Overview and Initiating the Environmental Impact Analysis and Assessment - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 121

r Retained solids which controlled expansion of unsightly and odorif-
erous mud flats in the lake
r Improved water quality by removing pollutants before they reached
the lake
r Retained more storm water in the watershed, and thus maintained
more consistent lake discharge volume and improved downstream
river flow and aquatic habitat
4.3.1.2 EnvironmentalSetting
The environmental analysis is played on the field or stage of the environmental
setting, as represented by the right side of the simplified environmental impact
evaluation model (Figure 4.1). The more that is known about the conditions
that host the proposed action, the more complete, accurate, and efficient is the
impact prediction and the entire environmental analysis process. During scop-
ing, the stakeholders closely associated with the location can provide important
information related to both the existing and historic environmental setting not
always apparent to the more technically focused environmental analysis team.
The local stakeholders are also perhaps the ones most likely to be aware of pre-
vious environmental analyses or other investigations that have been conducted
in the area, which can be important sources of environmental resource descrip-
tion and data (see Section 5.2.2). Both the general public and more technical
stakeholders play a role in this aspect of scoping, with the public more focused
on local conditions and sometimes more anecdotal information. Of course,
the information provided by stakeholders can be biased and only selectively
revealed to support specific interests. However, if all sides are represented in
the scoping process the bias can be at least partially balanced. In any case scop-
ing could be a starting place for information gathering and supply material to
be evaluated and verified by the environmental analysis team.
Stakeholder input can also be useful in identifying and describing VECs
and other sensitive resources. As discussed above, these include lands set
aside as natural areas, habitats for special status (e.g., rare and endangered)
species, culturally significant resources (e.g., historic properties and loca-
tions), economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and institutional land
uses vulnerable to disturbance. Once such resources are identified during
scoping and confirmed as fragile or strongly susceptible to change, they
generally warrant additional and special consideration in the environmental
impact assessment investigations.
Soils are a typical example of a natural resource where technical stakeholder
(see Section 4.3.2 for a discussion of technical vs. social scoping) input dur-
ing scoping can be important and foster efficiency. If soils within the project
area are known to be stable, not contaminated, and erosion resistant, they most
likely will require little attention during the environmental impact analysis
process. In contrast, if they are known to be highly erodible, with potential to
create silt and sediment problems in downgradient water bodies, they might