental impacts are described in detail. A representative of the FHWA division office shall indicate that the draft statement has been cleared for circulation and comment by signing and dating the draft statement. An environmental statement is required only for those sections which the HA and division engineer determine that construction and operation of the highway section will have a significant impact upon the environment. Appendix F lists guidelines to assist in determining significant impact associated with the construction and operation of a highway. In addition, the HA may wish to consult other local, State, and Federal agencies with specific impact expertise when determining the significance of an impact.

c. The draft environmental statement, including necessary Section 4(f) information when required, is to be circulated by the HA to the appropriate agencies (see Appendix G) for comment, and made available to the public not later than the first required notice of location public hearing (30 to 40 days before date of hearing) or notice of opportunity for a public hearing as set out in PPM 20-8 (see Appendix H). The comments as received from other agencies are to be made available at either the FHWA Division or HA office for public review and copying. If the highway section qualified for exemption from public hearings procedures (PPM 20-8) and a public hearing is not afforded a draft environmental statement if required (includuing necessary Section 4(f) information) is to be prepared and circulated for comment, and made available to the public as early as practicable. The HA shall request a determination of significance from the Section 4(f) lands agency and include the letter requesting such determination and the determination, if received, as exhibits to the draft statement. An additional location or design public hearing will not be required for the sole purpose of presenting and receiving comments on the draft environmental statement for those projects which were processed in accordance with procedures in effect at the time.

d. The HA shall furnish 17 copies of each draft environmental statement to the FHWA division engineer who shall distribute 16 copies to the following recipients:

FHWA Regional Office__

FHWA (to the Office of Environmental policy, EV-1)_.

DOT's Office of Environment and Urban Systems (TEC).

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

(722 Jackson Place, NW., Washington, D.C. 20006)

1230

Note: The HA is to make distribution to all other required local, State, and Federal agencies (see Appendix G).

e. The HA shall announce the availability of and briefly explain the draft environmental statement or negative declaration in its presentation at the location public hearing (or at the highway design hearing when a draft statement is prepared and circulated in conjunction with design studies).

f. The HA may establish a date not less than 30 days from the date of transmittal, plus a normal time for mail to reach and be returned from the recipient, for return of the comments, except 45 days plus mailing time shall be allowed for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to comment. The FHWA should include a similar time period (30 days plus mailing) for return of comments from FHWA Office of Environmental Policy (EV-1), DOT's Office of Environment and Urban Systems (TEU), and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). If an agency does not respond by the indicated date, the HA may assume the agency had no comments. The HA should endeavor to grant requests for a time extension of up to 15 days for return of comments unless a 45 day review period, plus mailing time, was originally established.

g. Draft environmental statements shall be available for review by the public at the HA headquarters; the State, regional, and metropolitan clearinghouses; the FHWA division, regional, and headquarters offices; and at the appropriate public hearings. The HA and FHWA may charge non-governmental individuals and organizations for copies of environmental statements in accordance with established fee schedules.

(1) The public and private organizations may also order copies of draft and final environmental statements from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce (See Appendix I).

h. Similar procedures apply to highway sections which have received location approval but did not have design approval before February 1, 1971. In such instances the environmental statement combination environmental/Section 4(f) statement or negative declaration shall be prepared and processed during the design studies. The final environmental statement or negative declaration for such highway sections shall be furnished to FHWA before or with the request for design approval. If the design public hearing was held prior to the issuance of this memorandum, an additional design public hearing will not be required for the sole purpose of presenting and receiving comments on the draft statement. All other requirements for circulation for comment and availability to the public will apply.

