Department of Transportation Act

The Department of Transportation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-670) created the Department of Transportation (DOT), as well as provided guidelines to Federal transportation projects. Prior to this legislation, transportation was housed under the Under Secretary of Commerce. Najeeb Halaby, administrator of the independent Federal Aviation Agency, proposed the idea of the Department of Transportation to President Johnson in June of 1965 on the grounds that the department was essential to "securing decisive transportation policy."

For the purposes of historic preservation, Section 4(f) and Section 4(i) are of the most important.

Section 4(f)
Section 4(f) is the more common section invoked in preservation cases. The purpose of this section is to balance the impact of transportation on the countryside, public parks, recreation lands, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites. This section also requires DOT to cooperate and consult with other agencies, including the Department of the Interior, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Agriculture, as well as the States, "in plans and programs that include measures to maintain or enhance the natural beauty of lands crossed by transportation activities or facilities."

The teeth of this section, however, is in the third clause of the section, which allows the Secretary of DOT to approve programs and projects using publicly owned lands of "public parks, recreation, wildlife or waterfowl refuge, or historic sites of National, State or local importance only if"


 * "there is no prudent and feasible alternative to using that land; and"
 * " the program or project includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the park, recreation area, wildlife and waterfowl refuge, or historic site resulting from the use"

The last clause of the law requires review of programs and project to ensure that use of the areas describe above are truly necessary and to try to reduce harm and mitigate affects. The law is triggered any time that DOT "uses" one of the lands described above. A "use" is fairly broad in terms of Section 4(f). It considers any potential alteration to the original function of the land a "use" and requiring review.

Other legislation
DOTA is related to Section 4(f), National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA), and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Considering "use" as any potential alteration to the original function, ties Section 4(f) to strongly to Section 106. Most adverse effects under Section 106 will then be considered a "use" under Section 4(f), provided the DOT is involve in the project. The threshold for triggering Section 4(f) seems to be lower than NEPA based on Case law

The review processes for Section 4(f), NEPA, and Section 106 consider many of the same impact and mitigation techniques, and can be conducted together. Areas that might be impact by a DOT project or program should be identified early and may be considered as part of scoping for an Environmental Assessment or Section 106 Review. As with NEPA and NHPA, Section 4(f) review can be done in conjunction with the review process of NHPA or NEPA but review under NEPA or NHPA does not release DOT from their obligations under Section 4(f). All of the laws that apply must be satisfied.

Section 4(i)
Section 4(i) was added to the Department of Transportation Act in 1974. Its purpose was to allow the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to "provide financial, technical, and advisory assistance to


 * promote on a feasibility demonstration basis, the conversion of at least 3 passenger railway terminals into intermodal transportation terminal
 * preserver railway passenger terminals that reasonably are likely to be converted or maintained pending preparation of plans for their use
 * acquire and use space in suitable buildings of historic or architectural significance but only if use of the space is prudent and feasible when compared to available alternatives
 * encourage state and local governments, local and regional transportation authorities, common carriers, philanthropic organizations, and other responsible persons to develop plans to convert rail passenger terminals into intermodal transportation terminals and civic and cultural activity centers