1/7/2025

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

ENST 5800

SPRING 2025

History and Foundation

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ORIGINS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

• Primarily post-industrial phenomenon initiated mainly by the United States
and Europe.
• Industrial revolution period 1760 – 1840.
• The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes.
• This transition included going from hand production methods to machines,
new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved
efficiency of waterpower, the increasing use of steam power, and the
development of machine tools.
• It also included the change from wood and other bio-fuels to coal.

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NINETEENTH CENTURY
• Second half of 19th century saw a push to save the nation’s wildlife heritage.
• In Europe, focus was on preserving hunting opportunities for nobility.
• Natural spaces in European cities such as Hyde Park in England and Bois de
Bologna in Paris, resulted from conversion of royal hunting preserves into
environmentally pleasing recreational spaces for a growing urban middle
class as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
• The same thinking led to the establishment of Central Park in New York and
spaces in other American cities.
• Also, the impetus for the national, state and regional parks, forests,
preserves and other natural spaces.

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BISON
• Origins of the modern environmental
movement is the US can be traced
back to concerns for America bison,
which had been hunted to near
extinction.
• Decline of other wild fauna constitutes
the root of what would eventually
become the Endangered Species Act
passed in 1969.
• Often viewed in association with
NEPA.

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

• Earliest American environmental
successes involved the 1872
enactment of the law establishing
Yellowstone National Park, the
world’s first national park.
• A designated World Heritage Site
and designated Biosphere
Reserve.
• 3,472 square miles or 2,221,766
acres

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GEORGE PERKINS MARSH

• Considered to be America’s first
environmentalist and the precursor to
the sustainability concept.
• His book Man and Nature (1864)
constituted an early work of ecology
and played a role in the creation of the
Adirondack Park.
• Marsh argued that deforestation could
lead to desertification.

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JOHN MUIR
• "Father of the National Parks“
• Scottish-born American
• Naturalist, author, environmental
philosopher, botanist, zoologist,
glaciologist, and early advocate for the
preservation of wilderness in the
United States illinois to gulf of mexico
• 1891 founded the Sierra Club.
• His activism helped to preserve the
Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National
Park and other wilderness areas.

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GEORGE PINCHOT
• Known for reforming the
management and development of
forests in the United States and for
advocating the conservation of the
nation's reserves by planned use
and renewal.
• Instrumental in President
Roosevelt's establishment of the
United States Forest Service in 1905
and served as the first Chief from
1905 – 1910.

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THEODORE ROOSEVELT
• Loved the outdoors and was influenced by the work of March and Pinchot.
• Set aside 125 million acres of federal lands for protection during this term in
office (1901 – 1909) to prevent vandalism of prehistoric Indian sites in the
Southwest.
• In 1906, Congress passes the Antiquities Act, authorizing the president to
establish national monuments on federal land.

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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
• The 1929 depression overshadowed the growing interest in preserving green spaced
for recreation.
• FDR put unemployed men to work planting trees on eroding soils and constructing
recreational facilities in national parks. Mill Creek Park is a prime example.
• During the 1930’s large parts of the Southwest experienced drought and a series of
environmental calamities created economic havoc and induced large-scale migration
from Oklahoma and other locations westward.
• Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
• FDR created the Soil Conservation Service and
• The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Administration
• Promoted a version of “sustainable agriculture” through soil conservation

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1940’S AND 1950’S

• Focused on winning the war then
concentrating on reconstruction
of shattered European
economies.
• Environmental movement had
yet to move beyond land
management and species
conservation to deal with larger
issues of pollution and the
environmental impacts of an
industrial society.

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ENVIRONMENTAL DECADE OF THE 1960’S

• Momentum for a comprehensive environmental policy fermented through the 60’s.
The American public and Congress were becoming increasingly concerned that the
environment was deteriorating at an alarming rate.
• Rachel Carson wrote The Silent Spring, a book detailing the detrimental effects on
the environment—particularly on birds—of the indiscriminate use of pesticides
especially DDT. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation
and public officials of accepting industry claims unquestioningly.
• The Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in 1969 in the Santa Barbara Channel, in
Southern California. It was the largest oil spill in United States waters at the time.
• Within a ten-day period, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude oil spilled
into the Channel and onto the beaches fouling the coastline The spill had a
significant impact on marine life in the Channel, killing an estimated 3,500 sea birds,
as well as marine animals such as dolphins, elephant seals, and sea lions.

