Caltrans Issues Funds for Local Transportation Projects

The California Department of Transportation has awarded $34.7 million in state and federal funds to cities, counties, tribes, and transit agencies statewide to support a variety of locally focused sustainable transportation projects.

[Above photo via Wikimedia Commons]

Those projects include efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the state highway system, enhance access to safe walkways and bike paths, and increase natural disaster preparedness.

“These grants are funding the planning for sustainable and more resilient transportation projects that will prepare the state for rising sea levels, wildfires, and other climate-related impacts,” noted Steven Keck, interim director for Caltrans, in a statement.

“By collaborating with local communities, we are working together to achieve both our climate goals and an equitable transportation infrastructure for people who rely on transit and intercity bus service,” he said.

In total, Caltrans is allocating:

$18.4 million in Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical Grants to 57 local, regional, tribal, and transit agencies for climate change adaptation, transportation, and land use planning, plus natural disaster preparedness. This includes more than $4.5 million to fund planning for 14 projects that improve safety and access for people who walk and bike.
$3.8 million in federally funded Strategic Partnership Grants to 10 projects that will plan for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, sustainable goods movement, wildlife connectivity, intercity bus systems, and other sustainability initiatives.
$12.5 million in Sustainable Communities Formula Grants to metropolitan planning organizations to further regional transportation plans and sustainable community strategies. Caltrans will formally award those grants later this spring.

This local transportation funding follows the adoption of a new “complete streets” policy by Caltrans in December 2021 for all new transportation projects it funds or oversees in order to provide “safe and accessible options” for people walking, biking, and taking transit.

A “complete street” policy seeks to expand mobility options for people of all ages and abilities, particularly those who are walking, biking, using assistive mobility devices, and riding transit.

Caltrans said its “complete streets” requirement offers several benefits, including enhancing safety and creating more sustainable transportation options to decrease dependence on driving and improving public health by encouraging more active transportation options.

The agency added that its new policy ultimately aims to “expand the availability” of “sustainable transportation options” to help meet the state’s climate, health, and equity goals.

Arizona DOT Wraps up Cactus-Saving Project

The Arizona Department of Transportation recently completed a bridge replacement project near Globe, AZ, which triggered the return of an endangered species of cactus transplanted and preserved by the agency during the project’s four-year timeline.

[Above photo by Arizona DOT]

The U.S. 60 Pinto Creek Bridge is also home to the endangered hedgehog cactus, which grows only within a several-mile radius of the site. About a foot high, usually covered in spines and often with red flowers at the top, the species is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is protected under Arizona law.

When the bridge replacement project began in 2018, a team comprised of biologists from the Arizona DOT and from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix safely removed 34 cacti potentially affected by the construction work, then nurtured and propagated, replanting 61 total cacti in early March. This relocation effort is the latest step in a long-term partnership between the Arizona DOT and the Desert Botanical Garden to protect hedgehog cactuses that only grow in one tiny area of the state.

“ADOT has a responsibility to respect the environment and to make sure the plants and animals that make Arizona special are protected,” said Josh Fife, Arizona DOT’s biology team lead, in a statement. “We’re proud that the work we did will make sure the Arizona hedgehog cactus will continue to exist in the one special place in the world where they thrive.”

This cacti protection effort took on added importance in the summer of 2021, when wildfires swept through the project site, threatening some of the cacti in that area that were not removed because they were not threatened by construction.

“The plants on site could have easily been destroyed in the fire which is why it was a good thing these plants were taken back to Desert Botanical Garden out of harm’s way,” noted Steve Blackwell, conservation collections manager for Desert Botanical Garden.

“That was an important side benefit of taking cactus out when we did. Another valuable part of this process was that we were able to hand pollinate the plants at the Garden, clone the mother plants and develop a seed bank for future preservation,” he added. “This is a great win for the environment”

Environmental News Highlights – April 6, 2022

Oregon Legislature Issues Wildlife Corridor Funding

The Oregon Department of Transportation recently received a special one-time allocation of $7 million in general funds from the Oregon legislature to invest in wildlife corridor projects statewide.

