Environment Topics

• Air Quality
• Alternative Fuel Corridors
• Bicycle & Pedestrian
• Brownfields
• Carbon Reduction Program
• Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program
• Environmental Excellence Awards
• Environmental Justice
• Exemplary Human Environment Initiatives
• GHG Performance Measure
• Livability
• Micromobility
• National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program
• Noise
• PROTECT Program
• Recreational Trails Program
• Safe Routes to School
• Smart Growth
• Sustainability
• Traffic Calming
• Transportation Alternatives
• Transportation Enhancements

Environment

Transportation planning and project development must reflect the desires of communities, and take into account the impacts on both the natural and human environments. Transportation projects are closely looked at to see how they might impact the community, the natural environment, and our health and welfare. Before any project can move forward to construction, the FHWA must address and comply with laws related to the environment. These laws cover social, economic, and environmental concerns ranging from community cohesion to threatened and endangered species. To get through this detailed process, FHWA and FTA use the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to evaluate impacts associated with each individual project.

Three offices within the Federal Highway Administration focus on environmental protection and enhancement. The offices of Natural Environment and Human Environment primarily focus on environmental programs associated with air quality, climate change, sustainability, noise, and on programs associated with the built environment, including transportation enhancements, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The Office of Project Development and Environmental Review focuses on NEPA project development process as a balanced and streamlined approach to transportation decisionmaking that takes into account the potential impacts on both human and natural resources and the public's need for safe and efficient transportation improvements. Information regarding the full range of FHWA environmental programs can be found on this website. If you don't see the topic you are looking for, check our Subject Index.

Upcoming Events

2024

• International Earth Day (April 22)
• Intelligent Transportation Society of America's Conference & Expo (There is a fee) (April 22 - 25, 2024)
• 2024 AASHTO Spring Meeting (There is a fee) (April 23 - 26, 2024)
• Institute for Transportation and Development Policy's Recommitting to Road Safety: A Second Decade of Action (April 23)
• Trail Nation Collaborative's Trail Funding Unpacked: Navigating Federal Resources for Sustainable Maintenance (April 23)
• Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals' MUTCD Webinar – Part 2(There is a fee) (April 24)
• American Trails' Community Driven: How Engagement Guides the Vision and Planning of a Community Wide Trail Network (Donations accepted) (April 25)
• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Celebrate Trails Day (April 27)
• Transportation Research Board's Power of Partnerships to Improve Transportation Decision-Making (Fee may apply) (May 1)
• National Ride a Bike Day (May 5)
• National Association of Environmental Professionals' 2024 Annual Conference and Training Symposium (There is a fee) (May 5 - 8, 2024)
• Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals' 2024 National Outdoor Recreation Conference (There is a fee) (May 6 - 9, 2024)
• Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations' 2024 Planning Tools and Training Symposium (There is a fee) (May 6 - 9, 2024)
• National Association of City Transportation Officials' Designing Cities Conference (There is a fee) (May 7 - 10, 2024)
• American Planning Association's National Planning Conference (There is a fee) (May 8 - 10, 2024)
• National Bike and Roll to School Day (May 8)
• Bike to Work Week (May 13 - 19, 2024)
• EcoAdapt and American Society of Adaption Professionals' National Adaption Forum (There is a fee) (May 14 - 16, 2024)
• Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals' Working/Planning to Advance Transportation and Health Equity (There is a fee) (May 15)
• Bike to Work Day (May 17)
• The New Buildings Institute's Getting to Zero Forum (There is a fee) (May 21 - 23, 2024)
• FHWA Equity in Roadway Safety Webinar Series: Equitable Data Analysis (May 22)
• International Transport Forum's Greening Transport Summit: Keeping Focus in Times of Crisis (There is a fee) (May 22 - 24, 2024)
• American Trails' Building Adaptive Trail Programming: Lessons from the Field (Donations accepted) (May 23)
• American Hiking Society's National Trail Day. (June 1)
• Trail Nation Collaborative's Innovative Practices to Securing Federal Funding (June 11)
• Special Edition of the Talking Traffic Webinar: Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Data Gathering and Reporting (June 11)
• Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals' Shifting Away From Car Culture Neighboring the Motor City (There is fee) (June 12)
• Transportation Research Board's 2nd International Conference and Peer Exchange on Roadside Safety (There is a fee) (June 23 - 26, 2024)
• Transportation Research Board's 4th International Conference on Access Management (There is a fee) (June 24 - 26, 2024)
• Conference of Minority Transportation Officials' 2024 National Meeting and Training Conference (There is a fee) (July 9 - 12, 2024)
• Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals' Pop-Up Traffic Calming and Placemaking for Small Urban and Rural Communities. (There is a fee) (July 17)
• American Trails' Grants for Trails: Finding, Applying, and Managing (Donations accepted) (July 18)
• Institute of Transportation Engineers' 2024 Joint ITE International and Mid-Colonial District Annual Meeting and Exhibition (There is a fee) (July 21 - 24, 2024)
• FHWA's Equity in Roadway Safety Webinar Series: Roadway Safety for People Experiencing Homelessness (July 24)
• American Trails' Indigenous Placemaking Along Canadian Trails (Donations accepted) (July 25)
• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Resources for Improving Accessibility on Multiuse Trails (July 31)