Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Environmental Document Preparation
What’s New
In October 2023 at APTA TRANSform, FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez presented Chicago Transit Authority with FTA’s Excellence in Environmental Document Award for the Red Line Extension project. The proposed project will extend the Red Line an additional 5.6 miles, extending into Chicago’s Far South Side, and will include four new stations.
Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Environmental Document Preparation
The biennial FTA Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Environmental Document Preparation seeks to promote efficient development of useful environmental documents. The award recognizes environmental documents that exemplify best practices for a well-managed environmental documentation process, comply with prevailing requirements and expectations, and achieve the objective of paperwork reduction.
The current award cycle is now 2022closed. The next award cycle will be announced in April 2025.
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
FTA-funded project sponsors and their consultants are eligible to submit environmental impact statements and environmental assessments that exemplifies documentation best practices. The environmental documents submitted for the award are evaluated based on:
- Content – Are the content requirements of the NEPA implementing regulations and relevant guidance satisfied?
- Utility – Is the document designed to be truly useful to the public and decision-makers?
- Practicality – Have procedures to reduce paperwork and delay been effectively employed? (See 40 CFR §1500.4 and §1500.5 (PDF))
See Keys to Efficient Development of Useful Environmental Documents.
How to Apply
A project sponsor interested in applying during a call for applications should work with the FTA Regional Office in which the project is located. An eligible submission includes an electronic copy of the environmental document and a brief cover letter (no more than three pages) explaining how the document meets the selection criteria. FTA, in cooperation with recognized experts in the field, evaluates submissions and determines award winners.
For questions about the application process, please contact Dee Phan at dee.phan@dot.gov.
Past Winners
| Project Name | Project Location | Project Sponsor | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Line Extension Final EIS/ROD | Chicago, IL | Chicago Transit Authority | 2023 |
| King of Prussia Rail Extension Project Combined Final EIS/ROD | Montgomery and Delaware counties, PA | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority | 2021 |
| West Lake Corridor Combined Final EIS/ROD | Lake and Cook counties, IL | Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District | 2019 |
| Environmental Assessment for the TramLinkBR | New Orleans, LA | City of Baton Rouge | 2017 |
| Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Federal Way Link Extension | King County, WA | Sound Transit | 2017 |
| Environmental Assessment for the Southeast Corridor Extension | Denver, CO | Regional Transportation District | 2015 |
| Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Purple Line | Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, MD | Maryland Transit Administration | 2015 |
| Environmental Assessment for the Kansas City Downtown Streetcar Project | Kansas City, MO | City of Kansas City | 2013 |
| Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mukilteo Multimodal Project | Mukilteo, WA | Washington State Department of Transportation, Ferries Division | 2013 |
| Environmental Impact Statement for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project | Portland, OR | Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon and Metro | 2011 |
| Environmental Assessment for the Union Station to Oak Cliff Dallas Streetcar Project | Dallas, TX | North Texas Council of Governments, City of Dallas, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit | 2011 |
| Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Northwest Corridor LRT Line | Dallas, TX | Dallas Area Rapid Transit | 2009 |
| Environmental Assessment for the Downtown Boise Multimodal Center | Boise, ID | Valley Regional Transit | 2009 |
| Gold Line Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement | Denver, CO | Regional Transportation District | 2008 |
| Red Line Corridor Transit Study Alternative Analysis and Draft Environmental Impact Statement | Baltimore, MD | Maryland Transit Administration | 2008 |