[Above photo by the Oregon DOT]

The Oregon DOT said it has had “great success” with wildlife undercrossing structures in recent years, with five crossings built to date in the state, all on U.S. 97, leading to an 86 percent reduction in wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Cidney Bowman, the agency’s wildlife passage coordinator, said in a statement that Oregon DOT plans to use that one-time funding not just to help fund wildlife crossing construction but also to fund studies, retrofit existing structures, and pay for research into new wildlife detection technology.

She added that, while this new funding will go a long way toward making our highways safer, Oregon DOT’s goal is to have yearly dedicated funding for wildlife corridor needs similar to how the state funds its fish passage program.

A state report issued in 2020 indicates that Oregon needs $22 million to $35 million in “immediate” funding to support wildlife crossing projects statewide.

Other states – especially in the western parts of the country – are beefing up investments in wildlife passage programs and infrastructure. For example, California and Utah both have 50 wildlife passage structures, Nevada has 23, and Colorado leads the pack at 69.

Recently, the Colorado Department of Transportation and ABCO Contracting began installing three miles of new “high deer” fencing and earthen big game ramps along US Highway 24/285; a $2.26 million project that should wrap up in early September.

Additionally, the high deer fencing will tie into existing drainage structures that are sufficiently large enough to offer crossing locations for large game. The new fencing will funnel wildlife to these locations, an important aspect of this project site, purpose, and design noted Julie Constan, the agency’s regional transportation director.

“Wildlife-vehicle collisions make up approximately 60 percent of the total crashes along this stretch of highway,” she said in a statement. “The investment made to install the fencing will show us a tremendous benefit. Studies have shown that big game-vehicle collisions are expected to go down by at least 80 percent with the aid of fencing features.”

Maine DOT Creates Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group

The Maine Department of Transportation has formed an Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group (OSWPAG) to advise it and other state officials regarding the potential development of wind port facilities, which will be integral to promoting the University of Maine’s patented floating offshore wind technology and attracting offshore wind industry investment to Maine.

[Above image via the University of Maine]

The OSWPAG consists of 19 members representing a spectrum of local, regional, and statewide stakeholders, including representatives from the environmental, business, port and marine transportation, fishing, labor, construction, and conservation interests.

State government officials representing Maine DOT, the Governor’s Energy Office or GEO, the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation & Future, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and others will serve as subject matter experts to support the OSWPAG’s work. New England Aqua Ventus – the firm working with GEO to develop the floating offshore wind research array – and Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the holder of the conservation easement on the 600 acres of Sears Island reserved for conservation, will also be available to serve as technical advisors. Maine DOT said it would provide logistical and communications support for those efforts.

“Maine DOT and our collaborating state agencies want to thank the members of the Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group for agreeing to be part of this important process,” said Bruce Van Note, the agency’s commissioner, in a statement.

“We expect the stakeholders on this group to have varying perspectives and to engage in robust and thoughtful discussions regarding the potential for port development to support the rapidly growing offshore wind market,” he added. “This group’s work will provide important input as we look ahead to the ways Maine can help harness clean energy while creating jobs and strengthening our state’s economy.”

The formation of the OSWPAG is a companion effort to the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative led by the GEO, which is exploring the responsible development of floating offshore wind energy in the federal waters off the Gulf of Maine while ensuring balance with our state’s maritime industries and environment.

Maine DOT said a key component of this broader GEO initiative is the development of the Offshore Wind Roadmap, a comprehensive economic development planning process now underway. Working groups of the Roadmap include those studying energy markets, environmental and wildlife issues, supply chain, workforce development, port, and marine transportation needs, and fisheries.

ETAP Podcast: Joint Office of Energy and Transportation

In this episode of the Environmental Technical Assistance Program or ETAP Podcast, Rachael Nealer (seen above) – deputy director for the newly formed Joint Office of Energy and Transportation – discusses the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula program (NEVI) created by the $1.2 trillion infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA, enacted in November 2021.

