FHWA Records Disposition Manual
Federal-aid Division Offices

CHAPTER 4

This schedule covers Environmental Planning and Program Development records maintained in the Federal-Aid Divisions (field offices) of the Federal Highway Administration and reflects disposition authorities granted under N1-406-09-20 and the General Records Schedules (GRS). This schedule is media neutral, i.e., the disposition instructions apply to the described records in all media (including electronic information), unless the schedule identifies a specific medium for a specific series. For administrative records not covered below, field offices will follow the FHWA Records Disposition Schedule for Field Office Administrative Records in Chapter 1 and the GRS.

ENVI 1 Environmental Policy and Procedures.
Correspondence, background material and related material relative to the interpretation, administration, and execution of environmental aspects of the Federal-aid highway program. (N1-406-09-20/4)

DISPOSITION: Destroy 6 years after superseded.

ENVI 2 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Related Documents.
Project level documents, including correspondence, background material, references, policies, procedures, program information, planning studies, traffic studies and data, working papers, drafts, and reports. Includes, but is not limited to, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) documents; Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impacts (FONSI) documents; and Categorical Exclusions (CE). Also includes, but is not limited to, all official correspondence related to the preparation of those NEPA documents, reports, studies, and meeting minutes (electronic or paper). Studies and reports include those related to or pursuant to the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966, Section 6(f) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Clean Air Act, wetlands, floodplains, water quality, visual resources, tribal coordination, social impacts, economic impacts, environmental justice, public outreach, traffic and engineering data, air quality, noise impacts, hazardous waste, and environmental consultation, coordination, and commitments. (N1-406-09-20/5)

There are four categories of projects: Significant Transportation Projects, Federal Oversight Transportation Projects, Tier 1 EIS Projects, and Other Transportation Projects.

1. Significant Transportation Projects. Projects that significantly enhance the transportation system, or that have a significant impact upon the economic vitality of the surrounding community, such as the construction of a major tunnel or bridge; "first of a kind" or those establishing precedents are expected to be historic in less than 50 years (NRHP); or are the subject of widespread media attention or Congressional scrutiny as determined by the Division Administrator (DA) in consultation with the Director of Field Services (DFS). (N1-406-09-20/5a)

   1. (1) Final NEPA Documents. Include published versions of the Draft EISs, Final EISs, Supplemental EISs, RODs, EAs, and FONSIs. Other relevant documents which relate to why the particular project is significant or historic may be included if deemed appropriate by the DA. (N1-406-09-20/5a1)
      
      DISPOSITION: PERMANENT. Cut off paper records when the final construction voucher has been approved. Transfer paper records to the Federal Records Center (FRC) 3 years after cutoff and transfer to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 15 years after cutoff. Transfer permanent electronic records along with any finding aids or descriptive information (including linkage to the original file) and related documentation as a pre-accession to NARA 3 years after cutoff, according to 36 CFR 1235, Subpart C, or whatever standards are in place at the time of transfer.

   2. (2) Supporting Material. Documentation includes supporting plans, scoping, scheduling, background information; meeting notes, public and agency comments; Notice of Intent (NOI), EIS Implementation Plan, Community Relations Plan/Public Participation Plan, Records of Considerations, Mitigation Action Plan, technical reports, etc. (N1-406-09-20/5a2)
      
      DISPOSITION: Cut off when the final construction voucher has been approved. Transfer to the FRC 3 years after cutoff. Destroy 20 years after cutoff.

   3. (3) NEPA Reference Documents. Written statements and supporting documents needed for reference by the retaining office, including reference copies of the final published NEPA document. (N1-406-09-20/5a3)
      
      DISPOSITION: Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for administrative or reference purposes.

2. Federal Oversight Transportation Projects. Projects requiring Federal oversight on construction or with significant environmental mitigation commitments (as determined by the DA in consultation with the DFS) and that do not meet the above criteria for a permanent record. (N1-406-09-20/5b)

   DISPOSITION: Cut off when the final construction voucher has been approved. Transfer to FRC 3 years after cutoff. Destroy 10 years after cutoff.

3. Tier 1 EIS Projects. Tier 1 EIS projects focus on broad issues such as general location, mode choice, and area-wide air quality and land use implications of the major alternatives. (N1-406-09-20/5c)

   1. (1) Tier 1 projects that are anticipated to have Tier 2 projects coming from them for more than 10 years. (N1-406-09-20/5c1)
      
      DISPOSITION: Cut off when the ROD is signed. Transfer to FRC 10 years after cutoff. Destroy 30 years after cutoff.

   2. (2) Tier 1 projects that are anticipated to have all Tier 2 NEPA documents completed in less than 10 years. (N1-406-09-20/5c2)
      
      DISPOSITION: Cut off when the final construction voucher has been approved for the last construction project approved by a subsequent Tier 2 document. Transfer to FRC 3 years after cutoff. Destroy 10 years after cutoff.

   3. (3) NEPA Reference Documents. Written statements and supporting documents needed for reference by the retaining office, including reference copies of the final published NEPA document. (N1-406-09-20/5c3)
      
      DISPOSITION: Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for administrative or reference purposes.

4. All Other Transportation Projects. Projects related to the construction of all other projects that do not meet the above criteria for significant, Federal oversight, or Tier 1 EIS transportation projects. (N1-406-09-20/5d)

   DISPOSITION: Cut off when the final construction voucher has been approved. Destroy 3 years after cutoff.

    

ENVI 3 Environment Correspondence Files.
(Correspondence among Washington and Division offices relative to the interpretation, administration, and execution of environmental aspects of the Federal-aid highway program.) See ENVI 1.

ENVI 4 Environmental Impact Statements and Section 4(f) Statements - FHWA. See ENVI 2.

ENVI 5 Environmental Impact Statements – Other Agencies. See ENVI 2.

ENVI 6 Environmental Process Files. See ENVI 2.

ENVI 7 Environmental Document Guidance Files. See ENVI 1.

ENVI 8 Fish and Wildlife Coordination. See ENVI 2.

ENVI 9 Noise Barriers. See ENVI 2.

ENVI 10 Noise Policy Files. See ENVI 1.

ENVI 11 Cooperation Files

1. Construction and Maintenance. Information and correspondence on coordination with other Government agencies for construction and maintenance; also including mitigation monitoring agreements, etc. (N1-406-09-20/1)

   DISPOSITION: Cut off when the final construction voucher has been approved or all provisions of the agreement have been completed, whichever is later. Destroy 3 years after cutoff.

2. Policy and Procedures. Contains memoranda of agreements (MOA) and programmatic agreements (PA) with other government agencies, both State and Federal, pertaining to policies and procedures regarding topics not limited to: Tribal Consultation, Stewardship/Oversight Agreement, Section 106 program or project agreements, position funding agreements, interagency cooperative working agreements (i.e. SAFETEA-LU). (N1-406-09-20/2)

   DISPOSITION: Destroy 6 years after superseded or terminated.

    

ENVI 12 Environmental Controls Files.
Project level information on rules, regulations and policy on environmental controls during construction, air quality, erosion control and water pollution, noise abatement, public complaints, and Congressional inquiries. (N1-406-09-20/3)

DISPOSITION: Destroy 3 years after superseded or obsolete.

ENVI 13 Metropolitan Planning - Environmental Files.
Files reflecting environmental aspects of metropolitan planning, including copies of directives that implement EPA regulations, correspondence with States, environmental impact statements (EISs) from other agencies, policy, interpretations, metropolitan environmental studies, and comments on regulations and information on how to prepare an EIS. (N1-406-09-20/6)

DISPOSITION: Cut off at end of fiscal year. Destroy 3 years after cutoff.