US31-SR258 National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA)
CSR Engineering, Inc. was tasked with design of this federally funded transportation project in White House, TN. Given federal funding, the National Environmental Protection Act procedures for project review were a requirement prior to design and construction. The City chose to construct improvements within the existing TDOT ROW and therefore allowed procedures under the NEPA Categorical Exclusion category.
NEPA Scope
Through this coordinated development, CSR Engineering will work with the City to ensure that TDOT’s LPDO Guidelines are adhered to appropriately. These tasks are expanded as follows.
Public hearings and meetings for White House Administration and a Public Involvement Plan, CSR developed documents and handouts accordingly. A CSR representative was in attendance and assisted with the City meeting.
CSR prepared a Categorical Exclusion (CE) Environmental Document through the TDOT-Environmental Section. This includes the evaluation, research, coordination, and documentation necessary for submittal. Other possible items of work included environmental and permit services beyond the typical CE requirements and were added to include endangered species found during the Categorical Exclusion process. C-list CE’s are the typical project guiding parameters for this type of project – other NEPA requirements may be more in depth depending on the project scope or existing conditions as information develops per project. Key components for the study and final documentation are summarized as follows:
- Project Initiation and Determination of Class of Action
- Early Coordination
- Enviornmental Review Process
- Notice of Intent and Scoping
- Initial Coordination Packages
- Impact Analysis
- Technical Studies
- Cultural Resources (Section 106 and Section 4(f))
- Natural Resources
- Noise
- Air Quality
- Hazardous Materials
- Conceptual Stage Relocation Plan
- Soils and Geology Analysis
- Sections 4(f) and 6(f) Analyses
- Other Impact Analyses