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Over the past year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has sponsored a process improvement team to improve the way the department conducts NEPA environmental review processes. A primary focus of this effort has been to reduce the likelihood that decisions made during the process will be revisited or discarded later in the process, resulting in wasted time, money and effort. Prior to the reinvention approach, the formal NEPA environmental process was started after the project was in the design stage, and after the project's scope and budget had been set, and legislative commitments had been made on a preferred alternative. With support from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a team of federal and state agencies has proposed a revised process that would begin the formal NEPA process earlier, during the planning stage of potential future projects. The other major change is getting commitments from dedicated permitting and regulatory agencies to assist in the early planning stages required by NEPA. By "moving NEPA back to the planning stage," WSDOT will better meet the intent of NEPA, which is to consider environmental impacts of projects in the planning stages to allow for improved project design with decreased impacts. The new process as defined allows resource and regulatory agencies to be involved in the decision making steps of NEPA, and we have defined formal "concurrence" steps that commit each agency to approval of the steps in NEPA, or to non-concur based on our agencies regulatory authority. In cases of nonconcurrence it allows major environmental issues to be addressed up-front rather than in the permit stages of the project when it is more expensive to re-design project elements. Major changes with the new process: • NEPA included in Planning: The revised process would begin the NEPA process at the planning stage, and end it at some point during design. Too often, work done during planning is ignored or redone when a project reaches the design stage. • Interdisciplinary Project Management Team: The revised process has an interdisciplinary team that includes members from planning, traffic, environmental and project development functions. • Agency Input: Permitting agencies have agreed to be part of the planning process, signing of on specific decision points to allow for "decisions that stick" rather than reconsidering issues at different stages of the process. • Decision Steps: The following decision steps are approved by the agencies or the project planning stops until resolution can be completed. Each agency with permitting jurisdiction over the projects must agree to the following critical steps, and once approved, can not go back and request document revisions on these particular issues: 1. Purpose and Need 2. Screening Criteria and Data Needed for Review of Alternatives 3. Alternatives to Review In the EIS 4. Preferred Alternative • Improved NEPA Documents: With agency and local government involvement, the major environmental concerns are identified earlier in the process, and better avoidance and minimization will result. This should assure faster permits in the end, since the agencies have been involved throughout. The Corps of Engineers, and Ecology will use the final EISs that are completed as our decision documents for permits. In the past, we often had to create our own EISs to meet our permitting requirements. • Better Public Input: The public is involved through the steering committees and in scoping and public outreach efforts. In the past, the public would be heavily involved in the planning process, then when the EIS was prepared and changes were made to meet environmental requirements, it appeared to the ICOET 2001 Proceedings 270 A Time for Action frustrated public that the planning process was being done twice. By combining these efforts, we are getting better public support of the process. Three pilot projects are being tested with the new process. Many other DOT projects are also following the revised way to do NEPA, and better coordination has resulted. The agencies are committed to the success of the process, and dedicated staff has been assigned to each project. Better planning is resulting.

