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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>A Multi-Criteria Framework for Selecting Nature-Based Solutions for Remnant Properties for Regulatory Credit</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604609</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The primary objective of this research is to develop and implement a robust multi-criteria decision support framework to enable the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to strategically leverage remnant properties as nature-based solutions for regulatory credit under the Department’s statewide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit (NCS000250) and under state nutrient management strategy rules. In recent years NCDOT has experienced a significant escalation in construction costs, including costs associated with designing and constructing stormwater control measures along existing highways as is required by Section 3.6.1 of the NPDES stormwater permit and 15A NCAC 02B .0281 (9)(d) of the Falls Lake nutrient management strategy rules. In an effort to control construction and long-term maintenance costs, NCDOT piloted a project to retain ownership of four adjacent remnant parcels in Division 5 (Falls Lake watershed) and quantify the stormwater management benefits of maintaining the parcels in an undeveloped land cover. The NC Department of Environmental Quality formally recognizes land conservation as a creditable compliance practice and NCDOT demonstrated that the pilot project saved the Department $3,500,000 in avoided design, construction, and long-term maintenance costs of stormwater infrastructure relative to the value of the properties if sold on the open market. The success of the pilot project in Division 5 has demonstrated that remnant properties from right-of-way acquisitions provide a unique opportunity to provide a value-added repurposing of underutilized assets. The aim of this framework is to align NCDOT's stormwater management compliance obligations with the untapped potential of remnant properties by achieving regulatory compliance, environmental sustainability, cost-effectiveness, social impact, and asset optimization through the strategic deployment of nature-based solutions (NBS).
To achieve this objective, the research begins with a systematic literature review, identifying best practices and relevant frameworks in stormwater management and NBS. The research team will then conduct expert interviews and surveys to engage NBS experts and practitioners. Next, the team will conduct outreach activities to engage NCDOT stakeholders, ensuring their valuable input is incorporated into the decision-making process. Then the team will collate the knowledge gained in these tasks to develop an adaptable, data-driven decision support framework. Lastly, the team will use the newly developed framework to conduct real-world case studies that will test the framework's efficacy, including sensitivity analysis to ensure robustness and flexibility. By combining scientific rigor, expert input, stakeholder engagement, and practical application, the research approach aims to produce a tool bridges the gap between sustainability and effective stormwater management.
This research holds significant importance for both NCDOT and the broader community. It positions NCDOT as a leader in sustainable stormwater management, leveraging remnant properties to reduce costs, enhance environmental stewardship, engage communities, and meet regulatory obligations. Anticipated outcomes include a versatile decision support tool that can be adapted for various scenarios, insights from case studies that provide real-world applicability, and sensitivity analysis results to ensure the framework's robustness. Ultimately, the research empowers NCDOT to make informed decisions that benefit economic efficiency, ecological health, and social well-being in the realm of stormwater management, setting a precedent for sustainable practices in transportation agencies.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2025 14:04:14 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Guide to Acquire Utility Property Interests and Reimburse Utility Relocation Costs

</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516167</link>
      <description><![CDATA[When a transportation construction project involves the relocation of utility facilities, a state department of transportation (DOT) or other responsible agency must engage in complex negotiations involving utility companies and often other property owners, which may include acquisition of rights-of-way (ROW) or easements to facilitate the relocation and compensation to affected parties. (For purposes of this research, “ROW” refers to any real property interests associated with utility relocations.) These negotiations are subject to state and—when federal financial assistance contributes to project costs—federal statutes and regulation as well as agency and utility business practices, and they add cost, time, and sometimes delay to project delivery. 
 
Federal regulations bring some uniformity to the processes of ROW acquisition and provision of compensation, but state and local statutes, policies, and tradition introduce substantial variation in how DOTs deal with utility relocations. Anecdotal evidence indicates that agencies differ in their practices for ROW acquisition and how they compensate utilities for relocations. Examples include when utility relocations are addressed during the project development process, if the DOT or the utility is expected to obtain the required replacement real property interests, if condemnation is employed to facilitate utility relocations, if utilities have statutory rights to be located within the highway ROW, and if such occupancy is secured by permit or transfer of real property interest. Agencies differ also in their use of shared utility easements, master agreements with utility companies, permitting rather than transfer of property rights, or incentive payments for prompt utility relocation. Some agencies may acquire ROW in anticipation of transferring it to a utility while others may be prohibited by statute from doing so.
 
While the statutory and regulatory environment of ROW acquisition and compensation differs from state to state, the project development process is relatively uniform among DOTs. Characterizing when and how DOTs take steps to deal with acquisition of ROW to facilitate utility relocations and analysis of agency experience with time delay and cost that these steps—or failure to take them—may add to project development can offer lessons for improving ROW acquisition and compensation practices as they relate to utility relocations. 
 
The objective of this research was to identify effective statutory means, agency policies, and project development procedures state departments of transportation (DOTs) use to acquire rights of way (ROW) and compensate for utility relocations and to develop guidance DOTs and others may use to enhance the effectiveness of their own practices. The product of this research shall be a report, helpful to utility companies as well as DOTs, describing the primary factors influencing policies and practices, a framework for assessing effectiveness of an agency’s policies and practices, and examples of very effective policies and practices that agencies might adapt to control risks of project delay and cost increases attributable to utility relocations.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 19 Jun 2018 09:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516167</guid>
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