[Above photo via John Hopkins University]

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation – created by the IIJA – aims to “facilitate collaboration” between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation; aligning resources and expertise across the two departments to help build a national network of electric vehicle chargers, zero-emission fueling infrastructure, and the deployment of zero-emission transit and school buses.

Nealer holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Carnegie Mellon University, respectively, along with a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from Carnegie Mellon.

In addition to stints with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, Nealer worked as an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University. For the last year, Nealer served as deputy director for transportation technology and policy at Council on Environmental Quality. To listen to this podcast, click here.

NHTSA Issues New Vehicle Fuel Mileage Standards

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued new Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE standards that require an industry-wide fleet average of approximately 49 miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks in model year 2026.

[Above photo of GM plant via Wikimedia Commons]

The agency said in a statement that the new standards would increase fuel efficiency 8 percent annually for model years 2024-2025 and 10 percent annually for model year 2026. They will also increase the estimated fleet-wide average by nearly 10 miles per gallon for model year 2026, relative to model year 2021.

NHTSA added that its new CAFE standards for model year 2024-26 should reduce fuel consumption by more than 200 billion gallons through 2050, as compared to the old standards.

The agency also noted that this final CAFÉ rule follows President Biden’s Executive Order 13990, which directed NHTSA to review the 2020 “The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks” final rule.

NHTSA also emphasized, however, that “real-world fuel economy” is generally 20 to 30 percent lower than the estimated required CAFE level stated above, while also noting that actual CAFE standards serve as a “footprint” or “target” curves for passenger cars and light trucks. That means ultimate fleet-wide levels would vary depending on the mix of vehicles that the industry produces for sale in those model years.

This agency added that its final rule reflects a conclusion “significantly different” from the conclusion it reached in the 2020 final rule. However, this is because “important facts have changed” and because NHTSA has reconsidered how to balance the relevant statutory considerations in light of those facts.

NHTSA concludes that these significantly more stringent standards are feasible and vehicle manufacturers can achieve them during the period covered by this new final rule. Standards that are more stringent than those finalized in 2020 appear economically practicable, based on manageable average per-vehicle cost increases, large consumer fuel savings, minimal effects on sales, and estimated increases in employment, among other things.

Environmental News Highlights – March 30, 2022

FEDERAL ACTION

Obituary: Alaska Rep. Don Young, 88, Was Long-Time Infrastructure Leader – ENR

Biden wants to spend infrastructure billions on climate and equity initiatives. But it’s not his call. – Politico

Funding America’s Inland Waterway System During the Green Transition – Maritime Executive

US Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg – National Roadway Safety Strategy, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and More – ITE Talks Transportation (Podcast)

COVID-19

COVID-19 Recovery: Riders are Coming Back but Where are the Drivers? – Mass Transit

Arlington County, Virginia To Promote Transit Use In Post-COVID Marketing Push – ARLnow

Washington Ferries struggling with mask compliance – KGMI Radio

NEPA

Many BLM grazing permits renewed without NEPA review, group says – E&E News

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

AASHTO Helps Launch EV States Clearinghouse – AASHTO Journal

New Guidebook Helps New Jersey Municipalities Prepare for More Electric Vehicles – SandPaper

New study points to key role of ports in future fuel infrastructure. – Lloyd’s Register

The neighbourhood leading a green energy revolution – BBC

Utah’s Walkable ‘15-Minute City’ Could Still Leave Lots of Room for Cars – CityLab

AIR QUALITY

Colorado Welcomes Arrival of New Zero-Emissions Big Rigs – Colorado DOT

There’s a Push to Get More Electric School Buses on the Streets – Moms Are Driving It – Route Fifty

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Massachusetts program funds strategies pairing equity and clean transportation – Energy News Network

D.C. to prioritize equity in preparations for $3 billion in federal infrastructure funds – Washington Post

Two bills aim to make NJ transportation more accessible for people with disabilities – The Record

