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Section 4: Roles and Responsibilities

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Overview

This section presents information on the roles and responsibilities of districts, ENV, and resource agencies in the environmental documentation process.

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Two Different Areas of Roles and Responsibilities

  • task-related roles and responsibilities
  • issue-specific roles and responsibilities
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Task-related Roles and Responsibilities

The next subsections cover:

  • preliminary survey/planning
  • environmental documentation
  • public involvement
  • interagency coordination
  • permitting
  • commitments
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  • training
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Preliminary Survey/Planning

District’s role:

  • Perform initial data collection and resource identification.
  • Initiate coordination with state and federal agencies and local interest groups (for cultural and any other relevant resources).
  • Perform environmental studies and analyses for:
    • social and economic impacts
    • impacts to natural resources
    • biological resource issues
    • water quality issues
    • impacts to cultural resources
    • impacts to neighborhoods
    • environmental justice issues
    • noise studies
  • Review any preliminary planning studies, metropolitan planning data or other information needed to establish a project’s purpose and need.
  • Perform appropriate initial site assessment to identify known or possible hazardous materials within the project area that includes both the existing and proposed right of way.
  • Perform early coordination with TNRCC/TCEQ or EPA for known or possible hazardous materials facilities or contamination.
  • Determine if further investigation or consideration for hazardous materials are needed during any subsequent phase of project development.
  • Consider the costs and liability of hazardous material contamination involvement in the decision-making and alignment selection process.
  • Evaluate alignment and design alternatives and develop methods to avoid, minimize or compensate for environmental impacts and document the elimination of alternatives that do not meet the project purpose and need or that are environmentally undesirable.

ENV’s role:

  • Provide districts with project-specific guidance or assistance.
  • Assist districts with early coordination of environmental issues. Provide assistance in determining status of sites, closure, and handling requirements for known or possible hazardous material facilities or contamination.
  • Provide districts with project-specific guidance or assistance with determining scope of work or considerations for hazardous materials as requested.
  • Assist districts with early coordination of hazardous material concerns with TNRCC/TCEQ or EPA as requested.
  • Review and comment on environmental site assessment reports or investigation reports for hazardous materials as requested by districts.
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Environmental Documentation

District’s role:

  • Prepare an environmental document or work with consultant preparing an environmental document. The environmental document should fully disclose relevant environmental issues within the project study areas and detail the impacts of the project upon those resources, as well as measures to avoid, minimize or compensate for those impacts. The document should also identify those issues eliminated from further consideration. Archeological and historic structure survey reports must be routed through ENV for coordination with THC/SHPO.)
  • Discuss studies and disclosure potential for encountering hazardous material contamination within the proposed project limits.
  • Disclose any required permits, coordination with regulatory agencies or special considerations for hazardous material contamination.
  • Incorporate the documentation guidelines for FEIS and DEIS which are discussed in FHWA’s, “Hazardous Waste Sites Affecting Highway Project Development,” interim guidance, August 1988.

ENV’s role: