Untitled Document

Balancing environmental needs with transportation
is Terlizzi's challenge

lTD' s Environmental Services provides balanced environmental considerations that results in a safe and efficient transportation system. Most of us could have guessed that their function has something to do with striking that balance, but very few know how that precarious balance is achieved.

New manager Wendy Terlizzi embraces the challenge.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) governs the development process (getting projects out for construction) and is an umbrella policy, as multiple laws, executive orders and regulations are considered in the NEPA process.

"However, on a program level there are multiple other regulations, laws, and executive orders that we as a DOT have to deal with," Terlizzi explained.

Headquarters Environmental is made up of several individuals, each with his or her own area of expertise. Marc Munch is the cultural resources expert. Michele Fikel is in charge of traffic noise, environmental justice and air quality. Matt Carlson is the stormwater guru. Aimee Hill oversees waters and wetlands. Vicky Jewell works to minimize visual impacts and hazardous materials, and Melinda Lowe is the subject matter expert for biology.

Following along with the notion of One Highways, Wendy is working toward One Environmental by integrating the district Environmental Planners as key team members in the processes.

One of the chief assets of the section is the ability to juggle competing needs. On one hand you have transportation needs; on the other you have the environmental-preservation priorities.

Each one can be prioritized to varying degrees by community impacts, federal pressures and other factors. It's Terlizzi's responsibility to see that all the balls keep moving and that none hit the floor. Consequences can vary, from bad press, to the threat of lawsuit, to yanking of funding. It can be difficult at times.

"ITD's main partner is the Federal Highway Administration, since that is where some of our funding comes from," Terlizzi said. "Depending on the nature of the project, our partners can range from federal agencies (U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) to state agencies (Department of Water Resources, Division of Environmental Quality, Fish and Game), as well as our local partners (Local Highway Technical Assistance Council, cities and counties). Though we all work together, we all have somewhat different agendas and all want to accomplish something a little different," Terlizzi said.

Coordination, compromise and cooperation by these and other agencies usually results in reaching ends that everyone can work with

Meeting those challenges is a way of life for Environmental Services. In the early 90's, when the department recognized that environmental considerations were a significant part of project development and an important aspect of transportation, the environmental unit broke off from Roadway Design and was made a separate section with increasing responsibilities.

"I can't guess what the future will bring, but it will definitely impact us and create new challenges," Terlizzi said.

Part of the fun, she added, is the ever-changing nature of the job and responsibilities. "It's not a static, learn-it-once-and-know-it-forever area," she said. "Things are always changing, and that keeps it interesting!"

Terlizzzi started at the end of September 2017, but didn't officially take Sue Sullivan's old managerial slot until the end of March 2018. She is a fisheries biologist who has worked for consulting firms and various state agencies in California and Arizona before coming to Idaho. Previous to ITD, Wendy spend 11 years with the Arizona DOT where she established and ran their statewide stormwater program. She became the Environmental Programs Manager at ADOT, overseeing the technical resources within the Environmental Planning Group.