The resources listed below provide guidance on a number of key initiatives that encourage the integration of planning and the environment in the transportation decision-making process.

Successes in Stewardship Newsletters

Successes in Stewardship is a FHWA monthly newsletter highlighting current environmental streamlining practices from around the country. Many of the monthly issues have highlighted PEL activities:

January 2008	FHWA Awards Grants for Ecosystem-Based Infrastructure Projects
December 2007	Streamlining Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) through Statewide GIS Applications
April 2007	Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL): Streamlining Transportation Decision-making
January 2007	Linking Conservation and Transportation Planning Workshops
January 2005	Linking Planning and NEPA: Facilitated Workshops Sponsored by FHWA and FTA

FHWA Publications

Planning and Environment Linkages Implementation Resources. This resource guide explains the concepts of PEL, describes how agencies can benefit from it, and provides references and diagrams to help practitioners from multiple disciplines understand how best to bring about Planning and Environment Linkages.

Key Practices for Implementing Geospatial Technologies for a Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) Approach. This report presents three case studies that illustrate how GIS has been used to implement the FHWA’s PEL approach. The PEL approach provides information and tools to help agencies integrate consideration of environmental factors into transportation planning. Text-only version.

The March/April 2008 issue of the Public Roads Magazine features the article PEL: A Path to Streamlining and Stewardship highlighting how FHWA’s PEL program works to ease project delivery through efficient and integrated decisionmaking.

Federal Highways’ Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2007 highlights the range of PEL activities undertaken by FHWA in FY07, including technical assistance, trainings, peer exchanges, outreach and communications. In addition, information on FHWA’s vision for PEL activities in Fiscal Year 2008 is provided.
(Also available in PDF

In October 2007, the FHWA's Office of Interstate and Border Planning sponsored a 1.5-day peer exchange focusing on select State DOT's applications of GIS for Planning and Environment Linkages. The purpose of the peer exchange was to explore how GIS can help accomplish the goals of PEL. View the final report for a summary of the event: Applications of Geographic Information Systems for Planning and Environment Linkages (also available in PDF).

Eco-Logical is a guidebook that describes a framework for making infrastructure projects more sensitive to wildlife and ecosystems through more integrated planning, new partnerships, and cooperative conservation. Eco-Logical's framework and set of implementation steps are very similar to those being promoted here. Eco-Logical: Funding and Partnerships describes available funding and partnering programs and financial tools to help implement integrated planning programs and projects, including activities that might be conceived under Planning and Environment Linkages.

Executive Order 13274: Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project Reviews, Integrated Planning Work Group, developed descriptions of concepts, relevant regulations, and obstacles and examples of integrated planning. The work was done to respond to Executive Order (EO) 13274, which calls for the "development and implementation of transportation infrastructure projects in an efficient and environmentally sound manner," and is summarized in a baseline report. Integrated Planning puts forth a framework that is very similar to the PEL framework.

Integrated Approaches: Tips and Tools have been developed by the FHWA to advance the Environment Vital Few Goals performance objective. The Tips and Tools webpage explains integrated approaches in the context of transportation and environmental decision-making, and provides some practical ways for States to achieve full integration. These approaches are very similar to those described here.

Federal Highway's Integration of Context Sensitive Solutions in the Transportation Planning Process report presents the Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) Toolkit for use by both planners and the public. The toolkit includes background information on the CSS approach, a glossary of key CSS terms, fact sheets, and detailed case studies representing the best use of integrating CSS principles in the transportation planning process.

The purpose of Interagency Guidance: Transportation Funding for Federal Agency Coordination Associated with Environmental Streamlining Activities is to provide information about how transportation and resource agencies can arrange for Federal funding to support resource agency collaboration and staff time in efforts such as Planning and Environment Linkages.

FHWA Presentations

FHWA made several presentations on the PEL program at the 2008 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Presentation topics included:

Other Publications

AASHTO’s Practitioner’s Handbook Using the Transportation Planning Process to Support the NEPA Process is intended to help transportation planners and NEPA practitioners improve linkages between planning and NEPA processes, while also complying with recent legislative changes that require increased consideration of environmental issues in the planning process.

AASHTO’s Above and Beyond: The Environmental and Social Contributions of America’s Highway Programs demonstrates successful practices employed by transportation agencies to connect and enhance the environmental, social and economic well-being of their communities, to make things better than before, not because it is required, but because it is the right thing to do.

NCHRP 8-36 (48): Improved Linkage Between Transportation Systems Planning and NEPA (2006) explains the benefits of and methods for linking planning and NEPA processes, particularly in the context of SAFETEA-LU requirements. It details how to integrate these processes and overcome potential barriers. The report was based in part on experience from FHWA's Linking Planning and NEPA workshops and describes approaches and activities similar to those described here.

NCHRP Report 541: Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Planning (2005) presents an approach for integrating environmental factors in systems level transportation planning and decision-making. The report describes changes in planning regulations, institutional relationships, and emerging technologies that will help make transportation agencies better stewards of the environment.

NCHRP 25-22: Technologies to Improve Consideration of Environmental Concerns in Transportation Decisions (September 2000) presents existing and emerging technologies for achieving improved transportation decisions. Many of these technologies are tools that enable and facilitate better planning and environment linkages.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 112: Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes documents the approach and findings resulting from a project that explored techniques designed to help states and MPOs more fully incorporate freight throughout the entire transportation planning and programming process and more effectively plan, develop, program, and implement freight improvement projects.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 594: Guidebook for Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project Selection Processes explores a framework for incorporating freight needs for all modes into transportation planning and priority programming by state, regional, metropolitan, local, and special transportation agencies. The report covers technical issues, organizational suggestions, and communication requirements of freight planning and programming.

AASHTO Practitioner's Handbook: Defining the Purpose and Need and Determining the Range of Alternatives for Transportation Projects provides practical suggestions for defining the purpose and need and determining the range of alternatives in environmental impact statements and environmental assessments for transportation projects, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The US DOT’s Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction through State and Local Transportation Planning evaluates how and why states, metropolitan planning organizations, cities, and transportation providers are pursuing GHG emission reductions, with a focus on transportation planning. The research improves understanding of how states and localities might contribute to GHG reduction through transportation decisions.

The US DOT’s Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting’s Assessing State Long-Range Transportation Planning Initiatives in the Northeast for Climate Energy Efficiency Benefits identifies tools and methodologies to help the Northeastern states develop and implement strategies to reduce GHG emissions through the statewide, long-range transportation planning process. This research provides best practices and methods by which states can integrate GHG-reduction/mitigation goals in their long-range plans.

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