Page 32 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 15

Section 4(f) Evaluation (if any). As described in Art. 1.2 of this chapter, a Section 4(f)
evaluation may be required if a project would require the use of land from a significant pub-
licly owned public park, recreation area, or wildlife and waterfowl refuge, or any signifi-
cant historic site. If a Section 4(f) evaluation is required, it may be included as a section
within the EA. If included within the EA, a separate “avoidance alternatives evaluation”
need not be repeated in the EA. In all cases, the Section 4(f) evaluation must be circulated
for review in conformance with 23 CFR 771.135(i) requirements.
EA Revisions. An EA should be revised subsequent to public review to (1) reflect
changes in the proposed action, impact assessment, or mitigation measures resulting from
comments received on the EA, (2) include any necessary findings, agreements, or determi-
nations made as a consequence of the concurrent reviews under Section 4(f) or other reg-
ulatory requirements, and (3) include a copy of pertinent substantive comments received on
the EA and appropriate responses to the comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact. After review of the EA and any other appropriate
information, the FHWA may determine that the proposed action would not result in any
significant impacts, and issue a FONSI. The FONSI should briefly present the reasons why
the proposed action would not have a significant effect on the human environment or
require the preparation of an EIS. The FONSI should document compliance with NEPA
and other applicable environmental requirements. If full compliance with all these other
requirements is not possible by the time the FONSI is published, the FONSI should docu-
ment consultation with the affected agencies to date and describe how and when the other
requirements will be met.
There is no requirement to publish a record of decision (ROD) for a FONSI, nor is there
a legally mandated requirement to distribute the FONSI. However, the FHWA must send a
notice of availability of the FONSI to federal, state, and local government agencies
likely to have an interest in the undertaking and the state intergovernmental review con-
tacts [23 DFR 771.121(b)]. It is encouraged that agencies that have comments on the EA
(or requested to be informed) be advised on the project decision and the disposition of their
comments, and be provided a copy of the FONSI.

Environmental Impact Statement. A federal agency must prepare an EIS if it is propos-
ing a major federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environ-
ment (40 CFR §1501.7). The regulatory requirements for an EIS are more extensive than
the requirements for an EA. The steps to be followed in preparing an EIS are depicted in
Fig. 1.1.
Once the lead agency determines that an action would result in a significant measur-
able impact, development of a draft enviornmental impact statement (DEIS) is initiated
through a public and agency notification and scoping process focused on early identifi-
cation of the major issues of concern and alternatives for study. This process includes
confirmation of FHWA as the agency to lead the environmental review process, identifica-
tion of cooperating agencies, distribution of a letter of initiation of the environmental
process from the sponsoring agency, publication of a notice of intent to prepare an EIS,
invitation to agencies to become participating agencies in the environmental review
process, and completion of scoping activities. Each of these steps is described in the fol-
lowing discussion.
Lead Agency Determination. In accordance with Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU,
DOT is designated as the federal lead agency for the “environmental review process” for
any surface transportation project that requires a DOT approval. The environmental
review process includes both NEPA and other reviews. The lead agency is responsible
for taking actions within its authority to facilitate the resolution of the environmental
review process. It also is responsible for preparing the required NEPA document for the