1. The HA shall prepare a final environmental statement or combined environmental/Section 4(f) statement for each project for which it prepared and circulated a draft environmental statement following the format in Appendix E. The final statement shall include a copy of all comments received and reflect the HA's consideration and disposition of the environmental comments at the public hearing and comments received on the draft statement.

j. FHWA review and acceptance of the final environmental statement shall be the responsibility of the Regional Federal Highway Administrator. The Regional Federal Highway Administrator shall indicate his acceptance by signature thereon, and forward 15 signed copies of the final statement as follows: FIWA (to the Office of Environmental Policy, EV-1) ----

15

A copy of a signed statement may also be returned to the originating office. The HA and FHWA may, upon request of an individual or organization, make a copy of the statement as signed by the Regional Federal Highway Administrator available, but such document should be marked "NOT Official-Subject to Approval by U.S. Department of Transportation."

k. FHWA's Office of Environmental Policy shall be responsible for:

(1) submitting the necessary copies of the final statement to TEU for

concurrence,

(2) informing the Regional Federal Highway Administrator of such concurrence (at which time the final statement may be considered to be an officially approved U.S. DOT statement), and

(3) informing the Regional Federal Highway Administrator when CEQ is furnished copies of the final statement.

1. The Regional Federal Highway Administrator shall be responsible for: (1) assuring that a copy of the final statement as sent to CEQ is furnished (by the HA when appropriate) for public inspection at the HA headquarters: the appropriate State, regional, and metropolitan clearinghouses; and the FHWA division and regional offices following TEU's approval or assumed concurrence. and

(2) assuring that the following time limitations have expired prior to FHWA's approval of the location (or design if the location was previously approved).

(a) Ninety (90) days have expired since the draft environmental statement was circulated for comment, sent to CEQ (postmarked), and made available to the public as described in 6g.

(b) thirty (30) days have expired since the final environmental statement was made available to both CEQ and the public. This time period may run concurrently with the ninety (90) day period.

m. Negative declarations shall be prepared by the HA when the anticipated impact of construction and operation of a highway section is determined to be not significant (not of major importance). Appendix F outlines several types of highway section improvements which may warrant a negative declaration; however, each highway section should be evaluated to determine whether its impact is significant. The time of preparation outlined previously for environmental statements also apply to negative declarations. Their purpose is to to include in the written record evidence that the highway section was evaluated and a determination made that it would have no significant effect upon the quality of human environment. They should be based on the information developed during the highway study and coordination with local, State and Federal agencies.

n. A negative declaration need not be circulated for comment, but its availability should be included in the notice of the public hearing or opportunity for public hearing. The FHWA division engineer shall concur in the negative declaration before he approves the location or design, whichever is appropriate.

o. The HA or FHWA may, based upon comments at the public hearing, rescind a negative declaration and prepare and process an environmental statement if in their judgment significant impacts have been identified which were not previously considered. It would not be necessary in such instances to hold additional public hearings for the purpose of presenting the draft environmental statement.

p. The HA shall include reference to the previous environmental statement, negative declaration, or design approval exemption, if applicable, when requesting design approval, authorization for right-of-way acquisition, approval of PS&E, and construction authorization.

(1) A new environmental statement, or a supplemental statement will be necessary for a highway section when the proposal being processed introduces a new or changed environmental effect of significance to the quality of environment. The FHWA may also request an environmental statement for a highway section which received design approval before February 1, 1971, when in its judgment changes in the highway subsequent to the reassessment (see paragraph 5c) introduce significantly different impacts on the environment.

(2) A supplemental statement is to be processed in the same manner as a new environmental statement. Where the need for a supplemental statement results from the use of Section 4(f) land only, a Section 4(f) statement may be prepared in lieu of a suplemental environmental statement and coordinated with the Departments of the Interior and Housing and Urban Development by the HA. The coordinated Section 4(f) statement, with comments and suggestions and the HA disposition of same, shall be furnished to the FHWA for appropriate processing. q. In accordance with the Secondary Road Plan, as permitted by Section 117 of Title 23. U.S.C., State highway departments operating under an approved Secondary Road Plan have the responsibility for reviewing and approving the location and design of Federal-aid secondary improvements. However, the FHWA division engineer is to concur in negative declarations, where applicable. Environmental statements are to be prepared and processed in accordance with the provisions of this memorandum.

