RE: FHWA's Public Involvement Plan for Massachusetts

[Stephen Buckley]

Dear Ms. Stephenson,

The purpose of this message is to request additional clarification about the FHWA's requirements for the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation (MassDOT) concerning "public involvement" in the development and design of any transportation-related project.

Shortly after the March 9th response from Ms. Leah Sirmin of your office (see below) to my earlier request for information on this subject (see further below), I received a phone call on March 12th in which Mr. Michael Chong of your office asked for background information that may have prompted my inquiry.  After providing him with my personal experience concerning public involvement (or lack thereof) for local highway projects, he indicated that he would "check into it" with MassDOT and get back to me.

Six weeks later, not having heard from Mr. Chong, I call and spoke with him on April 22 and later, at his request, on April 24 for a total of close to 2 hours.  However, after all that discussion, I am no more enlightened about what, if any, procedures are being, or have been, used by your office in overseeing MassDOT compliance with FHWA regulations regarding its requirements for Public Involvement.

And, as a former federal engineer with experience in program evaluation, the response (or lack thereof) that I have been getting from MassDOT over the past year and, now, from your office is consistent with my federal experience (and also as a parent) when people would try to give me "the run-around".

But, perhaps it is me who is missing something about your oversight activities on this subject.  If so, please respond to this message so that I can decide, then, who else in FHWA with oversight responsibility might be interested in addressing this issue.  Thank you for your attention.

sincerely,

Stephen Buckley
collaboration engineer
Chatham, Cape Cod, Mass.
24/7 phone: (508) 348-9090

http://www.opengovmetrics.com
http://www.openchatham.com


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At 12:37 PM 3/9/2015, leah....@dot.gov wrote:

Mr. Buckley,
 
Please see the following link to MassDOT’s current Public Participation Plan.  This plan addresses MassDOT’s statewide planning, includes procedures for public involvement & public hearing, and also makes reference to the Project Development and Design Guide for project development processes.
 
If you would like specific information on the transportation planning process administered by the Cape Cod MPO, please contact:  Glenn Cannon, Technical Services Director at 508-744-1226.
 
Thank you,
 
Leah Sirmin
 
Community Planner
Federal Highway Administration
Massachusetts Division
55 Broadway, 10^th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142
617-494-2426
 
 
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From: Stephen Buckley [ mailto:sbuc...@igc.org]
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2015 7:39 PM
To: Sirmin, Leah (FHWA)
Cc: Stephenson, Pamela (FHWA); Chong, Michael.A (FHWA); Mccullough, Jody <FHWA>; Noch, Michelle (FHWA); Lau, Lorrie (FHWA)
Subject: FHWA's Public Involvement Plan for Massachusetts
 
Dear Leah,

The purpose of this message is to request clarification about the FHWA's requirements for the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation (MassDOT) concerning "public involvement" in the development and design of any transportation-related project.

I know that you usually attend but, at the last two meetings of the Cape Cod MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) this past December and February, I spoke about a letter that I had received from the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation (MassDOT) which stated that the actions described in the MassDOT "Project Development and Design Guide" for public involvement (see Chapter 2) are only "suggested".  That is a curious statement, since the Guide itself (see p. 2-2) says the actions are "required".

But then, almost at the same time, I came across the "DOT Public Involvement Reference Tool"
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/reference_tool/
... in which I see "Y" (Yes) for Massachusetts having both a Statewide and a NEPA Public Involvement Plan (PIP).  They are described at the following link (and in text, further below): http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/reference_tool/aboutpirt.cfm
So, in order for me to speak accurately at the next meeting of the Cape Cod MPO (Monday, March 16th), please help with this question:
Where can I find the "Public Involvement Plans" (both Statewide and NEPA) that were approved and required by FHWA for use by Massachusetts (MassDOT)?
I am wondering if either of these plans were supposed to be covered by MassDOT's "Project Development and Design Guide".
http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/DoingBusinessWithUs/ManualsPublicationsForms/ProjectDevelopmentDesignGuide.aspx

Also, please "reply all" to this message, so the "DOT Public Reference Tool" can be updated (i.e., with web-links) for Massachusetts.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/

Your response will also help in better understanding of how to improve the FHWA's program for public involvement, especially in light of the White House's ongoing interest in hearing from the public (like me) about the "best practices and metrics" for public participation.  See here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/open (see link to "Join the Conversation about Open Government")
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/11/25/help-shape-public-participation ("Help Shape Public Participation")

Thank you for your attention.  If there are any questions, or a chance that you may not reply before the MPO meeting of March 16, please let me know.

sincerely,

Stephen Buckley
collaboration engineer
Chatham, Cape Cod, Mass.
24/7 phone: (508) 348-9090

http://www.opengovmetrics.com
http://www.openchatham.com


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excerpt from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/reference_tool/aboutpirt.cfm
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About DOT Public Involvement

Welcome to the Public Involvement Reference Tool.  The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has developed this reference tool as a technical resource for transportation professionals and the public.  The reference tool is designed to help you find specific public involvement documents, discover and share best practices, and to assist State transportation agencies (STAs) to improve their transparency, efficiency, and accountability.  The reference tool encourages more open governmental decisionmaking that facilitates citizen participation and collaboration.

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• Statewide Planning Public Involvement Process
  • 23 U.S.C. §135 (f)(1)(C) -The State must provide a reasonable opportunity to comment on the proposed plan.
  • 23 CFR §450.210 - The State is required to develop and use a documented public involvement process that provides opportunities for public review and comment at key planning decision points.
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Public Involvement Process - 42 U.S.C. §4331 et seq. NEPA's procedural requirements apply to all Federal agencies in the executive branch. NEPA requires agencies to undertake an assessment of the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. Two major purposes of the environmental review process are better informed decisions and citizen involvement.
  • 40 CFR §1506.6 (a)-(f) requires the following efforts:
    • Involving the public in preparing and implementing NEPA procedures;
    • Providing public notice of hearings or meetings and the availability of environmental documents;
    • Holding public hearings or meetings;
    • Soliciting appropriate information from the public;
    • Explaining where interested persons can get information on environmental impact statements (EISs); and
    • Making EIS comments available to the public.
  • 23 CFR §771.111 (h) stipulates that each State must have procedures approved by the FHWA to carry out a public involvement-public hearing program.