A Black Vision for Development, in the Birthplace of Urban Renewal – CityLab

NATURAL RESOURCES

Tennessee DOT Deploying ‘Seabins’ for River Cleanup – AASHTO Journal

‘Canopy Clearing’ Helping Improve Roadway Safety – AASHTO Journal

Environmental group sues over new water quality law – Montana Free Press

Hydropower eyes bigger energy role, less environmental harm – AP

New ways to improve urban wetlands – Science Daily

CULTURAL RESOURCE

Utah launches ‘Pledge to Protect the Past’ campaign to stop archaeological vandalism – KSL-TV

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Are Mobility Hubs the Future of Urban Transportation? – Government Technology

DC Offers $200 Towards Bikes For School Staff – DCist

Henderson, Nevada opens 12-mile bicycle trail – KLAS-TV

Calls to end Potomac swim ban as DC celebrates Clean Water Act anniversary – WTOP Radio

New Trail In Burke Provides Direct Connection to VRE Station – Burke Patch

SDOT Starts Citywide Stop-For-Pedestrians Campaign With Signage In West Seattle – West Seattle Blog

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Methods for State DOTs to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Transportation Sector – TRB

Primer and Framework for Considering an Airport Noise and Operations Monitoring System – TRB

TRB ACRP Insight Event – Systemic Inequality in the Airport Industry: Exploring the Racial Divide – ACRP

Mobility Equity Research Spans Diverse Needs of Underserved Communities – National Renewable Energy Laboratory

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Department of Transportation’s Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant Opportunity – USDOT, Office of the Secretary of Transportation (Notice)

Notice of Solicitation of Applications for Stakeholder Representative Members of the Committee on Levee Safety – Army Corps of Engineers (Notice; extension of application period)

National Priorities List Deletion – EPA (Final rule)

Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Worst Case Discharge Planning Regulations – EPA (Proposed rule)

Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards – EPA (Proposed rule)

Great Lakes Advisory Board Notice for Virtual Meeting – EPA (Notice)

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Notification for a Virtual Public Meeting – EPA (Notification for a public meeting)

Hazardous Materials: Frequently Asked Questions – Applicability of the Hazardous Material Regulations – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (Notice; request for comments)

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Indian Creek, Miami Beach, FL – Coast Guard, DHS (Final rule)

Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of North Carolina Including Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina – Coast Guard (Notice of availability of draft report; request for comments)

Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of New Jersey Including Offshore Approaches to the Delaware Bay, Delaware – Coast Guard (Notice of availability)

Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 9 for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Carolina Long Bay Area – Final Sale Notice – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (Notice)

Boom: Oregon DOT Uses ‘Fireworks’ to Drive Birds from Bridges

The Oregon Department of Transportation has a public outreach message for water birds who want to nest on two of their iconic bridges: Beat it.

[Above: Matt Alex, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, fires a “flash pistol” to scare off birds. Photo via the Oregon DOT.]

Officially, Oregon DOT is utilizing an auditory dispersal method to relocate cormorants to facilitate infrastructure maintenance, such as inspection and painting. In practice, a technician fires a pistol that flashes, pops, and whistles. The sounds and lights chase the birds from the bridges.

“It basically is a gun-like mechanism that looks like a fireworks show,” explained Angela Beers Seydel, an Oregon DOT public information officer, in describing a test of the procedure in early March. “It whizzed, it banged, it flashed.”

Both bridges are on U.S. 101, along the Pacific coast. The 4.1-mile Astoria-Megler Bridge crosses the Columbia River and connects Oregon and Washington. It is the longest continuous truss bridge in the U.S., and painting it takes more than eight years and about $75 million.

Meanwhile, the Yaquina Bay Bridge – located about 300 miles south – is an 88-year-old arch structure built by the Public Works Administration; a depression-era federal program that also financed the Lincoln Tunnel and Hoover Dam. Conde McCullough, a renowned Oregon DOT engineer (he has his own Wikipedia page) designed the Yaquina Bay Bridge – along with 14 others along U.S. 101.

