Integrating Freight into NEPA Analysis
Introduction
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires analysis of the impacts of proposed Federal activities on the natural and human environments. Therefore, the use of Federal-aid highway funds to implement a transportation project requires that the project be advanced through the NEPA process as defined in law and regulation (23 CFR 771, etc.). The consideration of freight transportation within this process can be viewed from two perspectives: 1) the project itself is designed to resolve a freight transportation issue or need; and 2) there are freight-related features (warehousing, access to intermodal facilities, loading docks, etc.) that could be affected by the design and location of any transportation project in a given area. In the first case the project could be either solely focused on solving a freight transportation issue or the freight transportation issue could be one of several issues to be resolved. The second perspective requires analysis of impacts of a proposed transportation project on activities, facilities, and/or features associated with the movement of freight (warehouses, industry, retail stores, roads, ports, railroads, etc.). There is a need to understand how a project could change freight transportation activity; and how the changes in freight transportation activity could impact the environment.
Projects that may require the integration of freight considerations include the broad range of projects that can be funded through the Federal-aid highway funding as defined in Title 23 USC. These include but are not limited to: intersection improvements, reconstruction and rehabilitation of roadways, bridge replacements and/or rehabilitation, repaving, building highway on new location, expanding highway corridors, interchange improvements, additions of interchanges, roadway widening, access to intermodal facilities, accommodating rail expansion with roadway improvements, safety improvements, and many others.
Ideally, freight transportation considerations will have been included in the transportation planning process, which precedes NEPA, and that information will help to frame the NEPA analysis.
The purpose of this handbook is to provide information on how to integrate freight considerations into the NEPA process and analysis. This handbook is one of a series of informational documents developed to improve the consideration of freight in the transportation planning and project development process (Figure 1).
This handbook is designed for NEPA practitioners as well as those interested in advancing freight projects and the guidance in this handbook will apply to Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), Environmental Assessments (EA), and projects categorically excluded (CEs) from the necessity to prepare an EIS (this will likely include CEs authorized by 23 CFR 771.117(d), and which are sometimes known as “documented CEs” or “Type 2 CEs.” Please refer to procedures under agreement between your state DOT and the FHWA Division). Each of the seven steps described in this handbook and illustrated in Figure 2 are covered in greater detail in the National Highway Institute (NHI) Courses on planning and the environment as shown in Appendix A.
The NEPA regulations upon which the information in this handbook is based include the CEQ National Environmental Policy regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508) and FHWA NEPA regulations (23 CFR 771). FHWA technical guidance and documents are based on these regulations.
Figure 2. Overview of NEPA Process