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ENVIRONMENTAL DECADE OF THE 60’S & 70’S

• Love Canal was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, located in the LaSalle
section of the city.
• In the mid-1970s Love Canal became the subject of national and international attention
after it was revealed in the press that the site had formerly been used to bury 22,000 tons
of toxic waste by Hooker Chemical Company.
• Lake Erie was pronounced dead
• Smog alerts were issued for major cities
• The Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it actually caught fire
• The Bureau of Reclamation was proposing to build a dam on the Colorado River that
would flood the Grand Canyon.
• Pestilence and vermin were everywhere!!!!!
• Environmentalists united to create a political lobby to promote the enactment of new laws, National Environmental Policy Act
including NEPA.

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WHAT IS NEPA?
• N – National
• E – Environmental
• P – Policy
• A – Act

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BIRTH OF NEPA
• Senator Henry Jackson and Rep. John Dingell considered primary authors of NEPA.
• On December 22, 1969, both houses of Congress passed Public Law 91 -190 and
NEPA was headed to President Nixon’s desk.
• Signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on January 1, 1970 . The first “new
law of the decade”, that same year Earth Day was celebrated on April 22 nd.
• Modeled after the National Employment Act of 1946, which established a Council of
Economic Advisors to assist and advise the president of economic matters.
• Congress created the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to administer the act,
and each federal government agency was to assume responsibility for self-
enforcement, guided by the CEQ.

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WHAT IS NEPA?
• NEPA is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national
policy promoting the enhancement of the environment.
• NEPA is one of the most emulated statutes in the world and it is often
referred to as the modern-day “environmental Magna Carta.”
• NEPA's most significant accomplishment was setting up procedural
requirements for all federal government agencies to prepare environmental
impact assessments (EIAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs).
• EIAs and EISs contain statements about the environmental effects of
proposed federal agency actions.
• NEPA's procedural requirements apply to all federal agencies in the
executive branch.
• NEPA does not apply to the President, Congress, or the federal courts.

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NEPA
• First significant acknowledgement of the relationship between
human welfare and the environment.
• Has been described as “the most famous statue of its kind on
the planet.”
• Heart of NEPA is the mandate that “all Federal actions
significantly affecting the quality of human environment’
require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).”

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PURPOSES
• Main purposes of the act as stated in its preamble are:
• To declare a national policy which will encourage
productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his
environment;
• To promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate
damage to the environmental and biosphere and
stimulate the health and welfare of man;
• To enrich the understanding of the ecological systems
and natural recourses important to the Nation; and
• To establish a Council on Environmental Quality

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WHAT IS THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL

QUALITY?
• The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) coordinates
Federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies
and other White House offices in the development of
environmental policies and initiatives.
• CEQ was established within the Executive Office of the
President by Congress as part of NEPA.
• Additional responsibilities were provided by the Environmental
Quality Improvement Act of 1970.

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CURRENT MEMBERS OF CEQ

• Chair: Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The current
Chair is Brenda Mallory, who was confirmed in April 2021. There are 2 other
open positions.
• Environmental Justice: Cecilia Martinez is a Senior Director
• Emissions: Austin Brown works on emissions.
• Lands: Matthew Lee-Ashley works on lands.
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Oversight: Jayni Hein/
• Water: Sara Gonzalez-Rothi.

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NEPA AMENDMENTS
• 1973 – CEQ issued guidelines for implementation of NEPA
• The guidelines established:
• The process to be followed to evaluate the environmental impact
of Federally funded projects.
• Defined the required environmental documents needed.
• Set forth recommendations for public review and involvement.
• 1977 – Jimmy Carter issued an Executive Order directing the CEQ to
issue regulations.
• 1978 – The guidelines became regulations 40 CFR 1500-1508.

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HOW LAWS BECOME REGULATIONS?

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HOW IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ADOPTED?

• A bill is introduced in
the US House of
Representatives or
the Senate

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HOW AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IS ADOPTED?

• Referred to appropriate congressional committee for

further consideration.
• Committee may hold hearings, study, investigate, and
issue a report or recommendation to pass or not to pass
bill.
• Bill is voted on then reported out of committee.
• Placed on legislative calendar in respective house,
considered, debated, and then voted on.
Type text here

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PRESIDENTIAL SIGNATURE
• The act is sent to the president
• If the act is signed it will become law within 10 days.
• President can also veto the act.

