Environmental Impact Assessment
When proposing a transportation project with federal and/or state funding, GDOT must conduct environmental studies within the project's area of potential affect. These studies document the potential effects that a project may have on the natural, social, cultural, and economic environments of an area. Once these studies are completed, the results are incorporated into an environmental document called an Environmental Assessment (EA).
The major studies of interest to the public found in EAs include a listing of historical and archaeological sites, wetlands and waters of the United States, threatened and endangered species, air quality assessments, existing and predicted noise levels, parklands, and relocations of homes and businesses, to name a few. The EA will also provide a description of the project, the purpose and need of the project, alternatives that have been studied. The EZ includes all of the public comments the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has received throughout the public involvement process. The EA will also describe all of the mitigation efforts and avoidance alternatives implemented during the design process.
The EA is a legally binding document that states to the best of GDOT's knowledge the impacts that could occur as a result of project construction. The commitments made in the EA to minimize negative project impacts will be implemented and adhered to during construction.
The EA is not simply approved by the GDOT. Bacause this is a federal aid project, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) closely scruntinized the document. The FHWA has the final approval for projects being constructed with federal dollars.
Additionally, this process is two-fold. Once GDOT has a draft EA, the document is sent to the FHWA for approval. The FHWA will either approve the findings of the draft EA and allow the project to advance, or it will propose other alternatives or additional studies. After FHWA approves the draft EA, GDOT gives a 30-day notification (usually) to the public via newspaper advertisements and street signs along the project corridor. The notificatin gives the time and date for a Public Hearing on the project. The findings of the EA are also available for public review.
After the Public Hearing, a final Environmental Assessment will be prepared. If appropriate, a Finding of No Significant Impacts (FONSI) will be prepared and attached to the final Environmental Assessment. Once this document is approved by both GDOT and the FHWA, the project is ready to advance to right-of-way acquisition and ultimately to construction.
So how long does it take to prepare the EA and FONSI? Once all of the environmental studies are complete, an EA can usually be prepared within one month. The EA is then reviewed by the GDOT. The document may require corrections that are to be addressed before sending it to the FHWA.
The FHWA should review the draft EA within 30 days of receipt, but the complexity of projects may increase or decrease review times with both agencies. After the Public Hearing and comment period has concluded, approximately one month is needed to prepare the final EA and FONSI.
GDOT will review the FONSI within 30 days, but review time increases to 45 days with the FHWA. The process as described herein is realistic for projects with minimal impacts to the environment. Because of the complexity of this project, the number of relocations, and involvement with historic structures, EA and FONSI approval make take up to one year.
Additional Information:
What makes a structure historic? There are several technical criterion the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has assigned to determine the historic eligibility of a structure or resource; however, for the ease of understanding the criterion, layman's terms will be used here.
The minimal requirement is that the structure be 50 years of age or older. The structure should be a recognized architectural style, i.e., Victorian, Queen Anne, Craftsman Bungalow. The structure may also be recognized as historic because of a person of significance associated with the structure or what it represents within a community.
A structure may qualify as historic because it is 50 years old or older. However, it may not be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places because it is not a significant architectural style or it has not been maintained--which results in it losing its integrity as a significant structure. If a structure is historic and eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the FHWA, under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, may not approve the use of land from this resource unless there is no feasible or prudent alternative to the use of land.