Page 29 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

12 CHAPTER ONE

(detailed map showing project limits and adjacent facilities); current status of the project
including its relation to regional transportation plans, regional transportation improvement
programs, congestion management plans, and the state transportation improvement pro-
gram; proposed construction date; funding source(s); and the status of other projects or pro-
posals in the area. For projects that include more than one type of improvement, the major
design features of each type of improvement should be included.
The description of the project should clearly indicate the independence of the action by
• Identifying and providing the basis for establishing the “logical termini” (project limits)
of the action
• Establishing the separate utility of the action from other actions of the agency
• Establishing that the action does not foreclose the opportunity to consider other actions
• Confirming that the action does not irretrievably commit federal funds for closely related
projects
Reasonable alternatives to the project should be discussed, including consideration of a
no-action option, which is mandated under both CEQ and FHWA regulations. The EA may
either discuss (1) the preferred alternative and identify any other alternatives considered or
(2) if a preferred alternative has not been identified during previous planning studies, the
alternatives under consideration. The EA does not need to evaluate in detail all reasonable
alternatives for the project, and may be prepared for one or more build alternatives.
Project alternatives can be classified into two types: viable, and those studied but no
longer under consideration. Viable alternatives should be described in sufficient detail to
compare their effectiveness against the proposal in meeting the project purpose and need,
and to assess potential impacts and estimate cost. Alternatives no longer under considera-
tion should be explained briefly and the reasons provided for their elimination.
Environmental Setting, Impacts, and Mitigation. The EA should include a description
of the environmental setting in which the proposed action would be located. The descrip-
tion should be succinct and maximize the use of visual displays to reduce the need for
extensive narrative. Beyond a general description of contextual background, the discussion
should focus on those features that have the greatest potential to be significantly affected
by the proposed action.
The EA should discuss any social, economic, and environmental impacts whose sig-
nificance is uncertain. The level of analysis should be sufficient to adequately identify
the impacts and available measures to mitigate impacts, and to address known and fore-
seeable public and agency concerns. Impact areas that do not have a reasonable possibil-
ity for individual or cumulative environmental impacts need not be addressed. The
reasons for determining why any impacts are not considered to be significant should be
provided.
If more than one alternative is involved, the evaluation must identify the impacts asso-
ciated with each alternative being evaluated. The EA should identify the technical studies
and backup reports used in making the assessment and indicate where they are available. A
list of environmental resource categories to be considered in both EAs and EISs is included
in Table 1.5.
Feasible measures that reduce or eliminate potential impacts of a proposed action
should be identified. Measures may be presented as potential commitments that may be
selected for implementation by the lead agency. Alternatively, these measures can be incor-
porated as elements of the proposed action, thus avoiding impacts. Measures to mitigate
impacts may diminish the intensity of project effects to the point that they would not be
considered to be significant, and could make the project eligible for a FONSI.
Based on the results of these evaluations, a determination is made of whether the antic-
ipated effects of the project represent a significant environmental impact thereby requiring