Page 34 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 17

completion of the environmental review process in a “timely, coordinated, and environ-
mentally responsible manner.”
Scoping. “Scoping” is an early and open process for determining the breadth of issues
to be addressed in an EIS, the range of alternatives to be considered, and the methods to be
applied in evaluating the effects of an action. The objectives of scoping are to
• Invite the participation of affected federal, state, and local agencies, any affected Indian
tribe, and other interested persons (including those who might not be in accord with the
action on environmental grounds).
• Identify and eliminate from detailed study the issues that are not significant or that have
been covered by prior environmental review.
• Allocate assignments for preparation of the EIS among the lead and cooperating agencies.
• Identify other environmental review and consultation requirements so FHWA and cooper-
ating agencies may prepare other required analyses and studies concurrently with the EIS.
• Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation of environmental analy-
ses and the planning and decision-making schedule.
Notification and implementation of scoping is achieved through public agency involve-
ment procedures required by 23 CFR 771.111.
Preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The principal pur-
pose of the DEIS is to disclose to the decision makers and the public the probable impacts
of reasonable alternative that have the potential to meet the purpose and need of a proposed
action. Responsible decisions can be then made after public review and comment based on
an assessment of the degree to which competing alternatives meet the need for the action
and by balancing their relative environmental, social, and economic impacts.
Preparation of the DEIS should begin at the earliest practical time. A key element
should be the early exploration of alternatives and their relative ability to meet the purpose
and need for the proposed action. This will assist in identification of reasonable alternatives
and allow early coordination with cooperating and responsible agencies.
The DEIS should be concise and include succinct statements, evaluations, and descrip-
tions of conclusions. Lengthy, encyclopedic discussions of subject matter diffuse the focus
of the document from its analytical purpose. The document should be easily understood by
the public and written to emphasize the significant environmental impacts of competing
alternatives. Discussions of less significant impacts should be brief, but sufficient to
demonstrate that due consideration was given and more detailed study not warranted.
CEQ regulations emphasize brevity and stress the importance of focusing on significant
issues and avoiding detailed discussion of less important matters. Normally, EISs should be
less than 150 pages, or less than 300 pages if the action is unusual in scope and complexity.
Exhibits (charts, tables, maps, and other graphics) are useful in reducing the amount of nar-
rative required. Adequacy of a DEIS is measured by its functional usefulness in decision
making, not by its size or amount of detail. This is especially applicable in the executive
summary of the document, where items relating to alternatives and their impacts and related
mitigation can be presented in a matrix format, thereby minimizing the need for narrative.

Contents and Format of the Draft EIS. In accordance with 40 CFR 1502.10 and FHWA
Technical Advisory T6640.8A, an EIS should be prepared in accordance with the follow-
ing outline unless compelling reasons to do otherwise are given by the proposing agency:

• Cover sheet
• Executive summary