The Mandates

Several federal and state mandates guide DVRPC's overall public participation efforts. Together, these laws establish a foundation for involving the public and ensuring that every project undertaken by the Commission considers the human environment.

SAFETEA-LU
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed in 2005, and authorizes the federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 5-year period (2005-2009).

The bill provides $286.4 billion in guaranteed funding for federal surface transportation programs. SAFETEA-LU carries on and extends the stronger planning and implementation efforts first enacted in the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and extended with the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21).

DVRPC, as the MPO for the Delaware Valley region, plays an important role in the overall implementation of SAFETEA-LU. This federal law mandates that DVRPC prepare and maintain a Long-Range Plan with a minimum 20-year planning horizon and emphasizes transportation planning in conjunction with state and local officials and transit operators. DVRPC will be responsible for interacting with all stakeholders and interested parties to ensure the best possible linkage between transportation and transit improvements, economic development, land use, and environmental considerations.

Public participation in the transportation planning process is also a key facet of SAFETEA-LU, and requires early and continued public access to information and the decision-making process. MPO's are required to enact public participation plans that provide for the following:

• Adequate public notice of public participation activities and comment periods at key decision points;
• Timely notice of and reasonable access to transportation information;
• Employment of visualization techniques illustrating the Long-Range Plan, the TIP, and other MPO work program projects;
• Electronically available information (e.g., via the internet);
• Public meetings held at convenient and accessible times and locations;
• Explicit consideration of public input received during the development of the Long-Range Plan and the TIP;
• Solicitation and consideration of the needs of those traditionally underserved by transportation;
• Additional public comment opportunities if the final Long-Range Plan or the TIP differs significantly from the draft version reviewed by the public;
• Coordination with statewide public participation activities;
• Periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of the public participation plan; and
• A summary of comments received and the disposition of those comments; and consultation with federal, state, county and local planning agencies impacting or affected by the transportation planning process.

SAFETEA-LU also requires the participation of interested parties in the development of any public participation plan. For further information, see “Development of the Public Participation Plan.”

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that “no person in the United States, shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

DVRPC, as the MPO for the Delaware Valley region, serves as the primary forum where state departments of transportation, transit providers, local agencies and the public work together to develop local transportation plans and programs that address the region's needs. To meet the requirements of these laws, the Commission must:

• Enhance its analytical capabilities to ensure that the Long-Range Plan and the TIP comply with Title VI;
• Identify residential, employment and transportation patterns of low-income and minority populations so that their needs may be identified and addressed, and the benefits and burdens of transportation can be fairly distributed; and
• Evaluate and, where necessary, improve the public involvement process to eliminate barriers and engage minority, disabled, elderly, and low-income populations in regional decision-making.

In January 2007, the DVRPC Board approved the Commission's Title VI Compliance Plan, which establishes a framework for DVRPC's efforts to ensure compliance with Title VI as well as with other EJ and non-discrimination mandates. The Plan outlines how Title VI and EJ considerations are reflected in the Commission's Work Program, publications, communications, public involvement effort, and general way of doing business. The Title VI Compliance Plan is available by contacting 215-238-2871 or in the Public Affairs section of DVRPC's website, www.dvrpc.org.

Title VI Statements
DVRPC has developed two Title VI Statements to include on public documents produced by the Commission to inform the public of its compliance with Title VI in providing alternative languages and formats for its documents:

The first statement is added to any meeting announcement to which the public and/or outside agencies or organizations may attend (such as public meetings and open houses both on-site and off-site, seminars, as well as DVRPC committee meetings):

DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. DVRPC public meetings are always held in ADA-accessible facilities and in transit-accessible locations when possible. Auxiliary services can be provided to individuals who submit a request at least seven days prior to a meeting. For more information, please call (215) 238-2871.

The second statement below is added to all DVRPC public documents (such as meeting minutes) and publications. For publications, the statement can be added at the bottom of the DVRPC page.

DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. DVRPC's website may be translated into Spanish, Russian, and Traditional Chinese online by visiting www.dvrpc.org. Publications and other public documents can be made available in alternative languages or formats, if requested. For more information, please call (215) 238-2871.

Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Environmental justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, income or education level in the planning and decision-making process. EJ programs promote the protection of human health and the environment, empowerment via public participation, and the dissemination of relevant information to inform and educate affected communities. EJ policy was formalized with the signing of Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, which mandates that federal agencies make achieving environmental justice a part of their mission.

EJ encompasses three basic fundamental principles:

• To avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects, including social and economic effects, of programs, policies and activities on minority populations, and low-income populations;
• To ensure full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decision-making process; and
• To prevent the denial of, reduction of, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits by minority and low-income populations.

EJ requires the MPOs to:

• Examine the allocation of benefits and burdens, currently and in the planned future;
• Ensure that minority and low-income communities are treated equitably in the provision of transportation services and projects; and
• Provide an ample opportunity for full participation for minority and low-income communities to advise the MPO during its planning and decision-making process.

The Importance of Environmental Justice In The Public Participation Process
Effective public involvement in the planning process and project development process can alert state and local agencies about EJ concerns so that they do not result in surprises during the project-development stage. Continuous interaction between community members and transportation professionals is critical to successfully identify and address potential EJ concerns.

State, regional and local agencies should all have public involvement procedures established that provide consideration for EJ. These procedures should provide an inclusive, representative and equal opportunity for two-way communication resulting in the appropriate action that reflects this public involvement. EJ should be considered in all aspects of planning and project decision-making, including the design of both the public participation plan and the proposed facility.

Executive Order 13166: Improving Access for Persons with Limited English Proficiency
Executive Order 13166, Improving Access for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), was issued in 2000 to improve access to federally conducted and federally assisted programs and activities for persons who, as a result of national origin, are limited in their English proficiency. It requires federal agencies to ensure that recipients of federal financial assistance provide meaningful access to their LEP applicants and beneficiaries.

For more information, please see Appendix 4: DVRPC Policy for Engaging Individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in the DVRPC Title VI Compliance Plan.

Americans With Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 provides “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination by a department, agency, special purpose district or other instrumentality of the state or local government.”

For more information, please see Appendix 5: DVRPC Policy for Meeting ADA Requirements in the DVRPC Title VI Compliance Plan.

Doing Our Share For Cleaner Air
The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) were signed into law in 1990, setting up an aggressive timetable and program to improve the nation's air quality.

The 1990 law placed greater emphasis on mobile sources of emissions, and required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to invoke established penalties if states failed to submit adequate plans to attain standards. The Delaware Valley region has been designated a non-attainment area for both the 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The region has until 2010 to meet, or “attain” the standards for both ozone and PM2.5. DVRPC's Destination 2030 and the TIP are designed to help the region achieve this important target.