The sound-and-light program will continue through September on the Astoria-Megler Bridge and through June on the Yaquina Bay Bridge.

“These birds affect our ability to conduct inspections,” noted Don Hamilton, an Oregon DOT spokesperson. He added that those inspections occur at least every two years, but that cannot happen if birds, bird nests, or bird “guano” are on the bridge. Guano, or bird droppings, also have a corrosive effect on bridges and can be toxic to humans.

One or two technicians go on the U.S. 101 bridges every day and fire off several rounds.

Seydel said the sensory assaults take place at random times “so the birds don’t recognize a pattern. You want them to be uncomfortable to be in that area.”

Recently, Oregon DOT used propane cannons, which produce louder and deeper sounds, to successfully chase away birds from the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River. Seydel said Oregon DOT might bring out those “big guns” if the pistol sounds and flashes do not work on the U.S. 101 bridges.

“There’s also the canon, if necessary,” she said. “So, whiz, bang, boom is the possibility.”

Tennessee DOT Helping Deploy ‘Seabins’ for River Cleanup

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has teamed up with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTRB) and other partners to establish a network of 17 “Seabin” automated litter and debris removal devices across the Tennessee River watershed.

[Above photo by the Seabin Project]

Seabin devices work continuously to skim and collect marine debris from the surface of the water. Each receptacle can remove up to 3,000 pounds of marine debris annually, while also filtering out gasoline, oils, and “micro-plastics” from the water.

Grants from the Tennessee DOT and the national Keep America Beautiful organization provided the funds supporting this deployment of the Seabin devices.

The Tennessee DOT’s contribution includes the purchase and installation of 10 devices at locations throughout Tennessee, as well as funding for two years of water-based cleanups of the river and its tributaries within the state – funding made in conjunction with the agency’s “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” litter prevention campaign.

“[Our] partnership with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful demonstrates the link between roadside litter and debris that ends up in our waterways,” explained Joseph Galbato, Tennessee DOT interim commissioner, in a statement. “Investing in this substantial network of litter removal devices is another example of how TDOT promotes innovative solutions to making our state cleaner and keeping our waterways clear.”

In addition to the 17 Seabins deployed in Tennessee, another two will deploy on the Tennessee River in Alabama, with one other placed on one of the river’s tributaries in North Carolina.

“Until now, all of our work has only been able to prevent micro-plastics in our waterways, so we are thrilled to the Tennessee DOT and Keep America Beautiful for these – as I see it – revolutionary grants and to our partners who will be maintaining the Seabins to make this trailblazing project possible,” added Kathleen Gibi, KTRB’s executive director.

The Tennessee DOT is an agency known for funding different and innovative ways to reduce littering.

For example, in April 2021, the agency helped fund a pair of new exhibits at the Tennessee Aquarium illustrate how micro-plastics and other roadside trash can negatively affect the health of the ocean as well as rivers, lakes, and streams.

The new exhibits – housed in the Aquarium’s “River Journey” and supporting the Tennessee DOT’s “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” litter reduction campaign – include actual debris taken from the banks of the Tennessee River: the focus of its current Seabin deployment project.

Caltrans Issues Funds for Local Transportation Projects

Arizona DOT Wraps up Cactus-Saving Project

Environmental News Highlights – April 6, 2022

FEDERAL ACTION

COVID-19

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

AIR QUALITY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

NATURAL RESOURCES

CULTURAL RESOURCES

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Oregon Legislature Issues Wildlife Corridor Funding

Maine DOT Creates Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group

ETAP Podcast: Joint Office of Energy and Transportation

NHTSA Issues New Vehicle Fuel Mileage Standards

Environmental News Highlights – March 30, 2022

FEDERAL ACTION

COVID-19

NEPA

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

AIR QUALITY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

NATURAL RESOURCES

CULTURAL RESOURCE

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Boom: Oregon DOT Uses ‘Fireworks’ to Drive Birds from Bridges

Tennessee DOT Helping Deploy ‘Seabins’ for River Cleanup

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