19
PEL Implementation
Resource Guide
have beneficial impacts on the environment when
freight and environmental considerations are
integrated throughout the planning, programming,
and project development processes. For instance,
identifying environmental considerations early
could help in the locating of key freight corridors
and facilities. In addition, since freight-related
outreach strategies differ from traditional public
outreach techniques, transportation planners could
encounter different stakeholders and perspectives,
adding value to separate planning efforts. Finally,
integrating freight within the planning process
could ensure consistency with state implemen-
tation plans and air quality conformity as freight
is a major contributor of air pollutants. In short,
linking freight with planning and the environment
could have far-flung impacts to mobility, economic
competitiveness, and general quality of life.
Climate Change
Over the last decade, climate change has received
increased attention by the media and in scientific,
political, and economic circles worldwide. Climate
change is a change in the average weather of the
Earth that can be measured by wind patterns,
storms, precipitation, and temperature. Human
influence, including our energy production and
certain industrial and agricultural practices, is
likely a significant contributor to this change--the
consequences of which are potentially catastrophic.
Climate change is perhaps the greatest environ-
mental challenge facing us today.
Transportation agencies around the country have
begun integrating climate change with their planning
processes. They have increasingly begun to analyze
mitigation strategies to reduce emissions, and
evaluate environmental impacts associated with
climate change that may occur because of trans-
portation projects. Unlike other linkages between
planning and NEPA though, this connection has been
made without much guidance or supporting PEL
documentation.
Transportation agencies have had to elevate climate
change as an issue on their own. To date, there is no
specific federal mandate to consider climate change
in transportation planning. There is no formal
regulatory guidance available at either the state or
federal level on addressing climate change impact in
the NEPA process. Although the U.S. Supreme Court
recently held that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has authority to regulate greenhouse
gas emissions, the EPA has yet to develop any
regulations.
8
Essentially, there are few documented
ways to create Planning and Environment Linkages
when it comes to climate change; thus, agencies
have resorted to what is reasonable. This either has
meant addressing the issue in stand alone sections on
climate change or in other sections (e.g., air quality
analysis, cumulative impacts discussion, etc.).
Agencies that have addressed global climate change
have taken several strategies, including emphasizing
linkages made in the following approaches:
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through
·
community planning, increasing transit ridership
and vehicle occupancy, minimizing travel
demand, and maximizing transportation system
efficiency.
Planning for the potential impact of global
·
climate change on transportation systems
by building capital reserves for enhanced
infrastructure
8 In April 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 1438 (2007), that the EPA must take action under the Clean Air Act
regarding greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and that states have standing to sue if the EPA does not take action. Most greenhouse gases
are naturally occurring, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.