Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
Glossary is under construction.
Please feel free to send suggestions for terms to be
added to:
marr461@ecy.wa.gov.
ComplianceEnvironmental compliance is planning, designing, building, maintaining and operating a transportation system while:
- Avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating environmental impacts;
- Meeting federal, state, and local legal requirements;
- Meeting permit conditions; and
- Being accountable for results
HPAHydraulic Project Approval:
A permit issued by the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for any construction activities
that will use, divert, obstruct, or change the bed or flow of state waters.
Under the "Hydraulic Code" (Chapter
77.55 RCW), any person, organization, or
government agency wishing to conduct such construction activities must do so
under the terms of an HPA. State waters include all marine waters and fresh waters of the state, except those watercourses that are entirely artificial, such as irrigation ditches, canals and storm water run-off devices.
The law's purpose is to
see that needed construction is done in a manner to prevent damage to the
state's fish, shellfish, and their habitat. By applying for and following
the provisions of the HPA, most construction activities that affect the bed
or flow of state waters can be allowed with little or no adverse impact on
fish or shellfish.
IDT/IPTinteragency project Teams:
An Interagency Project Team (IPT or IDT) is a
technical group made up of federal, state, and local
resource and permitting agencies, tribes, and an
interdisciplinary group from WSDOT that represents
planning, design, environmental, construction, and
other disciplines including highways and local
programs when appropriate. An IPT is established to
assist WSDOT on permitting projects in a streamlined
fashion, while maintaining mandated environmental
protection.
An IPT is one of the main opportunities for early
agency involvement in transportation project
planning, design, and permitting. This interagency
group is also a forum for collaboration and
coordination in order to deliver transportation
projects that integrate maximum environmental
benefits with the cost-effective delivery and
operation of transportation systems and services
that meet public needs. An IPT facilitates early
identification and resolution of issues in order to
avoid spending unanticipated time and money on those
issues at the end of the permitting process. An IPT
can also guide the timeline for decision-making in a
collaborative process that has built-in
opportunities for communication, planning and
identification of issues.
Additional Information:
JARPA
Joint Aquatic
Resource Permit Application.
JARPA can be used to apply for
Hydraulic Project Approvals, Shoreline
Management Permits, Water Quality
Certifications, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Section 404 and Section 10 permits, and Coast
Guard General Bridge Act and PATON permits.
Additional Information:
"Mid-Scale" ProjectsRefers to more
common, medium-scaled transportation projects.
See also: "Mega" Projects;
"Routine" Projects. OPAS
Online Permit Assistance System:
The Project Questionnaire (OPAS)
is a tool to help determine which state and
federal environmental permits a project will
need.
Additional Information:
ORA
Office of Regulatory Assistance.
The
Governor's Office of Regulatory
Assistance (ORA) seeks to improve citizens' and
businesses' interactions with agencies and to
increase understanding of government purposes
and operations.
ORA was created by the 2003
Washington State Legislature. The purpose of the
legislation was to provide "citizens of the
state with access to information regarding state
regulations, permit requirements, and agency
rulemaking processes in Washington state."
Programmatic approachA permit or
other action that covers a geographic or
statewide area and applies to a variety of
projects, activities, or locales. A
programmatic approach may allow actions to
proceed without individual approval by each
permit decision-making agency. Streamlining
To facilitate
the timely delivery of quality transportation
programs, protect and enhance environmental
quality, and make effective and efficient use of
agency resources. This occurs through the
continued development of concurrent interagency
coordination and cooperation on environmental
and transportation issues, which includes:
-
Applying consistent
standards
-
Reducing duplication of
efforts
-
Providing clarity and
predictability through the life of a project
-
Resulting in better
decisions over shorter time frames
TPEAC
Transportation Permit Efficiency and Accountability
Committee Transportation Projects of Statewide
SignificanceA surface
transportation project or combination of surface
transportation projects that crosses multiple city
or county jurisdictional boundaries or connects
major state destinations in support of the state's
economy and is so designated by the Department of
Transportation and approved by the transportation
committees of the Senate and House of
Representatives. The transportation committees of
the Senate and House of Representatives may also
jointly designate these projects. Watershed Approach; Watershed-Based
MitigationA watershed
approach seeks to understand natural resource
impacts, assess the condition of environmental
processes, and evaluate restoration options in a
landscape context. Using a watershed approach
to permitting ensures that decisions on mitigation
opportunities are evaluated on their potential to
provide measurable environmental benefits at
landscape scales. WDFWWashington Department of
Fish and Wildlife. WSDOE; EcologyWashington State Department of Ecology WSDOTWashington State Department of Fish and Wildlife |
