On September 10, 2004 the Federal Highway Administration published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register.  Publishing the Notice of Intent signals the start of the environmental review process as created by the National Environmental Policy Act.

What is the National Environmental Policy Act?

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 requires Federal agencies to consider the potential environmental consequences of major Federal actions (including transportation projects), to document the analysis, and to make this information available to the public for comment prior to implementation of the action.  The NEPA also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which was given the responsibility of interpreting and implementing the law in the form of regulations and guidance.  The CEQ's "Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act" are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 40, Section 1500-1508).  Under these regulations, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is prepared prior to the implementation of an action that could significantly affect the human or natural environment.

What is the process for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement?

An Environmental Impact Statement is a concise, full, and fair discussion of the environmental impacts associated with reasonable alternatives for meeting a defined need.  The EIS process, as applied to the Prairie Parkway Study, will consist of the following components:

• On-Going Public and Agency Involvement:  Refer to the Public Involvement Program for a description of the Prairie Parkway Study's program.
• Notice of Intent: This is an official notice published in the Federal Register announcing that an Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared.  The Notice of Intent in the Federal Register was published in the September 10, 2004 Federal Register.
• Scoping:  Scoping establishes the issues that need to be addressed during a study.  A more detailed description of .
• Statement of Purpose and Need:  This statement describes the reasons transportation improvements are being considered or in other words, the goals transportation improvements should achieve.  The statement of purpose and need must be approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and is reviewed by various state and federal environmental resource and regulatory agencies.
• Alternatives Selection:  This component focuses on identifying the alternatives to be evaluated in detail in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.  The alternatives to be evaluated in detail must be approved by IDOT and FHWA, and is reviewed by various state and federal environmental resource and regulatory agencies.
• Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS):  The direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the alternatives selected for detailed evaluation in the DEIS are assessed in this document.  It is called a "draft" because an Environmental Impact Statement cannot be finalized until it has undergone public and agency review.
• Public Hearings and Draft Environmental Impact Statement Review:  The completed DEIS is distributed for public and agency review.  The public can make comments in writing or at a Public Hearing.  IDOT considers all comments. Once comments are addressed, a preferred alternative is selected.  It must be approved by IDOT and FHWA, and is reviewed by various state and federal environmental resource and regulatory agencies. 
• Final Environmental Impact Statement:  This document is a refined version of the DEIS.  In particular, it lists the preferred alternative and why it was selected.  It also includes comments received on the DEIS and IDOT's response to those comments.
• Record of Decision:  The Record of Decision (ROD) documents the characteristics of the preferred alternatives and the reasons for its selection.  Once approved by the FHWA, IDOT can proceed with final design and construction of the selected transportation improvement.

What is scoping and how is it accomplished?

Regulatory agency scoping is an early and open process for determining the scope of a proposed action, such as a transportation improvement.  Scoping usually focuses on the identification of potential environmental impact issues and potential improvement alternatives.  Scoping helps those preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to know which issues deserve greater emphasis and which should receive less emphasis.  Both the public and state and federal resource and regulatory agencies participate in scoping.  Scoping is a process and not a meeting or event. 

Scoping often begins after the Notice of Intent (NOI) is published.  This is, however, only a minimum requirement of the Council on Environmental Quality.  Scoping can be initiated earlier.  The Federal Highway Administration's regulations on "Environmental Impact and Related Procedures" (23 CFR 771) call for early coordination and public involvement in project development.  The Illinois Department of Transportation is taking this approach for the Prairie Parkway Study, as witnessed by the extensive public involvement program conducted to date.  Every comment made to date in writing and orally at the various public meetings is contributing to defining the scope and focus of the Prairie Parkway Study's DEIS.

No ending point for scoping is specified in the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations.  Typically, as the EIS process progresses and potential transportation improvements are evaluated and refined, additional, more site-specific issues and concerns are raised as a part of on-going public involvement.   IDOT welcomes this input.  Thus, IDOT has provided and will continue to provide numerous opportunities for the public to participate in the process early and often.  In its guidance on scoping, however, the CEQ advises members of the public not to "hang back until the process is complete and then spring forth with a significant issue or alternatives that might have been raised earlier."  The reason for this statement is that it can be difficult and time consuming to give an issue or alternative the serious attention it may deserve when it is raised after the DEIS is finished or nearly finished.

State and federal environmental resource and regulatory agencies have already been briefed on several occasions about the Prairie Parkway Study, but no regulatory agency meeting specifically focusing on the study had been held to date.  The NOI was used as a means to announce in October 2004, the first meeting and scoping opportunity for the regulatory agencies.  These agencies are also expected to submit scoping comments in writing after this meeting.  The agencies also will have other opportunities to contribute to the project's scope as the study progresses.

In order to provide background information for these agencies and other interested parties, a scoping package has been assembled.  The scoping information package contains a summary of information and findings collected to date.  This package and a letter of invitation to attend an environmental resource agency scoping meeting was mailed in September 2004.

Many of these environmental resource agencies participate in a coordinated manner through the NEPA 404 merger process.  The purpose of the 404 merger process is to provide a forum for the agencies to coordinate the review process and ensure that the Prairie Parkway Environmental Impact Statement is sufficient for adoption.