# Presentation: 053788

## Slide 1

## What is the AASHTO/ACEC/FHWA Initiative on Improving the Quality of NEPA Documents?

- Initiated in 2003
- Three teams – Quality and Clarity of NEPA Documents, Legal Sufficiency and Education
- Report covers the work and recommendations of the first two teams
- Education Team work being coordinated with the Environmental Competency Workgroup
- Report offers recommendations on:
- 		Making documents more effective, engaging and useful for the public 	and decision-makers
- 		Improving the quality and legal adequacy of NEPA documents
- Report is intended as a resource, not official guidance

## Quality and Clarity of NEPA Documents Task Team

- Team Leader	 													Carol Lee Roalkvalm				Washington State DOT
- Don Cote																						FHWA Resource Center
- Frank Danchetz																ARCADIS
- Brent Jensen																		Utah DOT
- 	Hal Kassoff																				Parsons Brinkerhoff

- Bob Esenwein																		Turner Collie & Braden
- Jim Horrocks																			Horrocks Engineering
- Lindsay Yamane																Parametrix, Inc.
- Amy Phillips																			BNA (editorial support)

## Reported Problems with NEPA Documents

- Too large, wordy, repetitive, complex and cumbersome
- Lack of consistency in format and approach
- Lack of coherent story – no logical progression
- Too much “legalese” versus writing for the public
- Too much focus on “the look” of the document versus usability for decisions
- Lack of communication among multiple authors
*Example – A University of Illinois study found that a majority of citizens had no better understanding of a project after reading the EIS document than they had before reading it*

## Documents Used by the Task Team

- NCHRP Project 25-25 (01) – *Synthesis of Data Needs for EA and EIS Documentation – A Blueprint for NEPA Document Content*
- Washington State DOT’s *Reader Friendly Document Tool Kit*
- Caltrans’* North and Central Regions Style Guide for Environmental Documents*
- Other Resources and Document Examples

## Core Principles for Quality NEPA Documents

- Reader can easily understand the purpose and need
- Describe how each alternative would meet the project goals
- Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative
- Keep it as brief as possible
- Use concise writing
- Use effective graphics and visual elements
- Discuss issues in proportion to their significance
- Ensure that documents meet all legal requirement
- .... But in a way that is easy to follow for regulators and technical reviewers

## Application of the Core Principles

- Effective use of the scoping process is key
- Effective scoping, properly documented, can support the decision to limit the amount of detail in the NEPA document
- Can explain why particular issues were highly developed or only minimally discussed in the document
- Document must be straightforward in presenting the facts as they are
- Document MUST NOT be an advocacy piece for the project or a particular alternative

## Supporting Quotes from CEQ Regulations

- “Most important, NEPA documents must concentrate on the issues that are truly significant to the action in question, rather than amassing needless detail”  *40 CFR Sec. 1500.1(b)*
- “...., it is not better documents but better decisions that count.  NEPA’s purpose is not to generate paperwork – even excellent paperwork – but to foster excellent action”  *40 CFR Sec. 1500.1(c)*
- “Environmental impact statements shall be written in plain language ...... so that decision-makers and the public can readily understand them”  *40 CFR Sec. 1502.8*

## Striking the Balance Between Legal Requirements and Reader Friendliness

- Identify and Explain Key Assumptions
- Describe Methods Used to Develop Data
- Use Effective Visuals to Present Key Results
- Do Not Just Summarize the Data – Analyze It
- Document Compliance with Key Regulatory Requirements
- Provide Overview of Major Project Issues
- Systematically Review Data to Ensure Internal Consistency

## Benefits of Applying the Core Principles

- Quality NEPA documents achieve the goals of public involvement and regulatory compliance 		**BETTER DECISIONS**
- Helps project proponents:
- Demonstrate accountability and build trust
- Engage the public, decision-makers and regulatory agencies into meaningful dialogue about the project
- Document agency decision-making
- Avoid lawsuits (or provide solid basis for defending them)

## Blueprint Components

**Document     ****	****	****+   ****	****Main ****	****	****+****	****Appendices**
**Summary****	****     ****	****	****Body****	****	****	****& Technical**
**	****	****	****	****	****	****	****	****Reports**

## Document Summary

- Why the project is needed
- What alternatives were considered
- How the alternatives affect the environment
- Rationale for selecting the preferred alternative (at least in the FEIS)
- Emphasizes key issues and environmental and community concerns
- Summarizes all the key aspects of the EIS
- May be the only part that is widely read

## Main Body

- Purpose and Need
- Alternatives Considered
- Environmental Resources, Impacts and Mitigation
- 		*Combines the Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences of a **	**“traditional” NEPA document*
- Public Comments and Agency Coordination
- Section 4(f) Chapter
- 		*Can be included in the appendix and summarized in the main body if 4(f) **	**issues are not significant, i.e., no use of a 4(f) resource*
- Comparison and Selection of Alternatives
*	**	**Needs to address the most common shortcoming of NEPA documents – that **	**they are rich in data but fail to “tell the story” of what the data mean and how **	**they led to the selection of the preferred alternative*

## Appendices and Technical Reports

- A place for voluminous supporting material
- Offers the opportunity to “de-clutter” the main body of the document
- Includes information important to support analyses and conclusions in the main body
- May include 4(f) if issues are not significant

## Document Preparation Process and Production Techniques

- Report makes recommendations on managing the document preparation process
- Recommends the assignment of an “editor-in-chief”
- Discusses production software selection, graphics, photos, etc.
- Chapter 4 offers suggestions on advanced techniques and alternative formats

## Summary

- Tell the story in a way that is understandable to a broad audience
- Use plain language summaries of technical analyses
- Keep it concise – higher page count does not equal improved quality
- Put detailed technical analyses in the appendix
- Provide a clear path of logic with a consistent thread
- Make it clear how decisions are reached or will be reached
- Don’t burden the document and the reader with irrelevant detail
- Include discussion of environmental benefits as well as impacts