The United States Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 United States Code 4321-4347, (NEPA) in 1969 to establish a national policy for consideration and communication of impacts to the environment from actions of the federal government. NEPA also established the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and tasked the CEQ with promulgating regulations implementing the Act, including identification of the types of federal actions subject to analysis and the types of analyses required. An environmental impact statement (EIS) is one of three classes of analyses, and is for those actions that have the potential to significantly affect the quality of the human environment.
An EIS is a full disclosure document that details the process through which a project was developed, includes consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives, analyzes the potential impacts resulting from the alternatives, and demonstrates compliance with other applicable environmental laws and executive orders. The EIS process is completed in the following ordered steps: notice of intent (NOI), draft EIS, final EIS, and record of decision (ROD).
NEPA requires agencies that will receive federal funding for their projects, in this case the Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission (LMEC), to prepare environmental impact statements (EIS’s) for major actions such as the Lafayette Regional Xpressway (LRX) that significantly affect the quality of the human environment prior to executing the action. Communication of the impacts to the public and solicitation of input and comment on the impacts are also required. NEPA requires the agency to include consideration of the environmental impacts and the comments received from the public and other stakeholders in the action eventually taken. In order to ensure opportunities to achieve the purpose of the action and minimize impacts to the environment, NEPA requires consideration of reasonable alternatives to achieve the goal of the action. Where impacts to the environmental cannot be avoided, measures to reduce or mitigate the environmental impacts are required.
Documentation (along with dissemination) is an essential component of the NEPA project development process, which supports and complements public involvement and interagency coordination. NEPA requires that agencies disclose the results of their analysis and the effects of project implementation on the environment and solicit comments on the proposals from interested and affected parties. The purpose of documenting the NEPA process provides for complete disclosure to the public; allows others an opportunity to provide input and comment on proposals, alternatives, and environmental impacts; and provides the appropriate information for the decisionmaker to make a reasoned choice among alternatives.
WHAT IS TIERING?
The environmental evaluation for the LRX is being conducted using a tiered approach. Tiering is often used for complex projects because it allows planner to conduct analysis and decision-making in a phased fashion – from broader to narrower focus. This allows for evaluation on issues that are most critical for a particular stage of the process.
For the LRX project, the Tier 1 EIS will examine the five corridor alternatives for the loop facility, southern corridor alternatives: Inner, Middle and Outer, and northern corridor alternatives: Common 1, Common 2, and analyze the potential impacts. The selected corridor alternatives will be identified in the Tier 1 EIS as the preferred LRX corridor and documented in a ROD.
The LRX Tier 2 EIS will focus on alignments and facilities within the preferred LRX corridor to develop refined project details and potential impacts. The Tier 2 EIS will identify a preferred alternative alignment and facility design within the LRX corridor. The preferred alternative alignment will be documented in a ROD.