US Department of Transportation

FHWA PlanWorks: Better Planning, Better Projects

US Department of Transportation

FHWA Planworks: Better Planning, Better Projects

COR-4: Reach Consensus on Scope of Environmental Analysis

Corridor Planning

Description:

In order to provide a clear linkage to the environmental review process, this Key Decision defines the acceptable level of detail for the corridor study analysis. This establishes a common understanding between the planning partners (primarily transportation and resource agencies) about what decisions and analyses will be transferable to the merged environmental / permitting process.

There is information developed in prior Key Decisions that informs this step.

Basics:

The first table describes the purpose and anticipated outcome of a Key Decision. If the decision is federally mandated, the purpose and outcome will relate to the legal intent.

The second table describes roles for key partners with legal decision making authority in the transportation process. The roles indicate the influence a partner can have on a decision, and show each partner where their input is most needed. For a full understanding of roles see the Partner Portal.

Purpose

To determine the data, information, and level of analysis needed for the environmental review, which includes social, cultural, and natural environment.

Outcome

Agreement on the data needs and level of analysis required for the planning process. This agreement should be well documented so that it can be carried into the NEPA process.

Partner	Role Type	Description
MPO	Decision Maker (urban), No Role (rural)	Provides supporting information to assist in scoping of the environmental review and analysis in order to streamline project implementation.
FHWA/FTA	Advisor	Ensures state and federal agencies are appropriately included in the environmental review scope and analysis.
State DOT	Advisor (urban), Decision Maker (rural)	Ensures that the study is adequate to support environmental review.
Resource Agency	Decision Maker	Agree to a scope that provides a clear understanding of what will be needed in and relevant to the environmental review phase.
Public Transportation Operator(s)	Advisor	Ensures that the study is adequate to support environmental review.

Links to Decisions

This table identifies the connection to other Key Decisions. The linkages highlight the importance of collaboration across transportation phases. Practitioners are encouraged to document the basis of the decision and consider information from previous Key Decisions.

Transportation Phases	Key Decision	What is Linked?	Purpose of Linkage
To Environmental Review/NEPA Merged with Permitting	ENV-1 - Reach Consensus on Scope of Environmental Review	Information on the scope of the environmental review and analysis process	To confirm that the information and analysis transferred is adequate for the merged environmental review / permitting process.
	ENV-4 - Reach Consensus on Study Area	Information on the scope of the environmental review and analysis process	To determine whether or not the geographic study area for the corridor planning study is sufficiently broad enough to meet the requirements for the NEPA study area.
	ENV-6 - Approve Full Range of Alternatives	Agreement reached on the scope of the environmental review and level of analysis required	To support solutions eliminated in corridor planning during the NEPA process

Questions to Consider

Questions are a way to gather input from partners and stakeholders that can be used to inform the decision. Decision makers can discuss the questions provided to ensure a broad array of interests are considered to support a collaborative process. Questions also allow staff to collect stakeholder interests, ensure these are included in the decision, and provide a response based on the decision outcome. Although Public Transportation is not represented by a PlanWorks Application, the information provided may be useful in a collaborative transportation process.

Category	Questions to Consider
Long Range Planning	No specific questions
Programming	No specific questions
Corridor Planning	Is the scope of analysis comprehensive enough to recognize and evaluate impacts related to problems and opportunities in the study corridor? Is there agreement on the types of information needed in order to perform a spatial analysis of potential cumulative effects at the corridor and project-specific levels? Is the scope comprehensive enough to evaluate potential risks to the public and private sectors? What partners were involved in developing the scope recommendation? Is there agreement on the level of analysis that is acceptable for selecting a preferred solution set with the potential to inform a project-level decision?
Environmental Review	Is information adequate to inform a merged environmental review/permitting process? Is the geographic study area for the corridor planning study sufficiently broad to meet the requirements for the NEPA study area? Is the scope comprehensive enough to allow consideration of programmatic solutions? Is the recommended scope comprehensive enough to incorporate the range of data and information needed to inform project level NEPA documentation? Are data and analyses available from the public and/or private sector to help clarify the potential scope of environmental impacts, including indirect and cumulative impacts?
Bicycles and Pedestrians	Is the scope comprehensive enough to evaluate bicycle and pedestrian network connectivity, accessibility, and safety, both along the corridor and across the corridor? Does the recommended scope properly consider how NEPA may apply to bicycle and pedestrian improvements? See FHWA Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding, Design, and Environmental Review. What bicycle and pedestrian data is available and needed to implement the agreed-to scope of environmental review?
Capital Improvement	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Economic Development	Is data on current and future socioeconomic growth and other information available from economic plans to support the scope? Has the scope considered potential economic impacts and opportunities as well as types of information needed for economic analysis?
Freight	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions	What GHG emissions may be considered and on what timescale? What are the potential GHG impacts and the types of information needed for analysis at the corridor level as well as during NEPA?
Health in Transportation	What type of data and the level of detail is available to support health considerations? Is a health impact assessment or other health-related study available or being considered for this area of influence? If so, how will it be incorporated?
Human Environment and Communities	What data on the community and built environment is available? What additional data, information, or analysis is needed to support the environmental review process? Is the scope comprehensive enough to evaluate equity impacts throughout the corridor study area? How will equity be considered during environmental review, and is the necessary information to support this available?
Land Use	Is there data on current and predicted future growth and other information available to support project-level analysis?
Linking Planning and Operations	Is information sufficient to include operations in developing the purpose and need?
Natural Environment and Implementing Eco Logical	Is there data available from integrated transportation and ecological planning to support the scope of environmental review?
Performance Measures	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Planning and Environment Linkages	Do the partner agencies understand the benefits of reaching agreement on the level of analysis that will be needed for direct incorporation of corridor planning studies into environmental review? Are there any unresolved issues with individual data sets or analyses?
Public Private Partnerships	What concerns and issues associated with P3 and innovative financing strategies, such as environmental justice and equity, will be considered during environmental review? Is the scope comprehensive enough to evaluate accessibility, equity, and operational impacts that may result from a P3 project (e.g., managed lanes or priced lanes)? Has a consensus been reached on the level of involvement of any private sector stakeholders?
Public Transportation	Are public transportation concerns and options addressed by the scope?
Safety	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Stakeholder Collaboration	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Transportation Conformity	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Visioning and Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.

