Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
r A listing and explanation as to why any alternatives have already
been eliminated
r A summary and reference to any relevant previously prepared doc-
uments such as planning studies, conceptual engineering, needs
analyses, etc.
Information on the proposed action and alternatives can be presented in a
number of venues, including web pages, social media, meetings, newsletters,
and presentations to interest or advocacy groups. All of these are useful tools for
scoping, but scoping is more than just a set of tools. It is a process initiated at the
beginning of an environmental analysis and integrated into the entire environ-
mental impact analysis. Following presentation of the relevant information, the
stakeholders should be encouraged to express their concerns and identify the
issues they feel should be included in the environmental impact analysis and
used as input to decision making. Once the topics and their relative importance
are identified, the environmental impact analysis can be structured to address
the concerns and predict the magnitude and intensity of the potential impacts.
Successful determination of the potential areas of impact and areas of
concern during scoping can be measured by comments received on the
draft environmental impact analysis document: the more comments and the
more surprises, the less successful the scoping process. The objective should
be to identify all areas of concern during scoping and then address them to
the appropriate level of detail in the draft analysis document. If comments
on the draft are voluminous and substantial, one major reason frequently is a
scoping process that was less than successful in anticipating and addressing
the issues. A common flaw causing an unsuccessful scoping process is not
identifying and including the stakeholders with the most at stake early in the
process. Another oversight that can limit the success of the scoping process
is the failure to provide sufficient information so stakeholders can recognize
their issues and concerns during initial scoping.
The other primary cause of voluminous and substantial comments on the
draft is strong opposition to the proposed action on environmental or other
grounds. Even a well-planned and well-executed scoping process cannot avert
such opposition and the resulting comments. However, it can allow the environ-
mental analysis practitioner to anticipate the comments and have them “pread-
dressed” in the document so that the response to the comments can simply be
a reference to the appropriate section of the environmental analysis where the
issue was thoroughly addressed and evaluated. This can take the wind out of
the sails of the commenter, expose that they did not read the document, and
reveal that the comment is just opposition and they are not interested in the
answer, but just creating obstructions.
Identifying issues and concerns during the scoping process can have sub-
stantial benefits beyond simply identifying the scope of the analysis. Actively
soliciting input from stakeholders early in the process can build a founda-
tion of trust and cooperation as the analysis progresses. An environment of
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