Page 30 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 13

TABLE 1.5 Environmental Resource Categories to Be Considered in the Preparation of
Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements

1. Land use impacts
2. Farmland impacts
3. Socioeconomic impacts, including disproportionate adverse impacts on disadvantaged and
minority populations (environmental justice)
4. Relocation impacts
5. Considerations relating to pedestrians and bicyclists
6. Air quality impacts
7. Noise impacts
8. Water quality impacts
9. Wetland impacts
10. Water body modification and wildlife impacts
11. Floodplain impacts
12. Wild and scenic rivers
13. Coastal barriers
14. Coastal zone impacts
15. Threatened or endangered species
16. Historic and archeological preservation
17. Hazardous waste sites
18. Visual impacts
19. Energy
20. Construction impacts
21. Relationship of local short-term uses vs. long-term productivity
22. Irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources
23. Cumulative impacts

the preparation of an EIS. This determination is based on a review of the context and
intensity of the impact. Context refers to the setting within which the proposed project is
being developed. Intensity refers to the severity of an impact and will vary by resource type.
Factors to consider in determining intensity of an impact include
• The degree to which the action may affect public health or safety.
• The degree to which the effects on the quality of the human environment may result in a
significant level of public controversy.
• Whether the action may result in cumulatively significant impacts when added to the
effects of other planned and programmed projects and activities separate from the pro-
posed action.
• Whether the action has the potential to violate one or more federal, state, or local laws or
standards intended to protect the environment.
Factors to be considered in determining the context include
• Unique characteristics of the geographic area such as proximity to public, park lands,
prime farmlands, wetlands, wild and scenic rivers, or ecologically critical areas.