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 important and is determined by the significance 

of the impacts your project is likely to have on the 

human and natural environment.

The significance of the project's impacts, not its 

size or cost, determines the project’s appropriate 

class of action and helps you identify the 

requirements for other essential elements, such as 

documentation, agency coordination, public 

involvement, and environmental commitments.

NEPA requires you to engage the public early on 

and throughout the project. This effort will help you 

locate your project’s stakeholders— those who 

might be interested in or affected by your project—

and allow them to offer input into project decisions 

before they are made.

Here we’ll explore some effective 

techniques for identifying and 

engaging project stakeholders; we’ll 

also discover that there is no onesize-fits-all approach.

The success of your public involvement effort 

depends on the amount of interest the public 

develops in your project.

Your first step is to identify the project’s 

stakeholders. Be as inclusive as possible. Consider 

residents and businesses, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and especially those 

who may be historically under-represented in 

decision-making processes.

It’s important that you find the most effective way to 

take your message to possible stakeholders rather 

than waiting for them to come to you. The more you 

know about them and their needs, the more 

successful you'll be at finding and engaging them.

Environment

NEPA Regulatory Framework and Process

Public Involvement

NEPA requires agencies to seek input from stakeholders and 

the public throughout the project
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

For example, are your stakeholders likely to attend 

a public meeting, read a flyer, or join a committee 

group? Are they likely to access a project Web site 

or call a project phone line? The public 

involvement tools and techniques you use will 

provide answers to those questions and more.

As you begin to engage your stakeholders, clearly 

inform them about the project, its alternatives, and 

the decisions you plan to make. Let them know 

how they can participate in any decisions affecting 

them—including how their comments will be 

gathered and considered. 

Throughout the process, document all of your 

public involvement efforts—such as how the public 

was identified and engaged in the project, as well 

as the steps taken to incorporate their concerns 

and respond to their needs. 

To illustrate, let’s look at two routine 

road resurfacing projects running 

through a business district.

In our first project, the project manager visits the 

business district and talks with business owners, 

their customers, and anyone else who appears to 

be interested in the project. Everyone she meets is 

pleased that the road will be resurfaced soon. She 

also learns that customers rely heavily on the onstreet parking to access the street's businesses. 

Eliminating it, even for one day, would seriously 

hurt sales for all the businesses. 

To satisfy the concerns of the business owners, 

she coordinates resurfacing of the westbound lane 

to take place during the first week of work and the 

eastbound lane during the second week. In this 

way, she is able to maintain parking on one side of 

the street at all times. 

The project manager summarizes the outreach 

efforts and actions taken to satisfy the needs of the 

business owners in a note that is attached to the 

NEPA document.

Our second project starts off looking very much the 

same as the first, with members of the team driving 

through the district and talking to stakeholders. But 

because the area businesses and customers are 

predominately Hispanic, the team also includes a 

Spanish-speaking colleague. 

They observe a lot of vehicle traffic and pedestrians 

on the street. Discussions with the business 

owners and their customers reveal that pedestrian 

access is vital to most businesses, and public 

parking is vital for a few.

The next day, the project manager calls the city's 

Chamber of Commerce and its Hispanic Chamber 

of Commerce. The Hispanic Chamber informs her 

that the current timeline of construction will conflict 

with the Cinco de Mayo Day parade.

To determine if anyone else might be impacted by 

the project, the project team creates a bilingual 

flyer of relevant information, complete with a project 

phone number. The flyers are posted in the 

windows of the businesses and planned to be 

distributed at the parade.
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

A resulting call from a member of the community 

notifies the team of an arts and craft show 

scheduled for the week after the parade. 

To address the concerns of the stakeholders, the 

project is designed to ensure access to the 

businesses during construction and the start of 

construction is delayed until after the parade and 

craft show. 

In an attachment to the NEPA document, the 

project manager includes a copy of the flyer and 

summarizes the actions taken to engage, inform 

and suitably address the concerns of the project’s 

stakeholders.

As we have just seen, there is no one-size-fits-all

approach for reaching and engaging project 

stakeholders. Each project must be examined for 

its unique public impact and resulting 

requirements.

The public involvement 

requirements in both environmental 

assessments and environmental 

impact statements, for example, are 

more formal than what we've just 

seen and can include the 

requirement to hold a public 

hearing. 

Compliance with other environmental laws, such as 

acquiring a Section 404 permit for wetland impacts, 

may also require a public hearing.. 

In all cases, it's important to use techniques that 

will ensure your project's public involvement is as 

inclusive as possible. Your project and its 

stakeholders will benefit from identification of public 

concerns and the efforts you make to address 

them. Your endeavors will also help to build 

important public trust.

Your State DOT and local FHWA office can help 

you develop an effective public involvement 

program for your project. Contact them for advice 

on getting started or with any questions you may 

have along the way.
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. 

Web Resources

• FHWA's Office of Environment Web site provides links to specific 

environmental topics 

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

• Overview of FHWA's public involvement requirements

http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/projdev/tdmpubinv2.asp

• Overview of FHWA's environmental justice requirements

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/environmental_justice/

• Online resources regarding community impact assessments

http://www.ciatrans.net/