Transportation affects the environment. But today, states and communities have more options than ever before for improving the mobility of passengers and freight in ways that moderate air, water, and noise pollution, and help preserve historic and natural resources.

As we cross the bridge into this new millennium, the challenge before us is to meet future transportation demands as we work to ensure the health of our environment. The Clinton-Gore Livability Agenda, launched January 11, 1999, lays the groundwork to help our communities ensure a high quality of life while allowing every American to share in the bounty of economic prosperity and still protect our environment.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is about more than concrete, asphalt, and steel. We are leading the way in the administration's livability agenda and are working to find new ways to deal with traffic congestion, improve air quality, and preserve green space. With vision and vigilance, we are meeting our transportation needs as we bequeath to generations of the 22nd century a nation of clean air and waters, a land Vice President Gore recently described as "a place of natural grace."

The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) -- with its commitment to improving the environment for current and future generations -- is one tool this administration is using to support livable communities. Under this 1998 law, known as TEA-21, states and communities have more options now than ever before for improving the mobility of passengers and freight in ways that moderate air, water, and noise pollution, and help preserve historic and natural resources.

Transportation affects the environment, and that is why the U.S. government is committed to infrastructure investments that safeguard both human and planetary health. As we provide roads, parking lots, and fuel to power vehicles and industry, it is essential that we weigh decisions that affect our ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and provide assistance to avoid and mitigate adverse effects on the environment. Effective transportation planning that considers a wide range of options and examines the consequences of these choices is the key to shaping sound investment decisions.

TEA-21 empowers our communities to look at their needs and make the best transportation choices for their citizens in this new millennium. These choices may include mass transit and highways, alternate facilities for rail, bicycles, pedestrians, and ride-sharing programs. Earth-friendly alternatives can help us achieve the environmental goals of TEA-21, reducing the total vehicle miles driven in our congested urban areas, and reducing the polluting emissions and greenhouse gases that are contributing to global warming.

TEA-21 is the successor to an earlier law, the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act, or ISTEA, passed in 1991. Both these laws have made unprecedented contributions to how transportation can improve quality of life. Policymakers now incorporate transportation plans with the interests of communities and consider the effects on safety and the environment.

ISTEA also established the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program. The CMAQ program emphasizes the importance of the link between transportation and air quality, and it has provided approximately $8,000 million in funding for states and cities to develop transportation projects and air quality programs. Consequently, many areas will be able to implement transportation control measures (TCM) in compliance with the mandates of the Clean Air Act, as well as other projects that reduce transportation emissions.

An innovative feature of the CMAQ program is the flexibility it provides in transportation projects and programs eligible for funding. The CMAQ program is designed to provide support for traditional TCMs, but also encourages innovation in developing new emission control strategies and technologies. Transit and traffic flow improvement projects are included, as are projects such as ride-sharing, vehicle emission inspection and maintenance programs, and bicycle and pedestrian programs.

The CMAQ program is an important tool available to planners and builders striving to make our country's new environmental vision a reality.

In the 1990s, ISTEA and TEA-21 created a systematic approach for inclusion of environmental concerns in the development of transportation plans, but, for decades, the Department of Transportation has been moving toward more earth-friendly methods in the planning and construction of highways, bridges, and other transportation links. In 1969, before the first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States in 1970, former Transportation Secretary John Volpe established an environmental function in the Office of the Secretary.

Heightened concerns about the ecological impact of decisions began to emerge at that time. But a citizens' lawsuit against a controversial road construction project in Memphis, Tennessee, resulted in a 1971 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that underscored the preservation of greenspace as a clear priority in transportation planning.

In that Memphis case, transportation planners proposed to cut a major interstate highway through a locally-treasured park. Applying a provision in the law that created the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the proposal with the late Justice Thurgood Marshall writing: "The few green havens that are public parks were not to be lost unless there are truly unusual factors present."

Through the action of the Clinton-Gore administration, with legislation from the Congress, and with the direction of the Supreme Court, we are helping communities put people first and achieve goals that better the lives of every individual. We want our children to breathe fresh air and romp in the neighborhood playground on a sunny day. We want our aging parents to be able to enjoy the spring air and play checkers in the park. We want to be able to take a long bicycle ride down a trail without having to worry about cars whizzing past us, spewing harmful fumes.

Together we can ensure the health of our environment, create more livable communities for our citizens, and continue the economic prosperity this nation enjoys. Together we can prepare this world for this new millennium and beyond.