Environmental Clearance

Environmental Clearance is required for all Transportation Enhancement (TE) projects prior to bid advertisement. If the the final design of the TE project or right-of-way activities are being funded with Federal funds, environmental clearance must be obtained prior to proceeding past State II (30%) design or starting right-of-way acquisition.

Each sponsor is responsible for complying with all federal environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In order to meet the NEPA requirements, each sponsor is responsible for all environmental investigations, and for completing environmental documentation that addresses the impacts of the TE project. This documentation must be reviewed and approved by ADOT and/or the FHWA. The sponsor has the option to choose between two formats of environmental documentation. These formats are explained and available for download on the ADOT Environmental Planning Group's Local Government web page, under Categorical Exclusion (CE) Documentation.

In addition, the ADOT Environmental Planning Group's web site, contains a comprehensive collection of guidance documents to assist the sponsor with all environmental investigations.