Companion Guide to Video August 2012

www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials

The National Environmental Policy Act, also 

known as NEPA, is an environmental law that 

established the decision-making process agencies 

must follow prior to the design and construction of 

transportation projects that use Federal funding or 

require Federal approval.

Following the right process, or class of action, is 

vital to properly completing the NEPA process. 

The significance of your project’s impacts on the 

human and natural environment, not the project’s 

size or cost, determines the project’s appropriate 

class of action – whether you are going to do a 

categorical exclusion, (a “CE”), an environmental 

assessment, (an “EA”), or an environmental 

impact statement, (an “EIS”).

The significance of the project's impacts also helps 

you identify the requirements for other essential 

elements, such as documentation, agency 

coordination, public involvement, and 

environmental commitments.

This module will present an 

overview of the agency coordination 

essential element. 

If your transportation project creates air quality 

concerns, crosses streams or wetlands, or affects 

historic properties or wildlife habitat, you will be 

required to coordinate with other agencies during 

the NEPA process. This occurs because other 

Federal, State, and in some cases, even local 

government agencies have regulatory 

responsibilities for resources under their jurisdiction 

and must ensure your project complies with their 

requirements. 

For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

must be consulted when projects have the potential 

to impact endangered species or their habitats. 

Your State Historic Preservation Officer is 

consulted on projects involving historic properties. 

Environment

NEPA Regulatory Framework and Process

Agency Coordination

An overview of requirements for coordinating with other 

agencies during the NEPA process for Federal-aid projects
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

Through consultation with other agencies, project 

sponsors identify the regulatory responsibilities of 

the agencies and how to comply with their 

requirements. If you begin the process early in the 

project, you may be able to simultaneously satisfy 

various agencies’ requirements with combined 

studies and joint public involvement efforts.

In order to illustrate these points, 

let’s examine some successful 

practices for agency coordination 

and your responsibilities in the 

process.

A critical initial step in your coordination efforts is 

to identify the agencies that have a regulatory 

responsibility or interest in your project. A 

consultation with your State department of 

transportation, the State DOT, may be necessary 

to compile this list and identify contact information.

On small projects, you might contact agencies 

individually to discuss the project and any 

compliance requirements. For larger projects, 

however, you might be required to host an initial 

scoping meeting and invite representatives from 

each agency to attend. During this meeting, you'll 

learn from each agency what it considers 

important and the appropriate methodologies for 

evaluating resources the agency has concerns 

about. 

These initial discussions are also a good 

opportunity to identify when the agencies and the 

public will have an opportunity to review and 

comment on studies, determine completion dates 

for certain activities, and identify dates for any 

future public meetings. 

For complex projects, the project sponsor is 

required to assemble this information into a formal 

coordination plan for the project.

To see how agency coordination 

works, let’s look at a bridge 

replacement project. 

The bridge crosses over a small stream and 

several historic properties are located near the 

roadway approaching the bridge.

A call to the State DOT's local agency liaison 

reveals that an endangered mussel is also present 

under the bridge. Therefore, the liaison 

recommends conducting a scoping meeting with 

the Federal Highway Administration and the 

following agencies:

• The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers

• The State Department of Water Quality

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

• The State Fish and Game Commission

• The State Historic Preservation Officer
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

During the scoping meeting, the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers and the State Department of Water 

Quality describe the uses and quality of the water 

resource and what actions the project sponsor 

must take in order to get a permit for the project.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State 

Fish and Game Commission provide information 

about the endangered mussels living in the 

stream. They also provide guidance for conducting 

mussel surveys and identify best practices to 

minimize impact to the species.

Lastly, the State Historic Preservation Officer, or 

SHPO, provides information on the importance of 

the historic properties. The SHPO discusses the 

steps the project sponsor must complete to 

comply with the National Historic Preservation Act. 

The SHPO identifies contacts at the local historical 

society for inclusion on any future discussions 

about minimizing impacts to the properties.

After the meeting, the project manager and the 

State DOT develop a coordination plan that details 

what must be done to comply with environmental 

requirements. Their plan provides timeframes for 

the: 

• Completion of necessary studies 

• Agency review and comment on the 

studies

• Proposed dates for a joint public hearing

These early coordination activities and the resulting 

coordination plan saved the project sponsor time 

and effort in a streamlined environmental review 

and public involvement process. 

Coordinated efforts like these result in:

• Environmental studies being conducted at 

the right time and with the desired 

methodologies

• Documents or studies being submitted and 

reviewed in a timely manner

• Public involvement requirements of the 

agencies being jointly satisfied with a 

single public meeting

As the project sponsor, it is your 

agency’s responsibility to comply 

with all aspects of NEPA, coordinate 

with agencies, and satisfy the 

requirements of permitting agencies.

Your State DOT has considerable knowledge and 

expertise in all areas of NEPA compliance and can 

help you recognize which agencies you should 

contact during your early project development and 

scoping activities. It may also have templates and 

other resources to help you develop a coordination 

plan. 

Therefore, it’s essential that you engage the State 

DOT and, when appropriate, FHWA early and 

throughout your project’s entire process. 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

The content of this 

document is not a 

substitute for 

information obtained 

from State departments 

of transportation, 

appropriate FHWA 

Division Offices, and 

applicable laws. 

Scenarios have been 

simplified for emphasis 

and do not necessarily 

reflect the actual range of 

requirements applicable 

to the scenario or this 

topic. This document

was created under 

contract number

DTFH61-11-D-00025 by 

the Federal Highway 

Administration, U.S. 

Department of 

Transportation, and is 

offered to the public to 

heighten and focus 

awareness of Federal-aid 

requirements within the 

local public agencies 

community and 

reinforces the 

importance of these 

necessary policies, 

procedures, and 

practices.

This companion resource 

is the script content for 

the video production of 

the same name. 

Additional Resources

• Link to FHWA's Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty Web site

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/index.htm

• Agency coordination requirements contained in FHWA's Environmental 

Review Toolkit

http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/projdev/tdminterag2.asp

• Conflict resolution tools contained in FHWA's Environmental Review Toolkit

http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/es2conflict.asp

• Resource agency collaboration tools contained in FHWA's Environmental 

Review Toolkit

http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecological/eco_entry.asp

• Subject matter contacts contained in FHWA's Environmental Review Toolkit

http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/es6contacts.asp