Announcements

EPA Announces Final Report of 2008 Report on the Environment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of the EPA’s 2008 Report on the Environment, also known as the EPA 2008 ROE. An update of the draft that was released in 2003, this report addresses “trends in the condition of the nation’s environment” that provide a basis for EPA priorities and also allow the public to “understand trends in the condition of the air, water, land, and human health of the United States.” The report is available in PDF format at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=190806.

2008 National Wetlands Award

The National Wetlands Awards Program recognizes individuals for their wetland conservation efforts and dedication to protecting these important natural resources.   The 2008 Award is being presented to seven individuals in six categories.

Among the winners, John Dorney, supervisor of the North Carolina Division of Water Quality’s Program Development Unit, is the recipient in the state, tribal, and local program development category.  Dorney is being honored for his instrumental work in the development of North Carolina's wetland and stream protection programs.

The National Wetlands Awards program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. The presentation ceremony will be held May 13, 2008, in Washington, DC.

More information on the National Wetlands Awards and the 2008 awardees is available online at www.nationalwetlandsawards.org .

News Releases

News release archive

Updates

Research

• Context Sensitive Solutions National Dialogue (FHWA) - currently in progress
• NCHRP 25-30: Temporary Bridging to Avoid of Minimize Impacts to Waters and Wetlands During Highway Construction - currently in progress
• NCHRP 8-36, Task 66: Improved Methods for Assessing Social, Cultural, and Economic Effects of Transportation Projects.
• Environmental Implications of Domestic Goods Movement - completed
• Guidebook for Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Freight Transportation - completed
• NCHRP 20-5 (Synthesis Topic 37-01): Multi-disciplinary Teams for Context Sensitive Solutions - completed

• 2007 Proceedings of the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation are now available.
• "Methodological Challenges of Environmental Justice Assessments for Transportation Projects" by Ann Hartell, MRP, CTE, NC State University was published in the Transportation Research Record (TRR), Journal of the Transportation Research Board.
• Results of the Joint AASHTO/FHWA Context Sensitive Solutions Strategic Planning Process. Final Report. (March 2007).
• AASHTO/FHWA Peer Exchange: Mainstreaming Context Sensitive Solutions. Summary Report. (February 2007).

• Context Sensitive Solutions Training - ongoing.
• NCDOT Merger-01 Training (Environmental Streamlining) - ongoing.
• Web Pilot Course: Introduction to Indirect and Cumulative Effects Assessment (with Louis Berger Group, Inc.)
• FHWA Community Impact Assessment (CIA) Training. Held in Illinois in September 2007.

• The Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) Summer Academy for Undergraduates and NCDOT Summer Internship Program will be held during the summer of 2008.

• The 2008 International Conference on Ecology and Transportation will be held September 2008 in Duluth, MN.

See the Events page for more listings.

• Overview of the Final Rule on Metropolitan and Statewide Transportation Planning, Part 4 of 4 of the SAFETEA-LU Series, April 19, 2007.
• 2007 Clean Air Act Update, April 5, 2007 (CTE re-broadcast of EPA-OAQPS program)