US Department of Transportation

FHWA PlanWorks: Better Planning, Better Projects

US Department of Transportation

FHWA Planworks: Better Planning, Better Projects

ENV-2: Approve Notice of Intent

Environmental Review/NEPA Merged with Permitting

Description:

This Key Decision is required to satisfy the legal requirement of publishing a Notice of Intent (NOI) to inform partners and the public of the commencement of the environmental review phase. This step does not involve collaboration with partners or public stakeholders and is not closely integrated with other phases of transportation decision making or other decision making processes.

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

Approve content of Notice of Intent for publication in the Federal Register.

Outcome

A published Notice of Intent.

Partner	Role Type	Description
MPO	No Role	No action required with regard to NEPA Notice of Intent.
FHWA/FTA	Decision Maker	Approves the notice of intent in accordance with federal requirements.
State DOT	Advisor	Ensures the NOI meets federal requirements.
Resource Agency	Observer	Observe issue of the Notice of Intent.
Public Transportation Operator(s)	Observer	Observe issue of the Notice of Intent.

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
None.

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	No specific questions
Environmental Review	Is the content of the NOI comprehensive and thorough enough to meet legal requirements? Is the NOI prepared in the format consistent with federal guidelines?
Bicycles and Pedestrians	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Capital Improvement	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Economic Development	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Freight	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Health in Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Human Environment and Communities	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Land Use	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Linking Planning and Operations	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Natural Environment and Implementing Eco Logical	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Performance Measures	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Planning and Environment Linkages	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Public Private Partnerships	Are the Notice of Intent (NOI) descriptions of the action and possible alternatives broad enough to allow for the use of a P3?
Public Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
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	No specific data
Environmental Review	Description of the scope of the environmental review
Bicycles and Pedestrians	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Capital Improvement	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Economic Development	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Freight	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Health in Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Human Environment and Communities	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Land Use	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Linking Planning and Operations	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Natural Environment and Implementing Eco Logical	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Performance Measures	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Planning and Environment Linkages	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Public Private Partnerships	Review of NOI language
Public Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
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	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Capital Improvement	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Economic Development	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Freight	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Health in Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Human Environment and Communities	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Land Use	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Linking Planning and Operations	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Natural Environment and Implementing Eco Logical	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Performance Measures	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Planning and Environment Linkages	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Public Private Partnerships	Confirm that the NOI language is sufficiently broad enough to allow for the use of a P3.
Public Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
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.