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Title VI declares it to be the policy of the United States that discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national origin shall not occur in connection with programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance, and authorizes and directs the involved Federal departments and agencies to take action to carry out this policy. Title VI prohibits discrimination: whether --intentional or where the unintended effect is unduly burdensome.

Environmental justice must be considered in all phases of planning. Although Environmental Justice concerns are frequently raised during project development, Title VI applies equally to the plans, programs, and activities of planning.

On October 7, 1999, FHWA and FTA issued a memorandum to their respective field administrative offices clarifying Title VI requirements in metropolitan and statewide planning. The memorandum identifies a series of actions that can be taken to support Title VI compliance and Environmental Justice goals, improve planning performance, and minimize the potential for subsequent corrective action and complaint.

Specifically, the memorandum provides technical assistance for three key areas of planning: (1) provides questions and concerns to raise during annual self-certification of compliance with Title VI, metropolitan planning certification reviews in Transportation Management Areas (TMAs), and statewide planning findings; (2) provides questions and concerns to raise while reviewing public-involvement efforts regarding the engagement of minority populations and low-income populations; and (3) encourages Unified Planning Work Programs, and State Planning and Research to begin developing or enhancing technical capability for assessing impact distributions among populations.