The Division of Environmental Analysis (DEA) provides environmental guidance on the Cabinet’s projects and activities to KYTC employees, contractors, and the general public. This article contains guidance that will help DEA employees carry the division’s primary job functions.

MOA’s are documents that describe how parties will work together cooperatively on an agreed-upon project or to meet an agreed-upon objective. DEA frequently enters into MOAs with the State Historic Preservation Office that specify how historic properties will be treated on a project. The flowchart below outlines the process for developing and routing MOA’s.

Project meetings are held throughout the life of any KYTC project to discuss issues that arise. The Environment Project Manager (EPM) is responsible for double checking meeting invites that come from either in-house personnel or consultants to verify appropriate invites are extended to state and federal oversight/regulatory agencies, DEA staff (SMEs and managers), commenting agencies, and other relevant stakeholders.

KYTC’s main goal for all projects is letting them to construction. The Cabinet holds monthly lettings at which bids submitted by contractors to work on projects are opened. Once KYTC opens bids for a project the agency decides whether to make an award.

As the design phase winds down, efforts to prepare design information for the bid process ramp up. This phase moves quickly, and DEA keeps track of many items to keep the process moving. Seven (7) calendar days before the letting date, KYTC holds a departmental letting status review meeting to discuss projects included in the letting.

When preparing for the letting status review meeting, EPMs should adhere to the following guidelines:

• Five (5) business days before the letting status review meeting, run the DEA and Six-Year Highway Plan (6YP) reports. Carefully examine these reports and identify points on which they differ.
• Review and note items that require follow up (e.g., projects that have been unexpectedly added to the letting).
• Address outstanding or questionable issues by requesting assistance from Location Engineers, District Offices, and/or subject-matter experts (SME).
• Be ready to debrief DEA Management about findings on the morning of the third business day before the letting status review meeting date.
• If a project-related item or issue remains outstanding or DEA lacks information on a project, continue to pursue information. DEA MUST be able to provide an update on each project at the letting status review meeting.
• By the end of the letting status review meeting, the status of each project in the letting is known and some additional projects may be added. Be prepared to pursue and acquire additional information requested for the projects. Determine which projects are ready for letting and confirm that all issues on these projects have been resolved. If a project is not ready for letting, identify unresolved issues and provide a schedule for clearance.

Environmental issues are often complex and difficult to make sense of, especially for people who work in other disciplines. District and Central Office personnel rely heavily on EMPs for answers. EPMs should always be ready to provide project status updates, even if this information will not be well-received.