Data

The following list of data may be needed to support the Key Decision. Practitioners collect this information for decision makers to consider. Although Public Transportation is not represented by a PlanWorks Application, the information provided may be useful in a collaborative transportation process.

Category	Data to Consider
Long Range Planning	No specific data
Programming	No specific data
Corridor Planning	GIS data and layers for the corridor Analysis that has been done to reconcile or validate existing data Detailed analysis of fiscal and physical operational needs Field survey data, as available
Environmental Review	Information on the scope of the environmental review and analysis process
Bicycles and Pedestrians	Data needed to implement the scope
Capital Improvement	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Economic Development	Economic development data to support the detailed analysis required for environmental review, including potential economic impacts and opportunities
Freight	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions	Analysis requirements for considering GHGs GHG emissions that may be considered and potential GHG-reduction impacts
Health in Transportation	Geographic area in which transportation influences community and public health Health impact assessment (HIA) or other health-related study Input from health and community stakeholders
Human Environment and Communities	Data to support environmental review and analysis (currently available/additional needed)
Land Use	Data and analyses from land use planning Anticipated impacts of existing, planned, and forecasted land uses
Linking Planning and Operations	Data about the performance, reliability, operations, and management of the corridor sufficient for environmental review
Natural Environment and Implementing Eco Logical	Data from the ecological plan to support the scope
Performance Measures	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Planning and Environment Linkages	Documentation of agreements reached and unresolved issues
Public Private Partnerships	Concerns and issues associated with P3 and innovative financing strategies that could impact the scope Public and private sector assumptions on future land use and socioeconomic growth
Public Transportation	Public transportation data needed to implement the scope
Safety	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Stakeholder Collaboration	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Transportation Conformity	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Visioning and Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.

Links to Applications

The interaction between transportation decision making and other planning processes will ensure that important values and goals outside the transportation process are recognized and considered. Although Public Transportation is not represented by a PlanWorks Application, the information provided may be useful in a collaborative transportation process.

Application	Description
Bicycles and Pedestrians	Identify data needed to implement the scope of the environmental review.
Capital Improvement	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Economic Development	Understand the potential impacts for economic development by identifying the study area that illustrates these impacts. Stakeholder Collaboration – particularly with representatives of Human Environment and Communities and Natural Environment and Implementing Eco-Logical interests – can help identify areas of concern and opportunities for improvement that may be in common.
Freight	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions	Consider the scope of GHG emissions analysis, potential GHG-reduction impacts, and information needed for analysis at the corridor level to inform environmental review.
Health in Transportation	Work with the Planning and Environment Linkages Application to determine the appropriate level of analysis and documentation to allow the corridor planning study to be used for environmental review. Consider how information from the Bicycles and Pedestrians and Human Environment and Communities Applications will also influence the scope of environmental review.
Human Environment and Communities	As an outcome of this decision, practitioners leading the corridor planning study will know the data, analyses, and decisions needed to support solutions through the study and into environmental review. This connects clearly to the Planning and Environment Linkages Application, especially if the corridor study is done following PEL guidance. Other related Applications are Natural Environment and Implementing Eco-Logical, Safety, Freight, and Bicycles and Pedestrians.
Land Use	Assess whether land use data is available to support environmental review for any of the transportation solutions resulting from corridor planning. Land use information may have a strong relationship to the Human Environment and Communities and Natural Environment and Implementing Eco-Logical Applications. To the extent PEL studies are part of corridor planning, these will be helpful in reaching consensus on the scope of future environmental review efforts (See Planning and Environment Linkages Application).
Linking Planning and Operations	To consider the influence of traffic operations in the scope of environmental review, data must be sufficiently detailed for NEPA evaluation. Additional support may be related to the need to reduce impacts of the transportation system on the Human Environment and Communities and Natural Environment and Implementing Eco-Logical.
Natural Environment and Implementing Eco Logical	Identify data available from the ecological plan to support the scope of environmental review.
Performance Measures	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Planning and Environment Linkages	Confirm the level of analysis that will be needed for direct incorporation of corridor planning studies into environmental review.
Public Private Partnerships	All traditional project development considerations must be evaluated at this Key Decision in the context of a potential P3 alternative. Land Use, Human Environment and Communities, Natural Environment and Implementing Eco-Logical, Transportation Conformity, Bicycles and Pedestrians, and Public Transportation have a potential relationship to P3.
Public Transportation	Cooperate to ensure that the study will be adequate to support environmental review.
Safety	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Stakeholder Collaboration	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Transportation Conformity	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Visioning and Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.

Examples

In - depth case studies of successful practices in collaborative decision making were used to develop the Decision Guide.Links in this table point to a specific paragraph or section of a case study that supports a Key Decision. It is not necessary to read through an entire case study to find the example; however, full versions are available in the Library.

PlanWorks Case Study Examples:
None.

Other Examples:
None.