[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 23, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 23CFR777.7]

[Page 420]
 
                           TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS
 
 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 777--MITIGATION OF IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 777.7  Evaluation of impacts.

    (a) The reasonableness of the public expenditure and extent of 
Federal participation with title 23, U.S. Code, funds shall be directly 
related to:
    (1) The importance of the impacted wetlands and natural habitats;
    (2) The extent of highway impacts on the wetlands and natural 
habitats, as determined through an appropriate, interdisciplinary, 
impact assessment; and
    (3) Actions necessary to comply with the Clean Water Act, Section 
404, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and other relevant Federal 
statutes.
    (b) Evaluation of the importance of the impacted wetlands and 
natural habitats shall consider:
    (1) Wetland and natural habitat functional capacity;
    (2) Relative importance of these functions to the total wetland or 
natural habitat resource of the area;
    (3) Other factors such as uniqueness, esthetics, or cultural values; 
and
    (4) Input from the appropriate resource management agencies through 
interagency coordination.
    (c) A determination of the highway impact should focus on both the 
short-and long-term affects of the project on wetland or natural habitat 
functional capacity, consistent with 40 CFR part 1500, 40 CFR 1502.16, 
33 CFR 320.4, and the FHWA's environmental compliance regulations, found 
at 23 CFR part 771.