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Office of Environmental Services

Environmental Policy Section

The mission of the Environmental Policy Section is to help the Department comply with environmental laws and regulations as they relate to transportation projects.  Specifically the Section focuses on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and hazardous materials requirements.

Services:

  • Red Flag Surveys
  • Phase I and Phase II Site Assessments
  • Asbestos Inspections
  • Remediation of Contamination Discovered During Construction
  • Noise Barrier Assessments
  • Air Quality Reviews
  • Preparation and Review of NEPA documents: Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments, Environmental Impact Statements

Ecology and Waterway Permitting Section

The Ecology and Waterway Permitting Section is responsible for evaluating INDOT project impacts to waterways and natural habitats.  Our goal is to ensure INDOT compliance with a variety of environmental laws and regulations. The Section is split into two units, Waterway Permitting and Ecological.  Duties of each section are below.

Waterway Permitting Unit:

  • Determines the appropriate type and level of waterway permitting needed
  • Develops, reviews, and processes waterway permits
  • Coordinates permits with the appropriate regulatory agencies (USACE, EPA, IDEM, IDNR, etc)
  • Prepares various types of permit applications in conjunction with project designers
  • Performs site visits to ensure INDOT permit compliance
  • Development of Mitigation designs, vegetation plans, and landscape review and development of landscape plans. 

Ecological Unit:

  • Develops and/or reviews all stream and wetland mitigation proposals associated with INDOT projects
  • Conducts field work and prepares various biological reports including Waters of the US determinations, wetland delineations, and habitat evaluation studies.
  • Coordinate and review studies for Karst and endangered species.
  • Ensures compliance with various laws and memorandums of agreement with state and federal agencies. 

Cultural Resources Section

The Cultural Resources Section is responsible for managing the cultural resources associated with INDOT and FHWA projects and ensuring that INDOT and FHWA projects maintain compliance with a wide variety of historic preservation laws and regulations - most notably Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act - so that transportation projects may proceed efficiently and on-time.  We review state and federally-funded cultural resource investigations and reports so that they are consistently of the highest quality in order to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines, and standards.  We establish partnerships and consultation with state and federal resource agencies and the State Historic Preservation Officer as well as historic preservation societies and organizations.

The Cultural Resources Section consists of an Archaeology Unit and a History Unit.  Both units coordinate closely to process Section 106 documents, review cultural resources reports, and document cultural resources through research, fieldwork, and laboratory analysis. 

Services:

  • Archaeological Investigations
  • Historical Investigations
  • Section 106 Documentation and Review
  • Review of cultural resources reports (archaeological and historic properties reports)
  • State historic preservation policy and review
  • Accidental Discovery of cultural resources

Please contact the Cultural Resources Section with any cultural resources questions or concerns at any point during an INDOT/FHWA funded project.

Upcoming Environmental Training

Updated 6-08

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Categorical Exclusion (CE) Class
August 18, 2008, from 8:30-4:30 Eastern Time
IGCS Conference Room 22
This class covers INDOT procedures for preparing Categorical Exclusions to comply
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It is designed for those who
prepare or review Categorical Exclusions for highway projects. This class is required
for consultants who wish to be prequalified to prepare Categorical Exclusions for
INDOT projects.

To register for this class, please contact Melany Prather at mkprather@indot.in.gov or (317) 233-2056.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 3-Day Initial Class
August 19-21, 2008 from 8:30 to 4:30 Eastern Time
IGCS Conference Room 22
This class covers the broad range of topics required to comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act with respect to Federally-funded highway projects. Topics
include a general discussion of NEPA and different document types as well as specific
topics such as air conformity, historic preservation and Section 4(f) of the Transportation
Act. The class is designed for those who prepare or review NEPA documents. This
class is required for consultants who wish to be prequalified to perform NEPA work
for INDOT.

To register for this class, please contact Melany Prather at mkprather@indot.in.gov or (317) 233-2056.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Refresher Class
August 22, 2008 from 8:30-4:30 Eastern Time
IGCS Conference Room B
This class covers recent developments in the National Environmental Policy Act and
other environmental legislation related to the development of highway projects. This
class is required every two years (after attending an initial NEPA class) for
consultants who wish to maintain prequalification to prepare NEPA documents for
INDOT.

To register for this class, please contact Melany Prather at mkprather@indot.in.gov or (317) 233-2056.

INDOT's Cultural Resources Workshop for Qualified Professionals
Thursday, October 2 and Friday, October 3, 2008, from 8:30am to 4:30pm
IGCS Conference Rooms B (Day One) and C (Day Two)
Day One will consist of a general overview of federal and state cultural resources laws
(Section 106 in particular) and INDOT/FHWA policies for cultural resources
management within the context of transportation project development.  Day Two will
consist of a workshop for qualified professionals covering INDOT’s archaeological
and historical reports guidelines, best practices for Section 106 documentation, writing
MOAs, 4(f) Documentation of Historic Properties, Cemetery Development Plans,
and State Certificates of Approval.

This workshop will benefit any qualified professional wishing to be pre-qualified to
conduct historical/archaeological work and Section 106 documentation for INDOT. 
INDOT’s pre-qualification standards for Historical/Architectural Investigations require
completion of INDOT Cultural Resources/Section 106 training (or equivalent). 
INDOT’s pre-qualification standards for Archaeological Investigations require a
demonstrated knowledge of INDOT/FHWA guidelines and regulations relative to
archaeological analysis for transportation projects.

To register for this class, please contact Melany Prather at mkprather@indot.in.gov or (317) 233-2056.
Please register before August 22, 2008.

Environmental Links and Documents