Tennessee Environmental Procedures Manual

In 2002 the Environmental Division of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) initiated a simple update of its written environmental procedures for projects evaluated under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In 2003 a new governor and a new TDOT commissioner ushered in changes to the planning, environmental, and public involvement responsibilities of TDOT. As a result of these leadership changes, the manual's simple update was redirected to a more broadly based assessment of the department's existing environmental procedures and the creation of a more streamlined environmental review process that is better integrated into TDOT's project development process and more transparent to the public and other stakeholders. During this time, TDOT also created its first official policy for environmental reviews of state-funded transportation projects, an environmental procedures manual. The manual incorporates the new environmental review processes required by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and the pending Tennessee Environmental Streamlining Agreement. This case study describes the manual's development, highlights reforms in the department's philosophy and approach that have affected the contents of the manual, and shares lessons learned. The 2007 Tennessee Environmental Procedures Manual (TEPM), available on TDOT's website, will be useful to other states updating their own older manuals or creating new manuals to meet the requirements of SAFETEA-LU. The TEPM provides a handy reference for navigating the NEPA process, implementing the SAFETEA-LU environmental review requirements, and standardizing technical analysis and documentation that should be of value to NEPA practitioners and transportation professionals in Tennessee and across the country.