Interstate 90 over the Cascades is a significant barrier to over 250 species of wildlife, including cougar, elk, deer, mustelids (otters, fishers, badgers, etc.), amphibians, and reptiles. In the vicinity of Snoqualmie Pass, urban development to the west and agriculture and resort development on the east has shrunk the forest connecting the north and south Cascades to less than 64.6 kilometers wide. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is proposing to expand a 24.15-kilometer stretch of Interstate 90 just east of Snoqualmie Pass through a particularly critical zone for north-south wildlife corridors. Absent effective wildlife-crossing structures, the expansion would worsen the barrier by increasing roadkill and further isolating populations, thus inhibiting genetic exchange. However, the state has made ecological connectivity a project goal, along with increasing capacity, straightening curves, and repaving. The I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition has been working with WSDOT, other public officials, transportation interests, and the public to promote high-quality wildlife-crossing structures. Such structures can also improve safety for motorists by reducing collisions that are sometimes fatal to humans, as well as wildlife. Good data is available to inform where to build crossing structures. WSDOT and the US Forest Service collaborated on a study entitled I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Wildlife Habitat Linkage Assessment (Singleton and Lehmkuhl 2000) that used tracking and road-kill counts to map existing crossing activity. Additional relevant information comes from analysis leading to the Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive Management Area Plan and I-90 Land Exchange (US Forest Service, 1997 and 1999) and Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife studies of cougar movements using radio collars. Recent land acquisitions and national forest-management changes have dramatically improved the outlook for habitat quality near the project. In recent years, purchases, donations, and exchanges have brought more than 50,000 acres of land valued at $200 million into public ownership and protection. The Forest Service is committing to additional habitat restoration, such as road removal. Two of the distinguishing features of the I-90 project are the prevalence of wetlands associated with the Yakima River and the variation in habitat as precipitation and elevation decline from west to east. A variety of structure types—from extended vehicle bridges, to box culverts, to overpasses specifically for wildlife—is required to allow both hydrological connectivity and connections for a diverse array of species. Preferred habitat conditions and existing movement patterns are balanced with site-specific design considerations, including cost, to establish a range of possible solutions to be presented in a draft environmental-impact statement due in spring 2005. Given the intense competition for transportation funds, particularly big-ticket projects near urban areas, the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project will need broad-based support to obtain funding. To overcome the environmental community's general opposition to expanded freeways, the project will need to provide a high level of wildlife connectivity. Project proponents will also need to navigate anti-tax politics by joining in a diverse coalition of agencies, conservation groups, and shipping interests. The recent partnership to acquire habitat north and south of the project points the way. The coalition has grown out of a history of grassroots activism and collaboration around the Central Cascades region. Citizen involvement has played a critical role in the management policies of this area. The I-90 project will be a greater success due to the high level of attention and input received from the public. Public involvement will have peaked in the spring of 2005 with the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement followed by five public comment hearings throughout Washington State. This input will be considered throughout the summer of 2005 and (hopefully) brought to a successful completion in the fall/winter of the same year.

In 2001, the Washington State Legislature established the Transportation Permit Efficiency and Accountability Committee (TPEAC) to identify measures to streamline permit procedures for transportation activities and improve environmental outcomes. A programmatic subcommittee was created to develop a multi-agency approach for developing programmatic permits that would cover 60 to 70 percent of Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) activities (mostly maintenance and preservation work). The subcommittee envisioned that the process for developing programmatic permits would involve establishing common conditions between jurisdictional agencies for similar categories of transportation-related activities. Agreement on common conditions would lead to programmatic permit approval issued by each agency that would cover the subject activities as they occur throughout the state. Agencies involved in this effort included NOAA Fisheries, USFWS, Corps, Washington State Departments of Ecology and Fish and Wildlife, local agency representatives and tribe representatives. In July 2004, the subcommittee had completed developing multi-agency programmatic approval for bridge and ferry terminal painting and washing, bridge and ferry terminal deck replacement, bridge and ferry terminal maintenance and repair, fish way maintenance, channel maintenance, culvert maintenance, culvert replacement, LWD removal from bridges, beaver dam removal, sediment test boring in all state waters, and 40 pile replacement in marine water. Much of this work was performed in the field during 2004 using programmatic permit coverage. In January 2005, WSDOT received and compiled information regarding the performance of these programmatic permits during the 2004 calendar year. This presentation compares the performance results from 2004 with the initial goals and expectations established by the subcommittee (mainly focusing on percent activities covered). The presentation further expands on results including time and cost savings for both WSDOT and permit agencies, environmental benefit, and other lessons learned.

