Active Protection and Enhancement of Our Environment

It is a critical goal of the FHWA to administer the Federal-aid and Federal Lands Programs to fit in harmoniously with communities, neighborhoods, and project environs. Accomplishing this goal requires full compliance with environmental protection laws, regulations, Executive Orders, and policies.

To be an environmental leader in the transportation field, the FHWA must go beyond compliance and strive for environmental excellence. The widest possible range of both traditional and innovative measures to protect and enhance the environment must be pursued.

It is FHWA policy to:

• Avoid, minimize, and mitigate to the fullest extent possible the adverse effects of transportation programs and projects on the neighborhood, community, and natural resources.
• Seek opportunities to go beyond traditional project mitigation efforts and implement innovative enhancement measures to help the project fit harmoniously within the community and natural environs.
• Ensure that Federal-aid and Federal Lands Programs and projects benefit all segments of society, including those who have historically been underserved and underrepresented. Improve accessibility for all persons, especially elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and the economically disadvantaged in both rural and urban areas. Consistent with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, all program and project actions and decisions must ensure that minority and low-income populations are not disproportionately adversely affected by transportation programs or projects.
• Participate, to the fullest extent permitted by law, in funding mitigation and enhancement activities required by Federal, State, and local statutes and regulations for project-related impacts to the natural environment, neighborhoods, and communities.
• Ensure that Transportation Enhancement funding provided under ISTEA is used to maximize benefits to cultural and natural environments and to contribute to more livable, sustainable communities.
• Improve air quality through funding of projects under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program of ISTEA. Ensure that these projects match the identified transportation needs of individual regions, communities, and neighborhoods with solutions that reduce transportation-related emissions.