![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081012234143im_/http://www.dot.gov/images/PerfPlan/humanperf_pic.gif)
Protect and enhance communities and the natural
environment affected by transportation.
- Improve the sustainability and livability of communities.
- Reduce the adverse effects of transportation on
ecosystems and the natural environment.
- Improve the viability of ecosystems.
- Reduce the adverse effects of transportation facilities
on the natural environment.
- Improve equity for low income and minority communities
concerning the benefits and burdens of transportation facilities
and services.
- Reduce the amount of pollution from transportation
sources.
Transportation makes our communities more livable,
enhancing the quality of our lives and our society.However, transportation
generates pollution, noise, and uses valuable land and aquatic habitat
on which thriving fisheries depend. No matter how much is done to
improve the capacity and efficiency of our transportation system,
we cannot consider our programs to be successful unless we also
manage the effects on our environment, and ultimately our quality
of life.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081012234143im_/http://www.dot.gov/images/AboutDOT/humangoals.gif)
DOT’s objective is to advance the benefits of
transportation while minimizing its negative environmental impacts.
The FY 2004 budget proposes $3.3 billion in environmental funding
to maintain progress in achieving our outcomes.
A detailed analysis of our 2004 strategies follows.
Wetlands are an important natural resource. They provide
natural filtration of pollutants, and they store and slow down the
release of floodwaters, thereby reducing damage to downstream farms
and communities. Wetlands also provide an essential habitat for
biodiversity. But many of the Nation’s wetlands have been
lost to development over the years, before their value was fully
recognized. Highways and transportation facilities (location, construction,
and operation) can be a significant factor affecting these ecosystems.
Replace each acre of wetland removed by a Federal-aid
highway transportation project with half again as much in mitigation.
Program-wide
ratio of wetland acres replaced per acre unavoidably affected
by Federal-aid Highway projects.
Target:
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Actual: 2.3 3.8 2.1 2.7 |
Wetland impacts are sometimes unavoidable, especially
when bridges are being built. Projects on existing alignments can
cause wetland degradation that is impossible to avoid. In areas
where the concentration of wetlands is high (southern bottomlands,
Midwestern prairie potholes, and eastern pine flatwoods), transportation
projects must often traverse wetlands to provide access to the area.
DOT resources attributable to this performance
goal are depicted below:
FHWA and FTA work together to approve transportation
infrastructure projects that do as little harm as possible to the
Nation’s wetlands.
FHWA promotes the design, construction, maintenance,
and use of transportation projects that conform to Federal environmental
legislation and regulations primarily through research, new technologies,
analytical models, management training, and the transfer of technology.
FHWA partners with other agencies to devise better ways of avoiding
wetland takings, and to develop good mitigation practices when projects
unavoidably involve wetlands. FHWA will conduct additional research
and development on wetland protection and enhancement, practical
techniques of habitat restoration, and ecosystem analyses and characterization.
This includes research on ecosystem analyses and methodologies,
water quality course development, storm water management practices,
functional evaluation of wetlands, and public information measures.
To increase ecosystem and habitat conservation
efforts, FHWA encourages projects such as wetland banking and watershed-based
environmental assessment and mitigation approaches. FHWA also encourages
integrated, multi-modal planning, environmental planning To improve
decision timeliness in the environmental review process, FHWA emphasizes
the use of programmatic agreements with all involved parties, and
State transportation agencies in particular, to encourage adherence
to negotiated project timeframes and pre-established expectations
for plan quality. FHWA funds are also used to provide technical
assistance, training, and consultation with partners to resolve
issues related to the National Environmental Policy Act and environmental
review processes.
DOT coordinates wetland programs and research
initiatives with the Environmental Protection Agency; the Departments
of Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture; the Coast Guard, and the
Army Corps of Engineers. FHWA is a member of several Federal Committees
on wetlands and participates in joint research studies with other
Federal agencies on wetland evaluation and mitigation. Information
is shared through all these activities.
DOT has a special responsibility to ensure that its
own facilities are compliant with environmental laws and regulations.
Restoration activities involve identifying, investigating, and cleaning
up contaminated sites. Compliance activities include the operation
of facilities, equipment, and vessels in accordance with environmental
requirements. Pollution prevention activities involve preventing
future cleanup activities by avoiding the generation of pollutants
in our operations or facilities. The Maritime Administration (MARAD)
is required by law to dispose of obsolete ships in the National
Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) by the end of FY 2006.
Ensure that DOT operations leave no significant environmental
damage behind.
The Environmental Protection Agency has the authority
to reactivate previously NFRAP sites, and new sites may be identified.
Also, requirements may change as laws and resulting regulation change
to reflect new research and findings. Ship disposals are dependent
on a continued commercial interest in ship recycling.
DOT resources attributable to this performance
goal are depicted below:
Facility cleanup will comply with the Superfund Amendments
and Reauthorization Act (SARA) process and the requirements of the
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.
A “worst first” prioritization system is used to assign
highest priority to those facilities representing the greatest potential
hazard to the public health and the environment. Regulatory factors
at the local, State, and Federal levels are also considered in the
decision-making process.
FAA funds pollution prevention; complies with occupational
safety, health and environmental regulations; promotes good energy
management practices; and conducts environmental impact analyses
($32.8 million). Cleanup activities in compliance with mandatory
schedules are ongoing in the Alaskan Region, the Mike Monroney Aeronautical
Center, and the William J. Hughes Technical Center. FAA meets current
EPA requirements for fuel storage tanks, and will continue to replace
outdated fuel storage tanks at the end of their normal life cycle
to prevent leakage; will register and test in-service tanks; and
will investigate, remove or clean tanks at decommissioned facilities.
FRA will continue to work with the Department
of Justice to resolve State issues at the formerly owned facility
in Alaska.FHWA will continue work at
one facility to meet the legal requirements of the involved State.
MARAD is the U.S. Government’s disposal agent
for merchant type vessels 1,500 gross tons or more. Due to the presence
of hazardous substances such as asbestos and solid and liquid polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) and concerns raised by the EPA about the export
of PCBs, sales for overseas disposal were halted in 1995. MARAD
plans to dispose of additional ships in FY 2004 ($11.4 million).
Other Federal Programs with Common Outcomes: DOT facility
cleanup is based on EPA standards and is in line with government-wide
efforts under SARA.
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards target
six major pollutants as among the most serious airborne threats
to human health. Transportation is a major contributor to some of
the pollutants, particularly ozone, carbon monoxide and particulate
matter. About two-thirds of transportation-related emissions come
from on-road motor vehicles. The quality of our air is a public
good, and the cost of these pollutants is not captured in the marketplace.
For this reason, the Government works to mitigate this negative
impact.
In support of the President’s Clean Air Initiative,
reduce on-road mobile source emissions by 20 percent of the 1996
baseline.
12-month
moving average number of area transportation emissions conformity
lapses. Target: 1999 2000 2001 2002
2003 2004
N/A N/A N/A 6.0 6.0 6.0
Actual: N/A 6.0 6.0 6.0 |
Growth in the U.S. economy has translated into annual
growth in vehicle-miles traveled (VMT). The principal component—private
vehicles—provides flexibility to consumers. So diversion of
users to other, more emission-efficient modes must be balanced with
market choice and other economic factors.
Strategies and Initiatives to Achieve 2004 Target:
DOT resources attributable to this performance goal are depicted
below:
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
were defined in the Clean Air Act of 1970 and reinforced by the
Federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Areas that do not meet
the NAAQS are designated ‘non-attainment’, and former
non-attainment areas that are now in compliance are designated ‘maintenance’.
These areas are eligible for special funding to help meet their
air quality goals, but are also subject to sanctions if those goals
are not met. The transportation conformity process is intended to
ensure that transportation plans, programs, and projects will not
create new violations of the NAAQS, increase the frequency or severity
of existing violations, or delay NAAQS attainment in designated
non-attainment (or maintenance) areas.
During the 1990s, the percent of non-attainment and
maintenance metropolitan areas that met their emissions goals continued
to increase, and total on-road mobile source emissions continued
to decline from 87.4 million tons in 1988 to 64.2 million tons in
1999.
DOT aims to reduce mobile source emissions by encouraging
the use of less polluting transportation; designing and implementing
infrastructure that reduces congestion and emissions; researching
and modeling the emissions impacts of investment choices; and supporting
the development of fuel- and emission-efficient vehicles.
FHWA identifies approaches to demonstrating conformity
in rural non-attainment areas. By increasing the percent of transportation
areas that maintain conformity to the air quality regulations, the
Department contributes to a reduction in on-road mobile source emissions
and the overall improvement in the Nation’s air quality.
Through research, new technologies, and analytical
models, FHWA promotes the design, construction, maintenance, and
use of highways that are compatible with the National environmental
goals. In partnership with our stakeholders, FHWA supports the development
of environmental analytical models to assist decision makers. FHWA
provides resources, guidance, and technical assistance for States
and local agencies to ensure compliance with the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards, especially reducing transportation-related
emissions.
Major programs in 2004 include projects to reduce
emissions through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)
program ($1.4 billion); identifying challenges in implementing amended
conformity regulations for clean air by issuing guidance and providing
technical assistance; assisting State and local partners in the
implementation of the transportation conformity regulation in new
non-attainment areas, and studying rural air quality issues and
developing approaches to demonstrate conformity in rural non-attainment
areas; expanding the transportation and air quality public education
effort including the Alliance for Clean Air and Transportation.
Through continued research, FHWA will develop approaches
to improve air quality and to evaluate emissions impacts and cost-effectiveness
of transportation strategies. Activities include research on air
toxics and a 2.5-micron particulate matter emission model to support
new National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Other Federal Programs with Common Outcomes: FHWA
and EPA work cooperatively to implement a number of initiatives,
including the Transportation and Air Quality public education initiative,
the transportation conformity regulation, and the CMAQ program.
The DOT and EPA have also jointly funded a number of research efforts
that target the reduction of mobile source emissions.
Americans expect reliable delivery of the products
that fuel our vibrant economy, enable their mobility and enhance
their quality of life. They expect that the pipelines that deliver
these products, pipelines that move through their communities as
well as nearby sensitive environments, will pose no danger to life,
property or the environment. The recently enacted Pipeline Safety
Act of 2002 will reinforce and strengthen initiatives and programs
that RSPA already has in place to diminish risks of environmental
harm from pipeline spills. Because of the volume of liquid hazardous
materials moved by pipelines, any spill into the environment is
potentially a significant one.
Reduce pipeline hazmat spilled 30 percent by 2006,
from the last five years’ average spill rate (0.0162 per million
ton-miles shipped).
Tons of
hazardous liquid materials spilled per million ton-miles shipped
by pipelines. Target: 1999 2000 2001
2002 2003 2004
.0171 .0161 .0151 .0142 .0134 0.126
Actual: .0229 .0131(r) .0201 .0109# |
r) Revised; # Preliminary estimate
based on partial year data.
![Chart- Liquid Pipeline Spill Rate](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081012234143im_/http://www.dot.gov/images/AboutDOT/pipelinespill.gif)
![Chart- Funding for Pipeline Hazmat Spill Reduction](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081012234143im_/http://www.dot.gov/images/AboutDOT/pipelinereduce.gif)
Prevention
and mitigation of pipeline spills requires improved site-specific
knowledge of water and sensitive environmental areas to provide
tailored actions to prevent leaks, and, if they do occur, assure
that appropriate and timely response is undertaken.
DOT resources attributable to
this performance goal are depicted below:
To reduce pipeline failures, thereby reducing hazmat
spills from pipelines, RSPA reviews integrity management program
compliance of large hazardous liquid pipeline operators subject
to RSPA’s integrity management program (IMP). RSPA will increase
IMP reviews to 75% of pipeline miles operated by the nation’s
65 largest hazardous liquid pipeline operators. RSPA will accelerate
integrity testing, comprehensively evaluate all pipeline risks,
and strengthen Federal/State pipeline safety oversight. Testing,
evaluation, and repair will result in finding and solving problems
before they lead to failures thereby directly supporting the goal
of reducing spills. These initiatives support the National Energy
Policy for energy infrastructure growth by improving the integrity
of, and public confidence in, existing pipeline infrastructure.
Other activities that will help further reduce spill
size and consequence include:
• enforcing operator qualification requirements;
expanding participation in industry consensus standards addressing
in-line inspection technologies and qualifications criteria for
the analysts who interpret their results;
•developing a standard for content and
distribution of public education programs of operators;
• improving engineering support for construction
oversight, accident investigation, and monitoring remedial work
on pipelines through contracted engineering services;
• improving analysis of the risks that pipelines
pose to people and the environment through information systems improvements;
• enhancing readiness of both pipeline operators
and local communities to recognize and mount effective and timely
responses to pipeline accidents; and
• expanding pipeline operator oil spill response
exercises involving local, State, and other Federal personnel, with
a new emphasis on security.
Pipeline integrity research helps assure that America’s
communities can live safely with pipelines by developing the technologies
that detect or monitor the main causes of pipeline failure: construction-related
damage, corrosion, material defects, and human error. These technologies
will enable pipeline operators to identify and eliminate the defects
that lead to death, injuries, and environmental damage.
R&D initiatives that help reduce spill size and
consequence include:
• expanding ongoing acoustical monitoring technology
that can help prevent construction-related damage to pipelines;
• developing new technologies to reveal defects
in pipelines currently unpiggable using conventional in-line inspection
technologies;
• enabling in-line inspection technologies to
accurately detect and characterize longitudinal (e.g., seam) failures
- an ability not shared by current in-line tools built primarily
to detect circumferential defects from corrosion;
• beginning important new work on the application
of remote sensing technologies to detection of right-of-way intrusion
and remote monitoring of pipeline control systems;
• expanding airborne laser mapping leak detection
technology; and
• development of regulatory standards for leak
detection technology and of related best practices.
RSPA will work to reduce the frequency and the
size of spills by working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department
of Energy, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Department of Homeland
Security to help analyze risks to environmentally sensitive and
populated areas through finalization of a National Pipeline Mapping
System. RSPA is also working with the National Association of Pipeline
Safety Representatives, trade associations such as the American
Petroleum Institute, and other industry partners in designing new
reporting systems and data improvements.
