NEPA

Readings: Web and book on reserve
Environmental Impact Statements, Eccleston (good book, but very much into procedural stuff)

Read the full text of NEPA (That sounds onerous, but it has got to be one of the shortest laws on record)
What are the goals?
What did the law do?

Section 101 Policies and goals
Section 102 Procedures for implementation
Sec 103, 105 How NEPA fits into federal framework, additional mandate
Title II - Establishes CEQ

Is compliance with NEPA substantive or procedural?
What is CEQ?
What agency is the CEQ in?
What does the CEQ do?

The CEQ did a 25 year retrospective analysis on NEPA. Read the Executive Summary on NEPANet
http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/nepanet.htm
What areas did they feel needed improvement?

What is adaptive management?
Another area of concern is cumulative effects? What does that mean?

Who houses the Environmental Analysis data links?
What data is there?

Take a look at the EIS statistics. Who files them the most? How have the numbers changed over the years?

Last fall CEQ asked for comments about changing the categorical exclusions. What are those? What is proposed? How many comments were received and from whom?

Take a look at some of the recent court cases. Who is involved, what are they about?

What is NOI, EA, EIS, FONSI, ROD?
So what is required for an EIS?
Read the Regulations for implementation from CEQ on NEPANET
How long is an EIS supposed to be?

Steps for developing an EIS
Categorical exclusions (40CFR 1500.5, 1507.3(b)(2), 1508.4)

NOI Notice of Intent (40CFR 1508.22)
EA (40CFR 1508.9)
Draft EIS
Final EIS (40CFR 1508.11)
FONSI (40CFR 1508.13)
ROD (40CFR 1501.2B and 1505.2)

What triggers an EA? An EIS?
40CFR 1501.3, 1507.3, 1508.9

EIS CFR 1502.3 major federal action, significantly affecting environment
CFR1501.4, 1507.3, 1508.18, 1508.27, 1508.3, 1508.8

Table 3.3 Eccleston

What is the recommended format in other words what is it supposed to include?

Functional equivalence
What is functional equivalence all about?

Who is responsible for EIS or EA preparation?
Table 1.3 Eccleston EIS team

Can a non-federal action trigger an EIS?
Pg 43-45 Eccleston

Pre-scoping, scoping (1501.7, 1502.2, 1508.250
Why have a pre-scoping meeting?
When do you have scoping meetings?
Eccleston Table 2.1

EIS Contents
What is in an EIS document?
What are the page limits?

Identifying Alternatives (1502.14)
Often considered the most important part.
What alternatives need be considered?
Based on what?

Eccleston Table 2.9
Eccleston Table 3.12, 3.13
Eccleston pg 104

Compiling data, Describing the affected environment (1502.15, 1502.16)
Eccleston pg 60-66
Eccleston Table 3.15, 3.17
Eccleston 176-188

Appendix A in Eccleston offers a handy checklist for preparation

Documenting assumptions
Eccleston pg 107

Identifying pertinent laws (1502.25)
Eccleston 80-84

We will review and discuss three EISs and look at a scoping letter.

Before you look at these consider what each is about. Write down what you think are some of the major issues to consider for each. Be prepared to discuss what you wrote and how it compares with what is in document.

http://www.fs.fed.us/conf/sopa/brasstown/stick-sale-scoping.pdf
Scoping from Forestry

http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/eis/eis0201/0201toc.htm
Coyote Springs cogeneration project

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/invasiveplant-eis/FEIS.htm
INVASIVE PLANT FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/Projects/Dredge/dredge.htm
Dredging for gold

Others for your future use, information

http://roadless.fs.fed.us/documents/feis/
An extremely detailed and long (also very contentious) on roadless areas

US Forest Service NEPA page
http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/nepa/index.htm

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/projects/ro/1996amendments/index.shtml
EISs from Forestry

http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/documentspub.html
Public documents - EISs etc at DOE

http://www.osmre.gov/pdf/summaryfallcreekfallseis.pdf
OSMRE

Some Tx projects

Bolivar bridge
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/2006/February/Day-10/i1238.htm
http://www.bolivarbridge.com/

Trans Texas Corridor
http://www.keeptexasmoving.org/projects/ttc35/deis.aspx

Aransas National Estuarine Reserve
http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/nerr/dEISdMP/index.htm
approved