Environmental Impact Statement
A Win for ‘Keep it in the Ground’
Coal mining in Wyoming will take a major hit as a result of a U.S. Department of Interior plan to cease future leasing of coal mines in the nation's most productive coal mining basin. The decision casts a spotlight on the presidential election.
New Jersey Transit Extension Goes Back to the Drawing Board After Federal Reversal
The Federal Transit Administration rescinded a clearance it granted in 2007, and a planned extension of New Jersey light rail line will suffer the consequences.
Utah Oil Shale Extraction Dealt Major Setback
The Surface Transportation Board's approval in 2021 of a proposed 85-mile Uinta Basin Railway in Utah that would have enabled increased extraction of the world's largest source of oil shale was partially vacated by a federal appeals court last month.
Six-Story Parking Lot Nixed From D.C. Union Station Renovation Plans
The Federal Railroad Administration has removed a six-story parking facility included in a 2020 draft Environmental Impact Statement for a $10 billion renovation of Union Station in Washington, D.C.
How Cities Are Resisting State Efforts To Increase Density
Cities are attempting to wrest back local control over land use and zoning via some ingenious—and sometimes disingenuous—strategies.
How the Environmental Review Process Privileges Highway Construction Over Transit
U.S. transit projects have a much harder time getting environmental approval than road projects, perpetuating the dominance of cars in U.S. transportation policy.
Environmental Study Released for $7 Billion Houston Highway Project
The final environmental impact statement for the controversial North Houston Highway Improvement Project is available for public comment, courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation.
Union Station Redesign Gets a Placemaking Do Over
Criticisms of a draft plan to revamp D.C.'s Union Station have described the proposal as far too concerned with car storage.
Key Virginia Rail Bridge Project Completes Environmental Review
A $1.9 billion project to add a second set of rail tracks to the Long Bridge that connects Virginia to D.C. is ready to move forward with a recently completed Environmental Impact Statement.
Costs, Delays Ballon on Hudson River Tunnel Project
Developers are baling the latest delays and cost increases for the Hudson Tunnel Project on uncertainty surrounding federal environmental review.
How Much Parking Is Too Much Parking at D.C.'s Union Station?
Plans to expand and upgrade Union Station in D.C. might have gone overboard with parking, according to the public comments on the project's draft Environmental Impact Statement.
New Environmental Analysis for High-Speed Rail from San Francisco to San Jose
Issues of track blending and electrification factor heavily in the latest environmental impact report and environmental impact statement released last week for the California High-Speed Rail project.
A Bad Day to Be a Pipeline: Judge Shuts Down Dakota Access; Atlantic Coast Pipeline Canceled
Two of the most controversial pipeline projects in the United States were dealt massive blows within the span of 24 hours.
New York City Congestion Pricing Confounded by Federal Delay
While New York City's congestion pricing scheme waits for needed federal approval, political support seems to waver.
High-Speed Rail Connecting Atlanta to Charlotte Studied
The Georgia Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration recently released a draft study of a plan to link Atlanta and Charlotte via high-speed rail.
New U.S. DOT Policy Limits Page Length of Environmental Impact Statements
The U.S. Department of Transportation is following through President Trump's promises to ease the federal government's permitting and approvals processes for infrastructure projects.
Department of Interior Plans to Open 1 Million Acres in California to Fracking
The Bakersfield Office of the Bureau of Land Management released an environmental study that is the basis for undoing a 2013 de facto moratorium on fracking on federal lands in California. The Supplemental EIS triggers a 45-day public comment period.
Judge Halts Sales of New Coal Mining Leases on Federal Lands
Once again, the president's efforts to undo his predecessor's environmental legacy were thwarted by a court ruling. In this case, the Interior Department's failure to conduct an environmental review of a Trump executive order ran afoul of NEPA.
Pacific Northwest Gears Up for Another Fossil Fuel Export Fight
Just two years after killing what would be the world's largest methanol plant at the Port of Tacoma, the project has reemerged at the Port of Kalama. According to the EIS for the plant, global CO2 emissions will be reduced, though increased locally.
Victory for Native Americans and Supporters at Standing Rock—for Now
The Army Corps of Engineers denied Energy Transfer Partners an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline under Lake Oahe, advising them to explore alternative routing and conduct an environmental review, granting indigenous peoples a rare victory.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
