USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

General Content

Legacy ID
171
Show Effective Date
Off
Significant Regulatory Guidance
No

Supplementations and Re-evaluations

When is a supplemental environmental review needed?After FTA’s completion of an environmental review with a Record of Decision (ROD), Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), or Categorical Exclusion (CE) determination, a supplemental environmental review is needed in the following situations...

Content (Outline) of FEIS; Differences from DEIS

The general format of an EIS should follow the CEQ regulations for  draft and final EISs (40 CFR Part 1502.3,  40 CFR Part 1502.9, 40 CFR Part 1502.10 and Federal Transit Administration/Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation regulations ...

Purpose and Need

What is a purpose and need statement?All EISs must contain a statement of purpose and need in accordance with 40 CFR § 1502.13. Consistent with NEPA, the purpose and need statement should be a statement of a transportation problem, not a specific solution. However, the purpose and...

Record of Decision

What is contained in a Record of Decision?The Record of Decision (ROD) is the conclusion of the NEPA EIS process. The ROD document is prepared after the final EIS and identifies the Preferred Alternative. The NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR § 1505.2) state that a Record of...

EA Documentation

As shown in the above figure, the following steps comprise the EA documentation process. Where available, more information can be found by clicking each link.

Conduct ScopingDevelop Annotated OutlineRevise Purpose and NeedPrepare Evaluation of AlternativesSelect a Preferred...

Annotated Outline

What is the process to develop an annotated outline of an EA?

After the early coordination or scoping process, the grant applicant should prepare an annotated outline of the EA document.The annotated outline ensures the focus of the EA is on significant issues and not on issues that are...

Agency Coordination

The grant applicant, in consultation with FTA, shall, at the earliest appropriate time, begin coordination with interested agencies to advise them of the planned scope of the project and to achieve the following objectives: determine which aspects of the proposed action have potential for social...

November 9, 2012 Memorandum

Memorandum

U.S. Department of TransportationFederal Transit Administration

Subject: FTA Use of the FHWA Section 4(f) Policy PaperDate: Nov 9, 2012From: Lucy Garliauskas, Associate Administrator for Planning and EnvironmentTo: FTA Regional Administrators

The Federal Highway...

Social & Economic Impacts

Background

Transit projects frequently produce social and economic externalities and may influence the character and nature of communities. These impacts should be addressed in environmental documents and generally fall into the following categories: land acquisition, community impacts, land use...