Among the common mandates of agency guidelines implementing Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, is the determination of whether the subject action or project will cause disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority or low-income populations. This determination is often troublesome because it requires the analyst to know or define disproportionate impacts. A method is provided for defining disproportionate within the context of an environmental justice evaluation that was conducted for the Wilmington Bypass environmental impact statement. In response to strong local opposition to one of the alignment alternatives of the Wilmington Bypass and to address the perception that this community’s residents were not involved in the planning process, the Wilmington Bypass public involvement program was augmented to include a citizens’ informational workshop, project development meetings, and community liaison meetings. A brief history is provided of the Wilmington Bypass project, highlighting the public involvement surrounding the environmental justice evaluation. Discussions of the scoping process and delineation of the study area are followed by discussions of the reference population development for the minority and low-income populations. Particular emphasis is given to the use of available census demographic and socioeconomic data and graphical display of these data with the use of a geographic information system. Impact evaluations and mitigative responses for issues determined relevant for the environmental justice analysis conclude the discussion. Conclusions and recommendations for further study are provided.

An increasing number of transportation agencies in the United States are using sustainability as a device to frame transportation decision making and to demonstrate performance-based accountability. Despite interest in sustainability as an organizing concept for transportation decision making, the practice in which sustainability is used to frame formal policy development at state departments of transportation is still in its formative stages. This paper presents the approach that the North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) has taken to adopt sustainability as an agency value. Currently in the implementation phase, the department's blueprint for sustainability is not a stand-alone plan, but rather a set of principles, objectives, performance measures, and strategies that have been integrated into the overall strategic direction and policy framework of the North Carolina DOT. The process used to create this product has relied on a combination of internal and external outreach, agency introspection, and conversations with senior leadership to conceptualize sustainability in a way that resonates within the agency's culture and context. A variety of lessons, including the importance of flexibility, integration, and strategic coordination with related agency initiatives, can be derived from this process. Through the presentation and the evaluation of the process that the North Carolina DOT uses, this paper provides transportation practitioners with useful insights into how to integrate sustainability as an agency value and a decision-making framework.

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Context-sensitive solutions (CSS) is a comprehensive approach to transportation decision making that embraces the philosophy that transportation programs and projects should address the transportation need, be an asset to the community, and be compatible with the human and natural environment. The CSS movement is rooted in years of controversy stemming from the dissatisfaction of concerned citizens, environmentalists, historic preservationists, multimodal advocates, and others in the transportation decision-making process. In 2002 the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) signed an Environmental Stewardship Policy that proclaimed, “Our goal is to provide a safe and well-maintained transportation system that meets the needs of customers and supports the development of sustainable, vibrant communities.” NCDOT viewed the CSS approach as a critical element in institutionalizing its stewardship policy and developed the CSS course to encompass the goals of the stewardship policy. To date, more than 1,000 transportation professionals in North Carolina have been trained in CSS. This paper provides insight into the course development process, including course content, participants’ experiences, and recommendations for agencies interested in developing an effective CSS course.