NEPA Process and Specific Requirements - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 57

Having defined the purpose and need for the action, the agency is in a
position for the next step: describing the proposed action and an initial list
of alternatives. This description should be conceptual, as more detail will
be developed as the process progresses. But enough information has to be
developed so the agency can make at least an initial judgment as to the envi-
ronmental resources potentially involved and the general level of anticipated
impact. Also, there must be enough detail developed so that a meaningful
approach to evaluating the environmental impacts of the proposed action
can be initiated (see Section 4.3 on the scoping process). In the case of a spe-
cific project, at a minimum, the description of the proposed action and alter-
natives at this stage of the process should include:
r General geographic area of the action, if there will be actual con-
struction or other physical alteration of the landscape. The area
potentially affected should also be defined when the action could
result in plans or regulations affecting a specific area
r Magnitude of any construction, such as length of highway, size of a
structure, etc.
r General qualitative description of any activity covered by a federal
environmental regulation or act, such as air emissions, filling of wet-
lands, or water discharges
r Acreage covered by the project
r General environmental setting
r Conceptual description of any alternatives, including the proposed
action if one is known, identified to date
Once the purpose and need are established and the basic description of the
proposed action and some initial alternatives have been developed, there is a
major decision to be made by the agency based on the question: “what is the
likelihood the action will cause an impact on natural or built environmental
resources?” The federal agency proposing the action must answer this ques-
tion in one of four possible ways:
1. There may or may not be an impact but we have dealt with this type of
action numerous times. Therefore, we can fully comply with the NEPA
requirement to incorporate environmental consequences and appropri-
ate mitigation into our decision making without further environmental
analysis for this specific action (see Section 3.1.2 if this answer applies).
2. There is the definite possibility of a significant impact (see Section 3.1.3
if this answer applies).
3. There will probably be some level of impact resulting from the
action, but we don't know enough to assess the likelihood or severity
of the impact (see Section 3.1.4 if this answer applies).
4. There will definitely not be a significant impact.