SACOG recently participated in a meetinghosted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) looking at how regional planning organizations and state transportation departments are innovating in federal review of projects and plans.
The Sacramento region's Blueprint was cited as a best practice, and SACOG, along with U.S. EPA and Caltrans, explained the benefits of state funding of federal resource personnel to aide in early consultation and planning objectives. Other presenters included representatives of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and transportation officials from across the country.
The meeting highlighted how federal environmental review streamlining helped with SACOG's Metropolitan Transportation Plan for 2035, and how streamlining could be used further in future updates.
One useful example came from Maryland, which has instituted a green infrastructure project with regional and watershed-based mitigation and policy streamlining that could be modeled in other parts of the country.
More transparent early planning and coordination could also benefit the Army Corps of Engineers-funded Aquatic Resources Inventory, as well as the Rural-Urban Connections Strategy. SACOG, FHWA and Corps representatives will meet later this month to discuss opportunities to improve federal environmental review.