Environmental Impact Assessment Flashcards

Under NEPA, which document is prepared when the significance of a proposed federal action's environmental impacts is uncertain?

Answer: Environmental Assessment

An Environmental Assessment (EA) is prepared to determine whether a proposed action's impacts are significant enough to require a full EIS.

The 'rule of reason' in EIS preparation means that agencies must:

Answer: Analyze alternatives that are reasonable and feasible

The rule of reason requires agencies to analyze a reasonable range of alternatives that are feasible and meet the purpose and need of the action.

Which federal agency is responsible for overseeing NEPA compliance across all federal agencies?

Answer: Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issues binding regulations implementing NEPA and oversees federal agency compliance.

A 'programmatic EIS' is most appropriately used when:

Answer: Evaluating broad policies, plans, or programs before site-level decisions

Programmatic EISs evaluate impacts of broad actions like national policies or regional programs, allowing tiering of subsequent site-specific analyses.

In the context of EIA, 'tiering' refers to:

Answer: Incorporating results of broader EISs into subsequent narrower analyses

Tiering allows later, site-specific EISs to incorporate by reference the analysis from earlier programmatic EISs, avoiding redundancy.

Which of the following best describes 'indirect effects' in an EIA?

Answer: Impacts caused by the action but occurring later or farther away

Indirect effects are caused by the proposed action but occur later in time or at a greater distance, such as induced development triggered by a new highway.

The 'purpose and need' statement in an EIS primarily serves to:

Answer: Define the problem the proposed action is intended to solve

The purpose and need statement defines why the action is being proposed, which in turn determines the range of reasonable alternatives to be analyzed.