Washington State Department of Transportation - Comments

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA’s) regulations that direct National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementation. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) works closely with both the FTA and the Federal Highway Administration to prepare quality NEPA compliance documents and to provide excellent public engagement during the project development process. We work as a team in support of our improvements to the state’s transportation system. We are very pleased to see FTA proposing new rules to assist applicants and to modernize the agency’s NEPA process. WSDOT supports FTA’s update of its categorical exclusions (Section 771.118). These will be very helpful to our agency. We have provided detailed comments in areas where FTA could reduce confusion or clarify the rules (in particular for ferry terminal repair and maintenance activities). We offer our comments in the attached letter.