RSPA is working with the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Department of Interior, and other natural resource trustees,
environmental organizations, and the public to identify drinking
water and ecological resources that are unusually sensitive to environmental
damage from spills. RSPA has completed the Drinking Water Data Catalog
as part of an environmental index initiative and has added the catalog
to the web site, http://ops.dot.gov
.
Public concern and sensitivity to aircraft noise around
airports is high. In recent years, noise complaints have increased
even while quieter aircraft technology has been introduced. Aircraft
noise is an undesired by-product of our mobility, and the Government
acts to reduce the public’s exposure to unreasonable noise
levels. In the past decade, the phase-out of noisier commercial
aircraft was principally responsible for the reduction in the number
of people exposed to high levels of aircraft noise, although its
efforts were complemented by noise compatibility projects funded
under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). While the new international
aircraft noise standard will encourage the introduction of quieter
aircraft into operations. AIP-funded noise compatibility projects
will be the principal means employed by Government to mitigate significant
aircraft noise exposure.
Reduce the number of people impacted by significant
levels of aircraft noise by 62,500 between FY 2003 and FY 2007 through
reduction in aircraft noise exposure including residential relocations,
and mitigation including sound insulation.
Number
of people in the U.S. (in thousands) who are exposed to significant
aircraft noise levels (Day/Night Average Sound Level (DNL) 65
decibels or more).
Target: 1999 2000
2001 2002 2003 2004
N/A N/A 440 440 437 436
Actual: 585 440 411(r) 379#
|
(r) Revised; # Preliminary estimate.
![Chart- People Exposed to Significant Aircraft Noise](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081012234143im_/http://www.dot.gov/images/AboutDOT/exposed.gif)
![Chart- Funding for Aircraft Noise Exposed Reduction](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081012234143im_/http://www.dot.gov/images/AboutDOT/aircraftnoise.gif)
Population
growth around airports and increasing flight activity are factors
that can negatively impact the FAA’s ability to meet future
noise exposure goals.
DOT resources attributable to
this performance goal are depicted below:
DOT pursues a program of aircraft noise control
in cooperation with the aviation community through noise reduction
at the source (development and adoption of quieter aircraft), soundproofing
and buyouts of buildings near airports, operational flight control
measures, and land use planning strategies. The number of people
exposed to significant noise levels was reduced by about 90% between
1975 and 2000. This is due primarily to the legislatively-mandated
transition of airplane fleets to newer generation aircraft that
produce less noise. Most of the gains from quieter aircraft were
achieved by FY 2000.
The remaining problems must be addressed primarily through airport-specific
noise compatibility programs, using measures such as soundproofing
and relocation of residences. FAA is authorized to provide funds
for these purposes, but each project must be locally sponsored and
be a part of a noise compatibility program prepared by the airport
sponsor and approved by the FAA. The measure above reflects noise
exposure, which is affected by changes in aircraft arrival and departure
operations, changes in the aircraft fleet mix, and relocation of
people from the Day/Night
Average Sound Level (DNL 65) contour. An FAA supplemental
performance measure, described below, tracks numbers of people benefiting
from AIP-funded noise compatibility projects.
In 2004, FAA will:
• continue to provide funds for such noise reduction
activities as residential relocation, the soundproofing of residences
and buildings used for educational or medical purposes near airports,
land use compatibility including purchase of buffer zones around
airports, and noise reduction planning ($472.2 million);
• continue to develop noise research and assessment
technologies ($5.2 million);
• implement operational flight control measures
to help reduce neighborhood exposure to aircraft noise, and in cooperation
with the National Park Service, assess noise exposure and develop
Air Tour Management Plans for national parks, as authorized in AIR-21
($10.7 million); and
• examine and validate methodologies used to
assess aircraft noise exposure, including incorporation of effects
of land-use policies and residential sound insulation programs.
Cumulative
annual number of people in residential communities (000s) benefiting
from Federally funded noise compatibility projects.
Target: 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
N/A N/A N/A N/A 12.5 25.0
Actual: This is a new goal for FY 2003 and beyond.
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FAA provides funding to mitigate the effects of aviation
noise for residents within the significant noise footprint around
busy airports. The number of people expected to benefit will be
derived from the number of residential units to be insulated or
relocated as identified in grant applications or through other airport
sponsor submissions.
FAA has been engaged with NASA in joint noise
reduction technology research. NASA in coordination with FAA and
its industry partners is formulating a new Quiet Aircraft Technology
(QAT) initiative to build upon the current research with a goal
of reducing future aircraft perceived noise levels by half (10 decibels)
within 10 years, and by a factor of 4 (20 decibels) within 25 years,
using 1997 subsonic aircraft technology as the baseline.
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