State departments of transportation are tasked with compliance with a plethora of laws and regulations for the environmental clearance of proposed transportation projects. Each state has unique procedures for consulting with state and federal agency partners, but how frequently are these practices reviewed for efficiencies? How often are conversations repeated project-by-project and how consistent are the decisions that get made?
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) recently completed a renewed programmatic agreement with agency partners to help streamline consultation and coordination under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Georgia Endangered Wildlife Act, and Georgia Wildflower Preservation Act, among many others. This multi-year effort involved close coordination with the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and required a deep investigation of current practices and potential efficiencies in the coordination process. The result was new processes for agency consultation and coordination that significantly increased programmatic consultation and coordination with agencies, improved consistency with avoidance and minimization measures across projects, and incentivized ecologically sensitive design. Additionally, this new agreement created a framework for adding additional programmatic, species- and action-specific ESA consultations, which makes the future of environmental compliance and species conservation in Georgia bright!