Policy Guidance Concerning Application of Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to Metropolitan and Statewide Planning
[Federal Register: May 19, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 98)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 31803-31805]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19my00-5]
[[Page 31803]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
23 CFR Parts 450 and 771
49 CFR Parts 619 and 622
Federal Transit Administration
Policy Guidance Concerning Application of Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to Metropolitan and Statewide Planning
AGENCIES: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Federal Transit
Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of policy.
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SUMMARY: This document publishes guidance regarding the implementation
of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-2000d-4)
concerning nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs, in
metropolitan and statewide planning. This guidance was previously
issued on October 7, 1999, as a memorandum to FTA Regional
Administrators and FHWA Division Administrators, and is printed in its
entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For application to metropolitan
planning, Mr. Sheldon M. Edner, FHWA, (202) 366-4066 or Mr. Charles
Goodman, FTA, (202) 366-1944. For application to statewide planning,
Mr. Dee Spann, FHWA, (202) 366-4086 or Mr. Paul Verchinski, FTA, (202)
366-1626. All are located at the U.S. Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Office hours are from
7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by using a
computer, modem and suitable communications software from the
Government Printing Office's Electronic Bulletin Board Service at (202)
512-1661. Internet users may reach the Office of the Federal Register's
home page at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg and the Government Printing
Office's web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
(Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48 and 1.51)
Issued on: May 9, 2000.
Nuria I. Fernandez,
Acting Administrator.
Kenneth R. Wykle,
Federal Highway Administrator.
The guidance memorandum reads as follows:
Date: October 7, 1999.
Subject: ACTION: Implementing Title VI Requirements in Metropolitan and
Statewide Planning
From: Gordon J. Linton, Administrator, FTA
Kenneth R. Wykle, Administrator, FHWA
To: FTA Regional Administrators
FHWA Division Administrators
Background
The purpose of this memorandum is to issue clarification to you in
implementing Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 2000d-1)
and related regulations, The President's Executive Order on
Environmental Justice, the U.S. DOT Order, and the FHWA Order.
Title VI states that ``No person in the United States shall, on the
ground 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.'' Title VI bars intentional discrimination as
well as disparate impact discrimination (i.e., a neutral policy or
practice that has a disparate impact on protected groups).
The Environmental Justice (EJ) Orders further amplify Title VI by
providing that ``each Federal agency shall make achieving environmental
justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as
appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on
minority populations and low-income populations.''
Increasingly, concerns for compliance with provisions of Title VI
and the EJ Orders have been raised by citizens and advocacy groups with
regard to broad patterns of transportation investment and impact
considered in metropolitan and statewide planning. While Title VI and
EJ concerns have most often been raised during project development, it
is important to recognize that the law also applies equally to the
processes and products of planning. The appropriate time for FTA and
FHWA to ensure compliance with Title VI in the planning process is
during the planning certification reviews conducted for Transportation
Management Areas (TMAs) and through the statewide planning finding
rendered at approval of the Statewide Transportation Improvement
Program (STIP).
This memorandum serves as clarification pending issuance of revised
planning and environmental regulations.
Requested Action
We request that during certification reviews you raise questions
that serve to substantiate metropolitan planning organization (MPO)
self-certification of Title VI compliance. Suggested questions are
attached. Also attached are a series of actions that could be taken to
support Title VI compliance and EJ goals, improve planning performance,
and minimize the potential for subsequent corrective action and
complaint.
Statewide planning is also subject to the same Title VI legislative
requirements as the metropolitan planning process. The FHWA division
offices, jointly with FTA regional offices, should review and document
Title VI compliance when making the TEA-21 required finding that STIP
development and the overall planning process is consistent with the
planning requirements.
In part, the purpose of asking the questions attached to this
memorandum is to review the basis upon which the annual self-
certification of compliance with Title VI is made. The metropolitan
planning certification reviews in TMAs and STIP findings offer an
opportunity to FHWA and FTA staff to verify the procedures and
analytical foundation upon which the self-certification is made. If it
becomes evident that the self-certification was not adequately
supported, a corrective action is to be included in their certification
report to rectify the deficiency.
The FHWA's and FTA's Division and Regional Administrators should
involve their respective civil rights staffs in the EJ and Title VI
portions of the metropolitan planning certification reviews in TMAs and
statewide planning findings.
Forthcoming Planning Regulations
As you know, FHWA and FTA are preparing to revise the planning (23
CFR 450 and 49 CFR 619) and environmental (23 CFR 771 and 49 CFR 622)
regulations. In these rulemakings and subsequent documents, we will
propose clarifications and appropriate procedural and analytical
approaches for more completely complying with the provisions of Title
VI and the Executive Order on Environmental Justice. Specifically, the
proposals will focus on
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public involvement strategies for minority and low-income groups and
assessment of the distribution of benefits and adverse environmental
impacts at both the plan and project level.
If you have questions on metropolitan applications of this
memorandum, please contact Sheldon M. Edner, Team Leader, Metropolitan
Planning and Policies, FHWA, (202) 366-4066; or Charlie Goodman,
Division Chief, Metropolitan Planning, FTA (202) 366-1944. On statewide
applications, please contact Dee Spann, Team Leader, Statewide
Planning, FHWA; (202) 366-4086; or Paul Verchinski, Chief, Statewide
Planning, FTA, (202) 366-1626.
