The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) proposes amendments to §§2.1, 2.2, 2.5 – 2.8, 2.11, 2.12, 2.14, 2.41 – 2.44, 2.46 – 2.52, 2.81, 2.83 – 2.86, 2.131, and 2.134, the repeal of §2.82 and §§2.101 – 2.110, and new §§2.101 – 2.110, all relating to the environmental review of transportation projects. In February of 2012, TxDOT substantially revised its environmental review rules in response to Senate Bill 548, Senate Bill 1420, and House Bill 630, enacted by the 82nd Texas Legislature, and setting forth new requirements for the environmental review of highway projects. Since then, TxDOT has identified the need to make various additional changes to the rules to permit additional flexibility in certain areas, add clarity, and further streamline and improve the environmental review process. TxDOT will also revise its existing rules to support implementation of Senate Bill 466, which was passed by the 83rd Legislature, and which allows them to accept delegation of responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other federal environmental laws from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The department also intends to revise its environmental review rules to provide consistency with the federal transportation reauthorization bill, MAP-21; and remove references to the department's regions, which are being eliminated. The various changes proposed in this rulemaking are summarized and can be found in the December 6 Texas Register.
