Page 31 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

14 CHAPTER ONE

• The degree to which the action may adversely affect districts, sites, highways, structures,
or objects listed on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The degree to which the action may adversely affect threatened or endangered species of
their habitat that has been determined to be critical under the Endangered Species Act of
1973.

Comments and Coordination. Determination of the need for an EIS or whether the
FHWA can issue a FONSI can only be made after the EA has been made available for
agency and public review. This section of the EA should summarize the efforts taken to
coordinate with agencies and the public, identify the key issues and pertinent information
received through these efforts, and list the agencies and members of the public consulted.
Public involvement is an essential element of the NEPA process, and the proposing
agency must take proactive steps to encourage and provide for early and continuing public
participation in the decision-making process [40 CFR 1506(a)]. Opportunities for public
involvement are provided at several stages during the development of NEPA documents,
such as at the publication of the notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS, during the process
used to scope the environmental document, and during the process afforded to agencies and
the public to review the environmental document.
Opportunity for the public to review and comment on the completed (draft) EA occurs
upon publication of a notice of availability of the draft document. Such notice may be pub-
lished in local newspapers or other local print media, presented in special newsletters, pro-
vided to community and business associations, placed in legal postings, and presented to
interested Native American tribes, if appropriate. For an EIS, publication of such notice is
also required in the Federal Register. Notices and other public announcements regarding
the project should be sent individually to those who have expressed an interest in a spe-
cific action.
Early incorporation of public input on project alternatives and issues dealing with
social, economic, and environmental impacts helps in deciding whether to prepare an EIS,
in determining the scope of the document, and in identifying important or controversial
issues to be considered. When impacts involve the relocation of individuals, groups, or
institutions, special notification and public participation efforts should be undertaken.
Early and ongoing public involvement will assist in gaining consensus on the need for the
action and in identifying and screening alternatives.
A public hearing is not mandated to receive comment on an EA but is required for pub-
lic review of a draft EIS. The proposing agency must provide for one or more public hear-
ings to be held at a convenient time and place for federal actions that require significant
amounts of right-of-way acquisition, substantially change the layout or function of con-
necting roadways or of the facility being improved, have substantial adverse impact on
abutting properties, or otherwise have a significant social, economic, or environmental
effect [23 CFR 771.111(h)(2)(iii)].
During public hearings, the public should be provided with information on the pro-
ject’s purpose and need and with how the project relates to local and regional planning
goals, the major design features of the project, its potential impacts, and the reasonable
alternatives under consideration including the no-action alternative. Areas of special
interest to the public, such as needed right-of-way acquisition and the proposed displace-
ment and relocation of existing uses, should be carefully explained, as should the agen-
cy’s procedures and timing for receiving oral and written public comments [23 CFR
771.111(h)(2)(v)]. The public comment period for a draft EIS is at least 45 days. All pub-
lic comments received during the public comment period, including during public hear-
ings must be documented.
Appendices (if any). Appendices to the EA should include the analytical information that
substantiates the principal analyses and findings included in the main body of the document.