Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

Project development

Environmental process | Environmental review

Greenhouse Gas Analysis

Greenhouse Gas Analysis Standard Attachment for Categorical Exclusion Projects (Word)

Purpose

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), transportation is the leading producer of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Minnesota. Estimating and analyzing emissions from projects is useful for decision makers to understand whether projects are causing or mitigating environmental conditions.

When to use this subject

This guidance applies a tiered approach focusing on projects with the greatest potential GHG emissions by doing the following:

  • Base the level and type of analysis on the available data according to the environmental documentation (there is more data available for projects with a quantitative mobile source air toxics (MSAT) analysis
  • Apply more effort to the projects with a greater potential for substantial GHG emissions

This guidance describes a MnDOT requirement. Although there are currently no Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requirements for GHG analysis for highway projects, this guidance applies regardless of whether a project receives state or federal funds. Perform GHG analysis on all state and federally funded projects on MnDOT facilities that have Categorical Exclusions (CATEX), Environmental Assessments (EA), Environmental Assessment Worksheets (EAW), and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), except for:

  • Projects where an Early Notification Summary Memo is the required environmental document
  • Projects with a total construction cost of less than $1 million according to the MnDOT State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) or current project estimate)
  • Project types that the Minnesota Infrastructure Carbon Estimator (MICE) tool does not cover
    • You can see a list of project types that MICE can and cannot cover in the GHG Process

For specific process information, see the GHG Process, other guidance page, and/or contact the individuals on the contacts page.

How this subject fits into the overall project development process

Begin the GHG analysis in the Early Notification Memo (ENM) phase.  You must have it complete by NEPA signature. You may need to continue to work on the process throughout the life of the project (mitigation commitments, pavement type considerations, etc.)

Organizations involved