Assessing Title VI Capability--Review Questions
September 1999
Discussion of these important issues will be held as part of
planning certification reviews, and the discussion will be held as part
of statewide planning findings that are made as part of Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) approval. These questions are
offered as an aid to reviewing and verifying compliance with Title VI
requirements:
1. Overall Strategies and Goals
What strategies and efforts has the planning process
developed for ensuring, demonstrating, and substantiating compliance
with Title VI? What measures have been used to verify that the multi-
modal system access and mobility performance improvements included in
the plan and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) or STIP, and the
underlying planning process, comply with Title VI?
Has the planning process developed a demographic profile
of the metropolitan planning area or State that includes identification
of the locations of socio-economic groups, including low-income and
minority populations as covered by the Executive Order on Environmental
Justice and Title VI provisions?
Does the planning process seek to identify the needs of
low-income and minority populations? Does the planning process seek to
utilize demographic information to examine the distributions across
these groups of the benefits and burdens of the transportation
investments included in the plan and TIP (or STIP)? What methods are
used to identify imbalances?
2. Service Equity
Does the planning process have an analytical process in
place for assessing the regional benefits and burdens of transportation
system investments for different socio-economic groups? Does it have a
data collection process to support the analysis effort? Does this
analytical process seek to assess the benefit and impact distributions
of the investments included in the plan and TIP (or STIP)?
How does the planning process respond to the analyses
produced? Imbalances identified?
3. Public Involvement
Does the public involvement process have an identified
strategy for engaging minority and low-income populations in
transportation decisionmaking? What strategies, if any, have been
implemented to reduce participation barriers for such populations? Has
their effectiveness been evaluated?
Has public involvement in the planning process been
routinely evaluated as required by regulation? Have efforts been
undertaken to improve performance, especially with regard to low-income
and minority populations? Have organizations representing low-income
and minority populations been consulted as part of this evaluation?
Have their concerns been considered?
What efforts have been made to engage low-income and
minority populations in the certification review public outreach
effort? Does the public outreach effort utilize media (such as print,
television, radio, etc.) targeted to low-income or minority
populations? What issues were raised, how are their concerns
documented, and how do they reflect on the performance of the planning
process in relation to Title VI requirements?
What mechanisms are in place to ensure that issues and
concerns raised by low-income and minority populations are
appropriately considered in the decisionmaking process? Is there
evidence that these concerns have been appropriately considered? Has
the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) or State DOT made funds
available to local organizations that represent low-income and minority
populations to enable their participation in planning processes?
Guidance:
Assessing Title VI Capability--FTA/FHWA Actions
Environmental Justice in State Planning and Research (SPR) and Unified
Planning Work Programs (UPWPs)
At a minimum, FHWA and FTA should review with States, MPOs, and
transit operators how Title VI is addressed as part of their public
involvement and plan development processes. Since there is likely to be
the need for some upgrading of activity in this area, a work element to
assess and develop improved strategies for reaching minority and low-
income groups through public involvement efforts and to begin
developing or enhancing analytical capability for assessing impact
distributions should be considered in upcoming SPRs and UPWPs.
Review Public Involvement Efforts During Certification Reviews for
Title VI Consistency
In many areas, room for improvement exists in public involvement
processes regarding engagement of minority and low-income individuals.
It is appropriate to review the extent to which MPOs and States have
made proactive efforts to engage these groups through their public
involvement programs. Further, FHWA and FTA should review the record of
complaints or concerns raised regarding Title VI in the planning
process under review. During the on-site element of the metropolitan
certification review, the public involvement process, now required by
statute, should make a special effort to engage and involve
representatives of minority and low-income groups to hear their views
regarding changes to and performance of the planning process.
Options for FHWA/FTA Metropolitan Certification Review Actions
(1) FHWA and FTA should seek to determine what, if any, processes
are in place to assess the distribution of impacts on different socio-
economic groups for the investments identified in the transportation
plan and TIP. If the planning process has no such capability in place,
there needs to be further investigation as to how the MPO is able to
annually self-certify its compliance with the provisions of Title VI.
(2) If no documented process exists for assessing the
distributional effects of the transportation investments in the region,
the planning certification report should include a corrective action
directing the development of a process for accomplishing this end. This
will
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serve to put the process on notice regarding existing requirements and
prepare it for future regulatory requirements. If a minimal effort is
in place, FHWA and FTA should encourage the planning process
participants to become familiar with the provisions of the Executive
Order on Environmental Justice and identify needed improvements based
on the Order.
(3) If no formal evaluation of the public involvement process has
been conducted per the requirement for periodic assessment (see 23 CFR
450.316(b)), a corrective action to conduct an evaluation should be
included in the certification report. The formal evaluation should, at
a minimum, assess the effectiveness of efforts to engage minority and
low-income populations through the local public involvement process. If
the MPO or State has conducted a public involvement evaluation, FHWA
and FTA should determine whether the involvement of minorities and low-
income individuals has been addressed and what strengths and
deficiencies were identified. Recommended improvements or corrective
actions for the certification report or STIP findings can be tied to
the results of the MPO's or State's public involvement evaluation.
[FR Doc. 00-12590 Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am]
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