Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Based on the scoping, the lead agency works with other agencies (and
stakeholders) to outline research tasks, allocate tasks among agencies, and
commission studies. Often these are called
cooperating agencies,
on the hope,
often well founded, that they will be indeed cooperative. We will learn
more about this complex process in the next chapter, in our discussion
of bridge delivery. In the meantime, let us say that after a year of study
the lead agency submits the document officially termed the
Draft EIS.
For
large or complex projects, this is a correspondingly large document, made
available to the public in agency offices for inspection and often posted on
the Internet. Hearings are then held and written comments received, not
to mention criticisms. In response, the lead agency makes amendments or
commissions further studies.
Results are then put together into what is officially called the
Final
EIS,
though that term comes to seem premature if lawsuits, newly discov-
ered environmental problems, or political pressures force the agency into
amending it. From the initial notice through completion of the Final EIS
and formal ruling to accept it, the process can take several years.
In the United States, a long history of legal rulings has expanded
the coverage of the EIS, so that it isn't just examining effects pointed out
by experts; it is also reviewing the project's it with state and federal laws.
Let us say that our Great Lakes City is in New York State. An EIS process
for our proposed bridge would have to take into consideration some of the
following federal and state laws or administrative regulations:
Federal Clean Water Act
New York State (NYS) water quality regulations
Federal Rivers and Harbors Act
Federal and state regulations governing wetlands
NYS designated environmental “areas of concern”
US Coast Guard permitting for navigable waterways
Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations for
floodplains
NYS and Federal Coastal Zone Management Programs
NYS regulations for protection of aquifers and drinking water
supplies
State and federal laws controlling spillage of untreated storm
water (as over the new bridge into the harbor)
Laws protecting wildlife and fisheries
Laws covering threatened or endangered species
NYS Department of Transportation procedures for handling
any hazardous materials
Federal Highway Administration noise abatement criteria
