On March 30, 2017, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) acknowledged receipt of the certifications and that the waiver of immunity is adequate. As a result, effective March 30, 2017, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is once again authorized to participate in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Assignment Program, which Caltrans has performed since 2007.
This ends the three-month period of the suspension that began on January 1, 2017 when California Streets and Highways Code Section 820.1 was repealed, and Caltrans had to stop performing federal responsibilities for environmental decisions and approvals under NEPA on all Federal-Aid projects in California. During the suspension period, the FHWA and Caltrans entered into a Programmatic CE (PCE) Agreement that allowed Caltrans to approve some 326 CE, which helped minimize the impact of the authority suspension. That PCE is no longer effective, and as stated above, Caltrans is now authorized to approve CE under the 326 MOU, as has been done since 2007.
View the complete letter from Caltrans, Division of Environmental Analysis, Acting Chief Philip Stolarski below.
If you have any questions, please contact Tammy Massengale, the NEPA Assignment Manager and GNEIS Office Chief at (916) 653-5157 or at tammy.massengale@dot.ca.gov.