The purpose of this project was to develop methods to analyze impacts from and find solutions for habitat fragmentation resulting from the construction of a new highway across two military bases (McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis Army Base). The bases contain large blocks of rare terrestrial habitats. The need to maintain the security of the bases limits the ability to use on-site methods, such as underpasses and crossing structures. In 2003, the Crossbase highway project, which had been a Pierce County-sponsored project, was identified as a new state highway, and thus became the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) responsibility. The six-mile-long highway cuts through two adjoining military bases to connect a heavily developed urban/industrial area with Interstate 5. Both military bases have core areas containing airfields, housing, operational, and commercial areas that are surrounded by largely undeveloped natural habitats consisting of large wetlands, coniferous forests, rare oak woodlands, and rare native prairie areas. These natural areas are bisected by an extensive network of gravel and paved roads and are used for military training activities. These rare habitats support four federal candidate species, and one state-listed endangered species. Development activities surrounding the military bases have fragmented and eliminated much of the habitats outside of the bases. The new highway is expected to result in three main ecological impacts: direct loss of rare habitat types, decreased use of surrounding habitat due to impacts associated with the operation of the highway (e.g., noise), and habitat fragmentation or isolation of habitats. While mitigation ratios exist to address the elimination of habitats such as wetlands, no ratios or methods exist to quantify impacts associated with operation impacts or habitat fragmentation. Working in conjunction with Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), WSDOT developed a method to assess these impacts based on the level of function that would be lost. This method was used to determine what the total habitat enhancement and restoration package for the Crossbase highway should be. The resulting habitat enhancement and restoration package that was developed consists of three parts: acquisition of a large parcel of rare habitat, restoration and enhancement of the acquired site, and providing funding for additional restoration, acquisition, and enhancement activities. While construction of the highway has not begun, WSDOT is proceeding with acquiring the restoration and enhancement site and has provided funding for the additional acquisition, restoration, and enhancement activities. The developed method will be used on other new highway projects in the future.

Environmental permitting for transportation projects is complex and time consuming. Communication and sharing of information between permitting agency staff can be inefficient, partially due to staff location in different geographic areas. The establishment of a Multi-Agency Permitting (MAP) Team is a project to demonstrate the advantages of co-locating regulatory staff from multiple agencies in a common office to enhance interpersonal communication and interagency coordination. Effective communication early in project development is key to risk identification and project management and consequently, maintaining the planned schedule and budget. The purpose of the MAP Team is to cooperatively process environmental permits for Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) transportation projects while protecting natural resources in the public interest. Participating agencies hope to demonstrate the efficiency and cost effectiveness of this new concept of focused governmental cooperation. The primary goal is to provide thorough, expedited review of permit applications to ensure that transportation projects are consistent with environmental regulations and agency agreements and policies. Project overview and methodology The State of Washington is investing in strategies intended to streamline environmental regulatory and permit processes. The creation of the MAP Team is one such strategic investment that is designed to demonstrate how WSDOT and regulatory agencies can work together to meet transportation and environmental goals. The MAP Team charter agencies include: WSDOT, Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and King County Department of Development and Environmental Services. MAP Team members are co-located together a minimum of one day a week at the Department of Ecology's Northwest Regional Office in Bellevue. The MAP Team concept is being tested on approximately 52 transportation projects primarily in western Washington. The MAP Team has been up and running since early November 2003 and is scheduled through June of 2007. After initially defining how to work together, the team began communicating with their customer base in an attempt to make permitting processes more consistent and predictable. The MAP Team has been using this feedback to initiate streamlining opportunities to: define complete application(s), create early project coordination and MAP Team permit processes, identify improvement opportunities within each agency, and to create model business practices that will use existing project experiences to deliver future projects. These investments in early project coordination are being tracked through eight performance measures. The MAP Team model is based on developing a foundation of trust and open communication between a diverse, highly capable group of decision makers from the five agencies. This formula provides an accountable, transparent process that is able to identify risks and opportunities and to address and avoid conflicts early, thereby achieving permit decisions in a predictable and timely manner. Current results To date, the MAP Team has been involved in reviewing permits for over 25 transportation projects. The MAP Team work is being evaluated against a number of performance standards. These include permit processing time, baseline comparisons, agency investments, initiating change, conflict resolution, and meeting customer expectations. Evaluation of these performance standards will be used to determine the success of the MAP Team concept. Recommendations for the future Based on the initial stakeholder feedback from this pilot project, the MAP Team business model appears to be a good investment toward the delivery of transportation improvement projects. Because of this feedback, the MAP Team pilot project, which was to sunset in June 2005, was extended to June 30, 2007. After further evaluation, it is possible that Washington State may institute the MAP Team concept as a permanent business practice with the potential for growth in other transportation, intergovernmental, and private venture applications.