US Department of Transportation

FHWA PlanWorks: Better Planning, Better Projects

US Department of Transportation

FHWA Planworks: Better Planning, Better Projects

ENV-13: Approve Final EIS and Record of Decision

Environmental Review/NEPA Merged with Permitting

Description:

A final EIS is approved that meets all legal requirements and addresses comments received on the Draft EIS. This should include a draft project-level conformity determination, if applicable.

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 formally respond to public and agency comments, approve the Final EIS, including commitments affecting permit conditions, and submit for regulatory approval.

Outcome

An approved Final EIS that meets all legal requirements.

Partner	Role Type	Description
MPO	Observer	Observes final NEPA document approval for consideration of impact to the LRTP, fiscal constraint, and air quality conformity.
FHWA/FTA	Decision Maker	Approves the final EIS as meeting all federal requirements. Makes project-level conformity determination.
State DOT	Advisor	Provides support for the final EIS as needed.
Resource Agency	Decision Maker	USACE approves a Final EIS that satisfies the USACE regulatory process in order to issue a Section 404 permit. Other resource agencies advise the approval of a Final EIS that fully represents the process followed and agreement of all partners. Pursuant to Section 309 of the Clean Air Act, USEPA reviews a Final EIS if a Draft EIS was given a rating of "Environmental Objections", "Environmentally Unsatisfactory", if the DEIS was inadequate, or if other changes or conditions warrant a detailed review. If the action agency is unresponsive to EPA's comments, EPA can refer the matter to the Council on Environmental Quality. A project cannot proceed until a referral is resolved.
Public Transportation Operator(s)	Advisor	Provides support for the final EIS as needed.

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	How were comments received from partners addressed in the FEIS? Does the ROD address any comments received from partners for the FEIS? Is the document legally sufficient; including sufficient justification for the preferred and eliminated alternatives? Does the ROD describe the preferred alternative, summarize public comment, and describe mitigation?
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	Has feedback from a diverse set of community stakeholders been gathered? Has as adequate response to been made to any comments, criticisms, and objections received in response to the draft EIS? How are agreements to avoid and minimize the negative impacts of the LEDPA to be reported?
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	Have specific data, relationships, and decisions in the FEIS impacted the regional ecological framework, if applicable?
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	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Public Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Safety	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Stakeholder Collaboration	Have relevant stakeholders been notified of the final outcome? How were stakeholder comments addressed in the FEIS? Does the Record of Decision (ROD) identify and address any comments received from stakeholders after the FEIS?
Transportation Conformity	Does the project conform?
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 preferred alternative Mitigation plans and other commitments
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. This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Human Environment and Communities	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application. Comments on the Draft EIS Agreements to avoid and minimize impacts
Land Use	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application. 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	Potential impacts to the regional ecological framework, as appropriate
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	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Public Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Safety	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Stakeholder Collaboration	Input received from stakeholders for FEIS Summary of public comments
Transportation Conformity	LRTP conformity analysis for comparison to project alternative Final EIS
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	Provide feedback to freight stakeholders on Final EIS with an explanation of how the outcome impacts freight and other sector interests. Validate that freight stakeholders will remain engaged in transportation decision making, and document their concerns for future project selections.
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 is a required decision in the NEPA process for the Human Environment and Communities and Natural Environment and Implementing Eco-Logical.
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	Final decisions from the environmental review process should be used to update the ecological plan.
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	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Public Transportation	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Safety	This Key Decision is not associated with the Application.
Stakeholder Collaboration	In this critical step, it is important to collect input from stakeholders, including the public, before and after the Final EIS is issued.
Transportation Conformity	Approve the project-level conformity determination to inform the Record of Decision (ROD). This Key Decision is not related to other Applications.
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.