Florida’s Efficient Transportation Decision Making Process

1. Florida’s Efficient Transportation Decision Making Process North Carolina Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations October 27, 2005 Carolyn Ismart, Florida Department of Transportation Environmental Management Office

2. Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) • A new integrated approach to transportation planning, project development and delivery in Florida. • A collaborative process involving • FDOT • Resource Agencies • MPOs • The Public • Committed to at the HIGHEST LEVELS • Process principles incorporated into formalized agreements

3. Response to Streamlining Objectives(TEA 21 Section 1309) • Effective/timely decision making without compromising environmental quality • Integrating review and permitting processes • Early NEPA reviews/approvals • Full and early participation • Meaningful dispute resolution mechanisms

4. ETDM • MOU signed by 24 federal, state and regional agency heads • Partnership with a common set of goals: • Produce good transportation projects that address the mobility needs of Florida residents, visitors and commerce • Simultaneously protect the extremely valuable environmental resources which make Florida unique. • Do this in a timely manner

5. Goals of The ETDM Process • Earlier identification and consideration of potential environmental and sociocultural effects of major transportation capacity improvements • More efficient planning and project development • Build on input at each stage • Don’t continue to invest time and money if fatally flawed • Don’t continue to address if a non-issue • Obtain permits earlier

6. How is This Accomplished? • Early, continuous and interactive involvement of resource agencies, public, MPO’s and the FDOT from the planning phase through NEPA approval and permitting. • Implementation of Planning & Programming “Screens” • Good documentation throughout project life; project “diary” stays with project • Use of the Florida Geographic Data Library (FGDL) and GIS based Environmental Screening Tool to enhance analyses of impacts and to record results and decisions made at every phase.

7. The Problem Mobility Planning FDOT 5-Year Work Program PD&E DESIGN PERMITS FDOT/MPO FDOT AGENCIES A 5-year gap before NEPA begins Late agency involvement Minimal or No Consideration of Potential Environmental Effects/Costs Planning Input Often Not Conveyed to Project Development

8. NEPA Approvals & Permits Planning Screen Programming Screen Early Environmental Resource Agency and Community Involvement Earlier Permits ETDM Process Needs Plans Long-Range Cost-Feasible Plans Project Development Design

9. Types of Projects Subject to ETDM Screening • “Major Transportation Projects” • Roadway Projects • Where capacity is added to an existing road in the form of additional through lanes • New Roadways • New Interchanges, Interchange modifications • New Bridges, Bridge replacements, Bridge Projects involving additional lanes • Public Transportation Projects • Major capital improvements including Intermodal Centers, Rail, Transit Centers

10. Planning Screen • Projects Drawn From: • MPO Long Range Needs and/or Cost Feasible Plans • Florida Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) Plan

11. Programming Screen • Projects drawn from either the: • MPO Priority List, • SIS Cost Feasible Plan, • Deficient Bridge Replacement List, or • Other statewide programs • Projects going through the Programming Screen each spring are those that are viable candidates for programming in the FDOT 5 Year Work Program in the next Work Program update cycle

12. ETAT • Environmental Technical Advisory Team • Each FDOT District has an ETAT • Comprised of representatives from 24 resource agencies • ETAT member speaks for agency –responsible for interaction with FDOT • Role shifts from planning phase through permit approval • Planning Screen: Recommendations • Programming Screen: NEPA Scoping • Project Development: Coordination • Approval/Permits: Coordination

13. Planning Screen • ETAT • Review purpose and need • Review direct impacts • Recommend avoidance/ minimization • Suggest mitigation strategies • Provide SACIA commentary • Assess degree of effect • Coordinate to reduce conflicts

14. Programming Screen • ETAT • Update direct impact assessment • Document degree of effect • Provide scope for technical studies • Participate in dispute resolution on significant issues • FHWA/FDOT determines class of action

15. ETDM & Community Liaison Coordinators • Coordinate activities of the process: • Develop and input project data • Initiate project screens • Notify ETAT of review readiness • Ensure timely information flow • Review ETAT comments and assign summary degree of effect • Prepare summary reports & ensure availability to ETAT, MPOs and public • Coordinate dispute resolution • Provide community outreach

16. Technology Foundation • Florida Geographic Data Library (FGDL) • Digital repository of GIS Assets (containing over 350 data layers) • FGDL responsible for presentation, storage, analysis, and retrieval of supporting data. • Environmental Screening Tool • Web-based GIS application designed to Improve access to information and provide better decision support • Maintains communication record • Provides standardized analysis and reporting tools

