Module 2 Flashcards
What does NEPA stand for?
National Environmental Policy Act
requires that environmental impact be assessed whenever a federal action will have an environmental impact, as well as requiring that alternatives be considered
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Who signed NEPA into law?
President Richard Nixon
When was NEPA signed into law?
January 1,1970
On January 1,1970, President Richard Nixon signed NEPA into law, setting a national policy to encourage ___________ between people and their environment.
productive and enjoyable harmony
Such a stand-alone finding results when potential environmental impacts are compared to a checklist of significant impacts, with the result that no significant impact can be identified.
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
What does FONSI stand for?
Finding of No Significant Impact
A detailed assessment of potential environmental impact resulting in one of two conclusions: either the EA must be expanded to a full-scale environmental impact statement or a FONSI results from the EA.
Environmental Assessment (EA)
What does EA stand for?
Environmental Assessment
must assess in detail the potential environmental impacts of a proposed action and alternative actions
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
What does DEIS stand for?
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
issued by the appropriate federal agency
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
What does FEIS stand for?
Final Environmental Impact Statement
After mandated public hearings and incorporation of comments, the federal agency issues a ________
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
includes the final decision about the project, the alternative chosen, and any value judgments
Record of Decision (ROD)
What does ROD stand for?
Record of Decision
Four Distinct Phases of Writing an Environmental Asssessment
Scoping, Inventory, Assessment, Evaluation
scope or extent of the assessment
scoping
cataloging of environmentally susceptible areas and activities, including socioeconomically impacted areas
inventory
process of estimating the impact of the alternatives, including cumulative impacts, and the impacts of a “no action” alternative
assessment
interpretation of these findings, which is often done concurrently with estimating impacts
evaluation
What does GEIS stand for?
Generic Environmental Impact Statement
What does PEIS stand for?
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
refers to the impact assessment for an extended or multifaceted project
Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS)
refers to an assessment for an entire program
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
refers to the process of calculating projected effects that a proposed action or construction project will have on environmental quality
Environmental Assessment
Semi-Quantitative Approaches of Environmental Assessment
Checklist, Interaction Matrix, Checklist with weighted rankings
these are lists of potential environmental impacts, both primary and secondary
checklists
occurs as a direct result of the proposed project, such as the effect of dam on aquatic life
primary effects
occurs as an indirect result of the action, such that an interchange for a highway may not directly affect wildlife, but indirectly it will draw such establishments as service stations and quick food stores, thus changing land use patterns
secondary effects
Three phases of a checklist for a highway project
planning, construction, operation
Consideration is given to the environmental effects of the highway route and the acquisition and condemnation of property
planning phase
This will include displacement of people, noise, soil erosion, air and water pollution, and energy use
construction phase
It will list direct impacts owning to noise, water pollution resulting from runoff, energy use, etc., and indirect impacts owing to regional development, housing, lifestyle, and economic development.
operation phase
What is 0 in the arbitrary scale?
no impact
What is 1 in the arbitrary scale?
minimal impact
What is 2 in the arbitrary scale?
small impact
What is 3 in the arbitrary scale?
moderate impact
What is 4 in the arbitrary scale?
significant impact
What is 5 in the arbitrary scale?
severe impact
refers to a two-dimensional listing of existing characteristics and conditions of the environment and detailed proposed actions that may affect the environment
interaction matrix
represents the extent of the interaction between the environmental characteristics and the proposed actions and typically may be measured
magnitude
often a judgment call on the part of the engineer
importance of the interaction
Sections an EA or EIS is usually organized
introduction, description of the proposed action and alternatives, description of the environment affected by the proposed action, evaluation
Provides an overview of the proposed project, alternative actions, and the assessment methods that will be used
introduction
often includes a summary of the most critical and important results of the assessment; can often serve as an executive summary of the EA or EIS
introduction
Describes the proposed project and all of the alternatives that need to be considered, including the “no action” alternative
description of the proposed action and alternatives
Description is best organized by listing environmental parameters that could be impacted by the proposed alternative, grouping them into logical sets
description of the environment affected by the proposed action
Out of hands of the engineers and scientists responsible for the inventory and assessment phases
evaluation
responsible governmental agency ultimately uses the environmental assessment to justify the record of decision
evaluation
may be calculated for all checklist items that have a quantitative scale, like aesthetics or historical objects, a scale based on qualitative considerations may be generated by an expert in the particular area
Environmental Quality Index (EQI)
What does EQI stand for?
Environmental Quality Index
importance unit to each parameter
Parameter Importance Units (PIU)
What does PIU stand for?
Parameter Importance Units
refers to the product of EQI and PIU
Environmental Impact Unit (EIU)
What does EIU stand for?
Environmental Impact Unit
formula of EIU
EIU = PIU x EQI
provides a method for comparing low-probability, high consequence impacts with high-probability, low-consequence impacts
risk analysis
allows assessment of future uncertain impacts, and incorporates uncertainty into the assessment
risk analysis
generally preferred since the overhead costs of financing GO bonds are lower and their greater security allows them to be offered at a lower rate of interest
General Obligation (GO) bond
Two-Step Procedure in Considering Impacts of Proposed Projects
define capital requirements of each alternative, apply financial classification criteria
Sample Ratios of Estimates of Market-Acceptable Thresholds
debt/capita <=300
debt/capita as percentage of per capita income <= 7%
debt/full property value <= 4.5%
Empirical studies have shown that bond offerings by cities that _______ all three debt ratios are not likely to be successful.
exceed
refers to the second component of an economic impact assessment
Analyses of Projected Increase in User Changes
