Two federal regulations included in MAP-21 will take effect this week, and they could have a significant impact on how transportation projects are planned. The regulations, one concerning Federal Highway Administration projects and the other related to Federal Transit Administration projects, could fast-track federally-funded projects by streamlining the environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Under NEPA, major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment require preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement to analyze, among other things, the environmental impact of the proposed action, unavoidable adverse environmental effects and potential project alternatives.

However, not all federal projects are considered “major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” These projects, which do not require an environmental analysis, are known as Categorical Exclusions (CE). The CEs that went into effect last week concern “all projects that would take place entirely within the existing operational right-of-way.” Existing operational right-of-way, includes features associated with the physical footprint of an existing transportation facility (including the roadway, bridges, interchanges, culverts, drainage, fixed guideways, mitigation areas, etc.) and other areas maintained for transportation purposes such as traffic control signage, landscaping, any rest areas with direct access to a controlled access highway, areas maintained for safety and security of a facility, parking facilities with direct access to an existing transportation facility, transit power substations, transit venting structures, and transit maintenance facilities.

This exclusion, which has the support of the American Public Transit Association and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, could make it easier to expand service or introduce an alternative mode of service into an existing operational right-of-way. In terms of expanding service, one local project that should be seriously considered for expedited review under this exclusion is the Metro-North Harlem Line third track extension from Crestwood to North White Plains. This project, identified in the MTA’s 20-Year Capital Needs Assessment, provides a key opportunity to move a serious plan forward.

In addition, these new exclusions may also help speed up the implementation of alternative modes of service like bus rapid transit projects. Although BRT projects can sometimes qualify for a CE with documentation under a separate regulation, that CE requires extensive documentation and analysis. The new CEs streamlines the process by eliminating most of this red tape and requiring the project sponsor to merely show the project will fall wholly in the existing operational right-of-way.

While these CEs could certainly speed up transit service enhancements, the downside is they could also facilitate certain types of road widenings. As Congress begins to debate the successor to MAP-21, they should revisit the application of these regulations as they apply to road projects, instead solely focusing on speeding up necessary transit projects.