17. FGDL is the ETDM Foundation ETDM FDOT/MPO Projects, Plans & Community Characteristics Resource Agency Data Florida Geographic Data Library Performs GIS Analyses Public Access Commitments &Recommendations

18. Info About the Data • Data collected from variety of sources – federal, state, and local government, as well as private Industry • Data Identified by ETAT members to support their review process • 350 plus data layers – 425 analysis • All data has supporting metadata • Data owners are responsible for correcting errors • Each dataset on a specific update schedule – unique to each agency and dataset • All data retained with project information online until 5 years after the final project action

19. EST and FGDL Data Sources More than 30 state, federal and local agencies, nonprofit organizations and private companies have contributed their data to the FGDL. Bureau of Transportation Statistics Environmental Protection Agency Federal Aviation Administration Federal Emergency Management Agency Florida Department of Environmental Protection Florida Department of Revenue Florida Department of Transportation Florida Division of Emergency Management Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Marine Research Institute Florida Natural Areas Inventory Florida Resources & Environmental Analysis Center Florida's 5 Water Management Districts Florida County Governments National Climatic Data Center Space Imaging Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT) SPOT Image Corporation University of Florida GeoPlan Center US Census Bureau USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service US Fish & Wildlife Service US Forest Service US Geological Survey 26 Metropolitan Planning Organizations

20. Florida Geographic Data Library (FGDL) • All Data available online for free • http://www.fgdl.org • All data has accompanying metadata • Continually updating datasets • Continually acquiring new datasets • All data sanity checked before made available • Only Data Not Available are confidential datasets – e.g. Threatened and Endangered species

21. Step 1. Data Entry Project Data MPOs FDOT Community Characteristics Resource Agencies FGDL Environmental Resource Data

22. Buffer • Query • Clip • Summarize ArcGIS Application Step 2. GIS Analysis GIS Layers of Projects And Resources Analysis Results

23. Aesthetics Air Quality Coastal and Marine Contaminated Sites Economic Farmlands Floodplains Historic and Archaeological Sites Infrastructure Land Use Mobility Navigation Recreation Areas Relocation Secondary and Cumulative Effects Section 4(f) Potential Social/Community Concerns Special Designations Water Quality and Quantity Wetlands Wildlife and Habitat Issues Agencies Comment On

24. Enhanced Minimum/None Moderate Substantial Potential Dispute Degree of Effect Positive effect on resources Little adverse effect on resources Resources are affected; avoidance, minimization options available ETAT understands project need; substantial interaction required; avoidance, minimization, mitigation Does not conform to agency requirements

25. Step 3. Project Released for Review Community Liaison Coordinators General Public ETAT Members Community Liaisons

26. MPO FDOT ETDM Coordinators Step 4. Summary Report • Summary of Effects • Commitments • Responses

27. Project Development . . . a change from today’s PD&E • NEPA begins at initiation of the Programming Screen • Class of Action Determination made at the end of the Programming Screen • Concepts & Scope of improvement have already been developed based on comments received during screening events • Technical studies focused, responding to issues raised • Permit basis agreed to in advance • Some preliminary engineering moved into Project Development Phase

28. Project Development (cont.) . . . a change from today’s PD&E • Project Development Summary Report • Summarizes all activities in PD Phase • Serves as the documentation for CEs • Permit & Conditions Included

29. ETDM Status

30. ETDM Status 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J ETDM Concept Developed With Agencies Operating Procedures Training (ETDM & EST) Task Work Group Develop Process Performance Measures Development Initial Screening • EST Conceptual Design • Proof of Concept Demonstration • Requirements Workshops • Process Simulation • Demonstration • Production

31. Status as of 6/15/2005 • 154 projects through ETAT review • 500 participants • 150+ Trained in Project Input Module • 150+ ETAT reviewers trained • Preparation for 2006 Work Program • Programming Screen Event – Spring 2005 • Public access site available

32. Florida’s ETDM Process Benefit’s

33. Benefits • Early identification of potential issues and possible avoidance/minimization options • Early identification of community expressed needs • Integration of agency and community perspectives • MPO & FDOT LRTP processes enhanced by earlier understanding of projects’ potential environmental & sociocultural effects and their associated costs and acceptability • Projects enter the FDOT Work Program and MPO TIP with better definition of issues, feasibility, and potential costs.

34. Benefits (continued) • Agencies and affected community have ready access to quality data and feedback • Project “diary” follows project through all phases • Focuses project scopes on key technical issues • Review and permitting processes integrated • Early NEPA reviews/approvals • Expected reduction in late project challenges and litigation

35. Thank You. Carolyn Hyland Ismart carolyn.ismart@dot.state.fl.us