ENVision, Volume 3, Issue 2, Fall 1997 Page: 4
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Page 4 EN Vision Fall 1997
Watch for ISTEA reauthorization
Renewal may have significant environmental implicationsBy ORLANDO V. JAMANDRE Jr.
Environmental Affairs Division
With its passage in 1991, the
Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act (ISTEA) drastically
changed federal transportation funding
policies by declaring the interstate
highway system complete and by focusing
greater attention on balancing
transportation needs and impacts with the
nation's social, economic, environmental
and energy goals.
ISTEA restructured the availability of
transportation funds by specifying
programs for which certain funds can be
used, such as Congestion Mitigation and
Air Quality (CMAQ) and enhancement
programs; broadened the flexibility of
funding sources, such as using surface
transportation program funds for mass
transit projects; and strengthened the role
of metropolitan planning organizations
(MPOs) in project planning. The goal of
ISTEA was to develop a nationwide
intermodal transportation system by
incorporating and funding a wide variety
of transportation modes to include
highway, transit, bicycle and pedestrian
facilities.
Environmentally-focused programs
such as CMAQ and transportation
enhancements opened up new types of
projects and funding sources for the
project development process. In areas of
the state classified as nonattainment for
ozone and carbon monoxide, CMAQ
funds were earmarked for transportation
projects that contributed to an area's
compliance with the Clean Air Act.
ISTEA also required each state to use a
minimum of 10 percent of its Surface
Transportation Program (STP) funds for a
state-administered program of
transportation enhancement activities.
Eligible enhancement projects included
pedestrian and bicycle facilities,
acquisition of scenic easements and
historic sites, landscaping and
beautification projects, historic
preservation, rehabilitation of historic
transportation facilities, preservation of
abandoned railway corridors,
archeological planning and research, and
mitigation of water pollution caused by
highway runoff.
ISTEA's current six-year authorizationof federal highway funding expired on
Sept. 30, 1997. On Sept. 24, 1997, the
House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee approved an $11.9 billion
extension of present transportation
funding levels for six months, thereby
delaying a multi-year reauthorization bill
until next spring.
ISTEA Reauthorization
The Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission (TNRCC)
hosted the second of three teleconferences
dedicated to the topic of ISTEA
reauthorization on July 16. Sponsored by
the North Carolina State University's
Center for Transportation and the
Environment, the teleconference brought
transportation leaders together from the
Federal Highway Administration,
American Association of State Highway
Transportation Officials, American Public
Transit Association, Surface
Transportation Policy Project, and the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
A panel format was used to discuss
funding formulas, streamlining of program
delivery, and environmental issues
associated with ISTEA. Moreover, the
panelists provided an update on proposed
legislation and discussed some of the
implications of the possible successors to
ISTEA.
Much of the national debate on ISTEA
reauthorization has focused on the
important issues of spending levels and
formulas for the equitable distribution of
funds. The reauthorization proposal from
the Chairman of the House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee also
contains many other proposals that could
have significant implications for
environmental programs. Representative
Bud Shuster's (R-Penn.) bill, HR 2400, orBESTEA (Building Efficient Surface
Transportation and Equity Act) contains
provisions such as:
" increased funding for CMAQ
and transportation
enhancement programs;
" creation of a new enhancement
program specifically for
transit-related facilities;
" a new Border Infrastructure
Program to ensure that needs
resulting from NAFTA-related
trade and safety issues are
addressed;
" dedicated funding to aid in the
planning and development of
multi-state corridors of
national significance, such as
the I-69 corridor;
" integration of the Major
Investment Study (MIS) into
the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) process
and elimination of the MIS as
a stand alone document; and
" institution of a three-year
environmental review pilot
program that would permit the
federal government to
delegate environmental review
approvals under NEPA to
selected states.
The transportation community will
have to wait until March 1998 to see
which programs and provisions are agreed
upon by the House and Senate versions.
Once the transportation bill that succeeds
ISTEA is finally signed into law, TNRCC
will host the last of the three ISTEA
teleconferences to discuss the
ramifications for the nation's
transportation system.To keep up with reauthorization of ISTEA check out these
web sites:
TxDOT Legislative information:................ http://www.dot.state.tx.us
USDOT ISTEA Reauthorization:........http://www.dot.gov/ost/govtaffairs/istea
AASHTO: .... http://www.autometric.com/main/recommends/arec_main.html
Surface Transportation Policy Project ISTEA page:.............. http://www.istea.org
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Texas. Department of Transportation. ENVision, Volume 3, Issue 2, Fall 1997, periodical, Autumn 1997; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth606838/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.