Attachments.

F. C. TURNER, Federal Highway Administrator.

PROCEDURES FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION

*

1. The provisions of 16 U.S.C. 470 (f) require that all proposed highway sections that are federally assisted be developed with consideration to effected districts, sites, buildings, structures, or objects that are included in the National Register for Historic Preservation. This authority derives from Section 106 of the National Register for Historic Preservation. This authority derives from Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Procedures for compliance have been implemented by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, as follows:

a. At the earliest stage of planning or consideration of any undertakings carried out, licensed, or financially assisted by the Federal Government, an agency should follow these steps:

Appendix A (Refer to Paragraph 5d, supra).

(1) Consult the National Register of Historic Places to determine if a National Register property is involved in the undertaking. The National Register is maintained by the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, National Park Service, and monthly addenda are published in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

(2) Apply the "Criteria for Effect." If there is no effect, the undertaking may proceed.

(A) CRITERIA FOR EFFECT

1 A federally financed or licensed undertaking shall be considered to have an effect on a National Register listing (districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects, including their settings) when any condition of the undertaking creates a change in the quality of the historical, architectural, archeological, or cultural character that qualified the property under the National Register criteria for listing in the National Register.

2 Generally, adverse effect occurs under conditions which include but are not limited to:

a Destruction or alteration of all or part of a property;

b Isolation from or alteration of its surrounding environment;

c Introduction of visual, audible, or atmospheric elements that are out of character with the property and its setting (i.e. introduction of a new highway or a higher type functional highway, such as a freeway for an arterial, into the environment of a historic site).

(3) If there is an effect, regional, or State officials of the agency1 in consultation with the State Liaison Officer and a representative of the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation shall:

(a) Determine if the effect is adverse-if not, the undertaking may proceed;

(b) Upon finding an adverse effect, select and agree upon a prudent and feasible alternative to remove the adverse effect, in which case the undertaking may proceed;

(c) Failing to find and agree upon an alternative, recommend all possible planning to minimize the adverse effect and delay further processing of the undertaking pending the receipt of comments from the Advisory Council. (4) Provide written notice affording the Advisory Council an opportunity to comment upon doubtful or unresolved situations of adverse effect and upon request submit a report of the undertaking.

2. The procedures call for applying the "Criteria for Effect" to determine whether a proposed highway section will have an effect on an historic place. This determination of effect should be made by the HA in consultation with the division engineer and the State Liaison Office.2 The State Liaison Officer should act as liaison between the HA and the Office of Archeology and Preservation of the National Park Service when this is necessary. If there is documented agreement that a project will not have an effect on the National Register Historic Site, no further review is required under the National Historic Preservation Act. However, if the highway section uses land from a historic site, a Section 4(f) review will be required.

3. If there is a finding of adverse effect, the proposed highway section is to be processed in accordance with these procedures and the Office of Environmental Policy should be notified and kept informed of further developments. If it becomes necessary to provide a written notice affording the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity to comment in doubtful or unresolved situations of adverse effect, the Office of Environmental Policy will act as the coordinating element for the Federal Highway Administration.

Mr. JOHN DOE,

EXAMPLE OF DESIGN CONCURRENCE LETTER*

Division Engineer,

Federal Highway Administration.

DEAR MR. DOE: The initial phases (PE-ROW) for the proposed improvement of State Route 35 between State Route 64 and Springfield were accomplished without Federal-aid highway funds. Preliminary Drawings, which included the elements outlined in paragraph 10b (1) (b) of PPM 20-8, were commented upon

1 When the agency has no regional or State officials, the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation will perform this service.

2 State Liaison Officers are appointed by the Governors to be responsible for State activities under the National Historic Preservation Act.

*Appendix B (Refer to Paragraph 5e (1), supra).