Public Involvement Legislation, Regulations, and Guidance

Public Involvement: Key Legislation, Regulations, and Guidance

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Public Law 109-59 (as passed by Congress and signed by President) August 10, 2005, FHWA SAFETEA-LU website: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/index.htm

New provisions in SAFETEA-LU

• Representatives of users of pedestrian walkways, bicycle transportation facilities, the disabled are specifically added as parties to be provided with the opportunity to participate in the statewide and metropolitan planning processes
• To enhance the public participation process, the State DOT and MPO should conduct public meetings at convenient and accessible locations at convenient times; employ visualization techniques to describe plans; and make public information available in an electronically accessible format such as on the Web
• The MPO is to develop a participation plan in consultation with interested parties that provides reasonable opportunities for all parties to comment

SAFETEA-LU Defines "interested parties," http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/interparties.htm

United State Code (USC) Title 23, Sections 134 and 135, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/legreg.htm#t23

Regulation

Code of Federal Regulations Title 23, Part 450, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/legreg.htm#t23

National Environmental Policy Act - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/env_sum.htm

FHWA Tribal Transportation, Consultation and Public Involvement Statutory/Regulatory Requirements: Working with Tribes within the Statewide/Metropolitan Transportation Planning Processes, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/tribaltrans/consult.htm

Executive Order 12898: "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," February 11, 1994, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/execord.htm

Executive Order 13166: "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency," August 11, 2000, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/execord.htm

Past Legislation

The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) of 1998, Public Law 105-178, June 9, 1998, FHWA TEA-21 website: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/index.htm

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, Pub. L. No. 102-240,

December 18, 1991, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/legislat.html

You may want to add to the list of superseded regulations located at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/super_guidance.htm the following guidance currently found on the Public Involvement Key Legislation, Regulations and Guidance web page:

FHWA/FTA Questions and Answers on Public Involvement in Transportation Decisionmaking (1995) http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/pub_inv/q_and_a.htm