Agency Coordination
The Office of Biological Studies manages agreements that provide support to resource and regulatory agencies for expedited reviews and develops environmental procedures to support effective environmental and permit processes. The four agreements we have for enhanced review services are with the following agencies:
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)
- National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
- United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS)
Through early coordination our goal is to be able to streamline the environmental review process while still delivering transportation projects that remain sensitive to environmental resources as well as the public interest.
California Department of Fish & Wildlife
Under this agreement CDFW provides environmental technical assistance, project consultations and coordination services related to Caltrans’ projects. Specific services to be provided may include, but are not limited to:
- expedited project consultation and reviews pursuant to CEQ;
- species consultations and the development and issuance of permits or agreements pursuant to the CESA, Section 1600 et. seq. of the State Fish and Game Code;
- participation in Caltrans’ project scoping, planning, and project development meetings;
- field reviews;
- identification of critical biological resource compliance issues for projects or programs;
- development and /or participation in joint training sessions’
- assist in the development of program-level permits and agreements for appropriate projects; and (8) staff assistance and services to Caltrans
National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS)
Work under this agreement includes environmental technical assistance, consultation, and coordination services related to Caltrans projects, on an on-call basis. Specific services to be provided may include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- expedited consultation and reviews pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act;
- participation in Caltrans project scoping, planning, and development meetings;
- field reviews;
- identification of critical biological resource compliance issues for projects or programs;
- review of federal, State and local transportation agency's transportation projects;
- development and/or participation in training; and
- assisting in the development of programmatic agreements
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) shall provide environmental technical assistance, oversight, and coordination services to Caltrans regarding projects subject to USACE jurisdiction in California by expediting the permit application evaluation-related services for priority projects for a public purpose under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army. The USACE shall provide the environmental services to Caltrans on an "on-call" basis provided by all three USACE Districts: Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Specific services to be provided may include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- (Participation in Caltrans transportation planning and project development activities, including planning, scoping, Project Development Team (PDT) meetings, and field reviews.
- Review of Federal, State, and Local transportation agencies' transportation projects.
- Processing permit applications; participation in State/Regional planning activities.
- Participation in the NEPA and Clean Water Act Section 404 Integration Process.
- Review of environmental documents. (6) Development of programmatic agreements.
- Prepare internal briefing papers, internal electronic messages, internal fact sheets, internal presentations, and other internal communications or pre-deliberative documents. Preparation of these internal materials using Section 214 of WRDA 2000, as amended, funds does not constitute a waiver of any applicable privileges.
United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS)
Under this agreement, USFWS provides environmental technical assistance, consultation, and coordination services related to Caltrans’ projects. Specific services to be provided may include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- expedited consultation and reviews pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act;
- participation in the Department’s project scoping, planning, and development meetings;
- field reviews;
- identification of critical biological resource compliance issues for projects or programs;
- review of federal, State and local transportation agency’s transportation projects;
- development and/or participation in training; and
- assisting in the development of programmatic agreements.
- Prepare internal briefing papers, internal electronic messages, internal fact sheets, internal presentations, and other internal communications or pre-deliberative documents. Preparation of these internal materials using Section 214 of WRDA 2000, as amended, funds does not constitute a waiver of any applicable privileges.