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ISSUANCE OF A LAW
• Environmental statues empower a governmental administrative agency, like
the EPA, to develop and promulgate regulations.
• What does that mean?
• Rulemaking is a process of adopting regulations in accordance with the
federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
• Process involves publishing proposed regulations in the Federal Register.
• Provides an opportunity for the public to comment on proposed rules through
written comments or public hearings.
• Usually a 30-day comment period.

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CODIFIED LAW
• After the comments have been reviewed the
regulation is finalized then published again in
the in Federal Register.
• The regulation are combined annually in the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
• Environmental Regulations for air, land, water
and chemical management are published in 40
CFR.
• NEPA 40 CFR 1500 - 1508

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LAWS THAT ESTABLISH COMPLIANCE

OBLIGATIONS

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NATURAL RESOURCE LAWS

• Endangered Species Act
• Acts related to:
• Fish
• Wildlife
• Oil and Gas Exploration
• Mining
• Forest Management

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OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• Clean Air Act (CAA)
• Clean Water Act (CWA)
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
• Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
• Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC)
• Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)

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NEPA TITLE 1
• The heart of NEPA
• Announces a national policy and goals
• Creates specific responsibilities for federal
agencies
• Section 101 – Defines the nation’s
environmental policy and is sometimes call the
“spirit of the law”.

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SECTION 101(a)
• Begins by recognizing the problem:
The Congress, recognizing the profound impact of man's activity
on the interrelations of all components of the natural
environment, particularly the profound influences of population
growth, high-density urbanization, industrial expansion,
resource exploitation, and new and expanding technological
advances and recognizing further the critical importance of
restoring and maintaining environmental quality to the overall
welfare and development of man……

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SECTION 101(a)
• Policies by which the federal government intends to rectify the
problem:
[The Congress]….declares that it is the continuing policy of the
Federal Government, in cooperation with State and local
governments, and other concerned public and private
organizations, to use all practicable means and measures,
including financial and technical assistance, in a manner
calculated to foster and promote the general welfare, to create
and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist
in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other
requirements of present and future generations of Americans.

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SECTION 101(b)
• Continuing responsibility of Federal Government to use all
practicable means to improve and coordinate Federal plans,
functions, programs, and resources.
In order to carry out the policy set forth in this chapter, it is the
continuing responsibility of the Federal Government to use all
practicable means, consistent with other essential
considerations of national policy, to improve and coordinate
Federal plans, functions, programs, and resources to the end
that the Nation may –
• (1) fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of
the environment for succeeding generations;

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SECTION 101(b)
• (2) assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and
aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings;
• (3) attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment
without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable
and unintended consequences;
• (4) preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of
our national heritage, and maintain, wherever possible, an
environment which supports diversity and variety of individual
choice;

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SECTION 101(b)
• (5) achieve a balance between population and resource use
which will permit high standards of living and a wide sharing of
life's amenities; and
• (6) enhance the quality of renewable resources and approach
the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources.
• Initiated the development of recycling programs

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Central Ohio - intel chips and this needs water

severly affecting wells and land subsidence can
take place
SECTION 101(c)
• Responsibility of each person to contribute to preservation and
enhancement of environment
“The Congress recognizes that each person should enjoy a
healthful environment and that each person has a
responsibility to contribute to the preservation and
enhancement of the environment.”

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SECTION 102 – PROCEDURAL NEPA

• The Congress authorizes and directs that, to the fullest extent
possible:
• (1) the policies, regulations, and public laws of the United States
shall be interpreted and administered in accordance with the
policies set forth in this Act, and
• (2) all agencies of the Federal government shall—
• (A) utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will
insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences
and the environmental design arts in planning and in decision-
making which may have an impact on man’s environment;

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SECTION 102(B) – PROCEDURAL NEPA

• (B) identify and develop methods and procedures, in
consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality which
will insure that presently unquantified environmental amenities
and values may be given appropriate consideration in decision-
making along with economic and technical considerations;

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SECTION 102(C) – PROCEDURAL NEPA

• (C) include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation
and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of human
environmental, a detailed statement by the responsible official on –
• (i) the environmental impact of the proposed action,
• (ii) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should
the proposal be implemented,
• (iii) alternatives to the proposed action,
• (iv) the relationship between local short-term uses of man’s environment
and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and
• (v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which
would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented.

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS)

• A detailed statement of the environmental impact of an
action that must be prepared by each federal agency.
• Cornerstone of NEPA
• Sections (i) through (v) enumerate the content of the
EIS.
• Sections (iv) through (v) address the problems of long-
term commitments of these resources and their effects
on future generations.

