Local Environmental Issues

Resources and Forms

Please note, we are in the process of updating the LAPM to reflect recently issued Executive Orders, which rescinded previous Executive Orders relating to several environmental topics, including Environmental Justice and Climate Change.  The affected chapters, forms, and templates will be updated as soon as possible.

Resources

• Local Assistance Procedures Manual (LAPM),  Chapter 6: Environmental Procedures (PDF)
• Local Assistance Procedures Manual (LAPM)
• Standard Environmental Reference (SER)
• Non-Infrastructure Undertakings Exempt from Further Review Memo Dated April 5, 2016 (PDF)
• Non-Infrastructure Project Natural Environmental Study - No Effect Memo Dated April 25, 2016 (signed by Amy Bailey)(PDF)
• 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 771
• 23 USC 326 CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION Assignment / 23 USC 327: NEPA Assignment
• 23 USC 326 Memorandum of Understanding 
• 23 USC 327: NEPA Assignment
• 23 USC 327 NEPA Assignment Memorandum of Understanding (December 23, 2016)
• Chapter 38 NEPA Assignment
• Quality Control Guidance for Standard Biological Technical Documents and Reports (PDF)
• Visual Impact Assessment Level (Questionnaire)
• New PES Instructions
• NMFS Species List

Forms

• Preliminary Environmental Study (PES) Form (PDF)
• PES Instruction (PDF)
• PES (NI) Form(PDF)
• PES (Example)
• PES (NI) Form Instruction(PDF)
• Location Hydraulic Study Form (Word)
• Summary Floodplain Encroachment Report (Word)
• Floodplain CALTRANS Reviewers Checklist (Word)
• Floodplain Encroachment Memo (PDF) 
• SER Forms and Templates
• Annotated Outlines--NEPA Only EIS (DOC)
• Annotated Outlines--NEPA Only EA (DOC)

Training

For environmental training opportunities for local and tribal agencies, please visit the Local Assistance Training & Resource website.  To subscribe and receive weekly DLA News & Training Announcements for local and tribal agencies, visit the DLA Blog and enter your contact information in the right side column.

On-Demands

There are several On-Demands that are available for viewing offered by the Office of Environmental Compliance and Outreach.

• Intro to the Office of Environmental Compliance and Outreach (ECO). The PowerPoint can be found here. The following topics are covered:
  • ECO office staff
  • Local Assistance Program overview
  • Local Assistance vs. Capital Projects
  • Duties and Responsibilities
  • Intro to Local Public Agencies
  • Project types
  • Office Services
• FHWA Emergency Relief (ER) Webinar. The following topics are covered:
  • FHWA Emergency Relief Program overview, purpose
  • Types of disasters
  • Project approval process
  • Project completion process
  • Deadlines and federal funding
  • Advanced Construction (AC) process
  • Eligible and ineligible work
  • Resiliency Requirements for Non-ER projects
  • Resources and contacts

For additional training, you may also click the Cooperative Training Assistance Program (CTAP) page for viewing the Federal Aid Series videos.

• NEPA Overview. The following topics are covered:
  • What is NEPA? What does it do?
  • NEPA applicability
  • NEPA assignment
  • NEPA lead agency
  • Laws corresponding to NEPA
  • FHWA Responsibilities
• NEPA vs. CEQA. The following topics are covered:
  • Document comparisons between NEPA and CEQA
  • Terminology and definitions of significance comparison

 

Future Federal Aid Series Trainings

See our planned Federal Aid Series trainings below.  Please note that information may be subject to change. For more information, please visit our Cooperative Training Assistance Program (CTAP) page for more information.

• One virtual training planned in February 2024
• One in-person training planned for April 2024

Federal Aid Series Q&A

Please see the document attached for some common Q&As

• FAS Q&A

Resource Agency Partnership Trainings

• CDFW: The Impact of SB 790 on Wildlife Connectivity and Endangered Species Consistency Determinations
• SWRCB: Water Quality Certification and Waste Discharge Requirements Program and Permit Guidance

Partnering

• Subscribe to DLA Email List
• Caltrans Local Assistance Blog

Reports

Quarterly Reports

Monitoring requirements in both the 23 USC 326 CE Assignment and 23 USC 327 NEPA Assignment MOUs require Caltrans to report twice a year to FHWA. For 23 USC 327 NEPA Assignment, Caltrans must provide the FHWA California Division a report every six months that lists any approvals and decisions Caltrans has made with respect to its responsibilities under part 3 of the MOU. The 23 USC 326 CE Assignment MOU requires Caltrans to provide a list of Categorical Exclusion (CE) determinations that it approves in each fiscal quarter.

FHWA Audits

Under the 23 USC 327 NEPA Assignment MOU, pursuant to MAP-21, FHWA audits are no longer required, however, SAFETEA-LU required that FHWA audit Caltrans' performance under the Pilot Program twice a year for the first two years of the Pilot Program, and once a year thereafter to ensure that Caltrans is meeting federal requirements.

FHWA CE Monitoring Review Report:

SAFETEA-LU requires that FHWA monitor Caltrans' performance under the CE assignment program. Monitoring occurs approximately every 15 months and includes Caltrans District visits with interviews of Caltrans staff and project file reviews.

  Contacts