HDOT Climate Resilience Action Plan | May 2021

APPENDIX C. ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICES IN STATE DOTS C.1 INTRODUCTION The role of oversight nationwide for climate adaptation and for adaptation studies is typically found in environmental/transportation planning offices within state departments of transportation (DOTs). This organizational responsibility aligns with early consideration of climate adaptation, which occurs early (compared to other DOT efforts) in the plan and project development phase and includes the following activities: » Studying the changing future environmental conditions associated with climate change » Outlining methods to assess uncertainties and create scenarios of future conditions to help guide decisions » Coordinating with engineers to determine the failure mechanisms of assets » Determining system/community effects that should be considered as a part of facility decisions » Assessing economic impacts that should also be considered as part of facility planning » Conducting a cost-effectiveness assessment that incorporates these considerations to draw conclusions on the best design option Most of these are typically the purview of planning and/or environmental staff. The consideration of climate adaptation in the context of the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) project decisions would normally occur in an environmental division; currently, such an office does not exist in HDOT. This Overview presents background information on creating an environmental office within HDOT and is organized into four sections: 1) the current environmental organizational structure in HDOT, 2) the rationale and roles for creating an environmental office, 3) a description of the changing policy and technology environment for state transportation agencies, and 4) examples of how other state DOTs have structured their environmental analysis capability within their organization. Every state DOT is different, and thus there are many ways environmental analysis can be integrated into an organizational structure. This is especially true given the many different and often unique challenges HDOT is facing that reflect the unique environmental circumstances of the State. C.2 HDOT’S CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Currently, HDOT has several sections within the Highways Division with some environmental function: HWY-D, HWY-CE, HWY-P, and HWY-L. Highways District offices also require support on environmental reviews and implement stormwater and maintenance programs. As part of this study, HDOT staff recommended that a more definitive leadership effort on each of these areas would provide a more comprehensive and effective approach to environmental and climate action initiatives. » HWY-D, the Design Branch, is responsible for taking highway projects through the environmental review and project design process. HWY-DE is the Design Branch’s Environmental section that reviews the environmental documentation and provides guidance on various highway projects to ensure its consistency with design policy and procedures.

HAWAI‘ I HIGHWAYS | CLIMATE ADAPTATION ACTION PLAN ( C-1 )