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SECTION 103 - NEPA

• Requires all federal agencies to review their
regulations and procedures to determine if
there are any deficiencies or inconsistencies
which would prohibit full compliance with the
act.

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NEPA TITLE 2
• Establishes the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
• Three members appointed by President, confirmed by the Senate
• Advises the President on environmental matters
• President is required to submit to Congress an annual “Environmental
Quality Report”
• The status and condition of the major natural, human-made, or
altered environmental classes of the nation
• Current and foreseeable trends in the quality, management, and
utilization of such environments and socioeconomic impacts of these
trends

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TITLE 2 (CON’T)
• The adequacy of available natural resources
• A review of governmental and nongovernmental activities
of the environmental and natural resources
• A program for remedying the deficiencies and
recommending appropriate legislation

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TERMINOLOGY ESTABLISHED IN CEQ REGS

• Significance
• Defined in terms of context and intensity.
• Context – the geographical setting of a proposed project or action.
• Immediate setting and general community area
• Intensity – severity of impact
• Criteria included in CEQ regulations are:
• The degree to which the proposed action affects public health
or safety;
• Presence of unique characteristics in the geographic setting or
area such as cultural resources, parks, wetlands, wild and
scenic rivers, ecologically critical areas.

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INTENSITY CON’T
• The degree that the effects would be highly controversial;
• The degree to which an action would establish a precedent for future
actions with significant effects;
• The degree of effect on sites listed in the National Register of Historic
Places;
• The degree of effect on threatened or endangered species or their
habitats;
• Whether the action conflicts with other federal, state, or local laws and
requirements.
• Federal agencies have defined potential projects and require Draft EIS and
Final EIS.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• Term applies to more than natural resource effects. Can include:
• Aesthetic
• Economical
• Cultural
• Social
• Health

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SCOPING
• Conducted early in the EIS process
• Identify important issues and concerns
• Identify areas that are not of concern
• Identify other regulatory or legislative requirements

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ALTERNATIVES
• Different actions or modification of actions
• Must include
• Preferred action
• No action/No build
• Reasonable Alternates
• All should be given equal importance

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INDIRECT AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS

• Indirect – secondary impacts that may occur at a different

location or time from the proposed action.
• Cumulative – may not have a significant impact on its own but
may when combined with other projects or actions. Can be:
• Additive – several projects affecting the same resource.
• Interactive – differing sources of impact affecting the same
resource.
• Indirect and Cumulative are removed in distance and time.

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ADDITIONAL REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS

• Any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided
• The relationship between short-term uses of the human
environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term
productivity
• Land clearance
• Disruption of neighborhoods
• Any irreversible or irretrievable commitments of resources

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MITIGATION
• Avoiding the impact
• Minimizing the impact by limiting the degree or magnitude of the
action
• Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the
affected environment
• Reducing or eliminating the impact over time
• Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute
resources or environments

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RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

• Various agencies have their own requirements

• Executive orders
• Code of Federal Regulations
• Environmental Justice

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ROLE OF THE EPA

• The US EPA has limited responsibility for reviewing and evaluating EISs.
• The agency does not necessarily produce EISs.
• Many EPA activities are exempt for the EIS process.
• EPA mandate to review and evaluate EISs is found in Section 309 of the
Clean Air Act.
• CAA Section 309 authorizes the EPA to “review and comment in writing on
the environmental impact of….any major Federal action….to which…..NEPA
applies.”
• All comments shall be made public at the conclusion of the review.

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EPA’S FORMAL RESPONSES

• EPA reviews a “Draft” EIS (DEIS)
• Four ratings
• LO – Lack of Objections.
• EC – Environmental Concerns – some impacts identified that
should be avoided or mitigated.
• EO – Environmental Objections – identified significant
impacts the require substantial changes to proposed action.
• EU – Environmentally Unsatisfactory – impacts so severe
that the action must not proceed as proposed.

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EPA’S RATING SYSTEM

• 1 – Adequate, requiring no additional information
• 2 – Insufficient information, requiring more information or
evaluation of alternatives.
• 3 – Inadequate, seriously lacking information or analysis

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COURT CASES
• Early cases involved the completeness of EIS
• Later cases dealt with substantive requirements of NEPA
• Clarification of when a private action may become a federal action.
CEQ defined a public action became a federal action when:
• 1) federally funded or
• 2) requires a federal permit, license of other approval
• Several cases found that requiring a federal permit does not make a
private project federal
• NEPA dose not apply to matters of national security.

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QUESTIONS?

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