Page 37 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

20 CHAPTER ONE

section of the DEIS. For an impact mitigation measures to be considered usable it must be
effective, economically feasible and the agency must be capable of and committed to
implementing the measure. Under CEQ regulations, mitigation can be achieved by avoid-
ing the adverse impact, minimizing the adverse effect by reducing the scope of the project,
implementing a program to reduce the impact over time, or compensating for the impact by
replacing or providing substitute resources.
List of Preparers. A list should be provided of the names and appropriate qualifica-
tions (professional license, academic background, certification, professional working expe-
rience, and special expertise) of the persons who were principally responsible for preparing
the DEIS or substantial background papers. The list should include any project sponsor,
FHWA and consultant personnel who had primary responsibility for preparing or review-
ing the DEIS.
DEIS Distribution List. The draft EIS must list the names and addresses of the agen-
cies and organizations that were sent copies of the DEIS for review.
Comments and Coordination. The draft EIS should contain pertinent correspondence
summarizing public and agency coordination, meetings, and other pertinent information
received.
Glossary and Abbreviations. A glossary and list of abbreviations should be included
as an aid to those not familiar with the project development process and technical issues
being considered in the DEIS.
References and Bibliography. A clear, concise listing of references and biblio-
graphical material should be included.
Appendices. Appendices should contain the reports and documents that support the
findings of the DEIS. Detailed technical discussions and analyses that substantiate the con-
cise statements within the body of the DEIS are most appropriately placed in the appen-
dices. Appendices must either be circulated with the draft EIS or be readily available for
public review.
Index. An index to the DEIS should be provided to assist the reader in locating topics
of interest.

Public Review and Comment. Upon completion, the DEIS is made available for pub-
lic review and comment. Review of the DEIS should supplement the public outreach
activities to date. A notice of availability of the DEIS should be published in the Federal
Register and in newspapers of general circulation in the vicinity of the project site. Hard
copies of the DEIS should be provided at libraries and other locations in the vicinity of
the geographic area that would be potentially affected by the proposed action. Electronic
copies of the DEIS and its supporting documentation should also be made available on
the website of the sponsoring agency. Provisions should be made for major foreign lan-
guage populations in the area, including the publication of notices in the language of
major non-English speaking populations in the area, and the provision of translators at
any public hearings.
The notice of availability of the DEIS should indicate the date by which public com-
ments must be received and the dates, times, and locations of any public hearing(s) on the
DEIS. Adequate notice should be provided to any public hearings to allow sufficient time
for public examination and assessment of the DEIS. All substantive comments received on
the DEIS during the public review period, including all written comments and oral com-
ments received at any public hearing on the DEIS, should be documented and summarized.
Responses must be prepared to all substantive comments. Responses to nonsubstantive
comments and gratuitous remarks on the DEIS are not required.

Final EIS. Upon completion of the public comment period on the DEIS, an analysis is
completed of the comments received, necessary revisions are made to the analyses and