A PPP can potentially raise, and must not be permitted to lower, environmental standards for highway operation. In late December 2006, the Sierra Club and other groups spoke out against a potential PPP in New Jersey, noting that environmental standards might not be sufficiently met by the private sector. They gave the example of salting the roads in the winter: seeking to maximize profits over time, a private operator may choose to use less expensive products that damage the environment.
To avoid this, a PPP agreement can employ various means to ensure environmental performance standards are met through the duration of the contract, including making environmental standards enforceable as part of environmental approvals, developing incentive-based performance contracting agreements, and considering such instruments as performance bonds, funding set-asides, and enforceable contingency measures.21 The expansion of Los Angeles International Airport is proceeding under a Community Benefit Agreement that provides one example of how such frameworks can be designed and negotiated.22