Ashford Courses

Week 1

NEPA. The purpose of NEPA is: To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental Quality. NEPA applies to most federal agencies projects or those receiving federal funding.

Do you believe that NEPA was a step forward in environmental regulations? Explain your answer. What are the most important aspects of this regulation? Should NEPA be expanded to incorporate all projects, not just those with ties to the federal government? Why or why not? Support your position with substantive facts.

Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). NEPA requires all projects that may adversely impact the environment to undergo the development of an EA or EIS. The initial scoping process is critical in determining how to proceed with a project. Do you think the scoping process entails too much research or does it not require enough?

Week 2

Land-Use and Development. Land-use and development is classified as a socioeconomic impact in regards to the proposed project characteristics. Choose a project that has occurred in your local area. Describe the project and discuss a minimum of three (3) direct land-use and three (3) indirect land-use impacts. Explain how and why they are classified as direct or indirect impacts.

Economics. Economists and environmentalists are often on opposite sides of the debate when discussing the impacts caused by human interaction. When developing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) the direct and indirect economic impacts are heavily considered. Should the various components of economics that were discussed in Chapter Seven potentially prevent or permit a project?

Socioeconomic Factors. Marriott explains, “The discussion of land-use and development impacts are often combined with community effects, relocations, travel patterns, and economic effects under an umbrella term of socioeconomic impacts” (1997, p. 61). Choose one of these factors, which are found in Chapters Five through Nine. Discuss the importance of evaluating the chosen factor within the context of a proposed project. Discuss any difficulties that might be present when determining the cumulative impacts. Provide a minimum of one example from a project within your local area.

Week 3

Air Quality. Air quality is vitally important for human health and the environment. Since the 1970’s, various regulations and amendments have been enacted to ensure an increase in air quality across the nation. The amount of regulations and constraints that pertain to the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is daunting. Discuss several of the challenges when addressing Air Quality in both attainment and non-attainment areas.

Public Participation. One of the benefits of the NEPA process is the incorporation of publicparticipation.Therearenumerouswaysinwhichtheaveragecitizencanparticipateintheprocess. Which two (2) processes do you think are the most important? Which process do you think has the least impact on the overall EIS? Why? How could it be utilized better?

Final Paper Outline. For your Final Paper you must select one (1) of the scenarios below.

Scenario 1

You are attempting to build a wastewater treatment plant in a newly developed urban area. The site is located in an attainment area. There is a local waterway that runs through the site. The area is heavily populated.

Scenario 2

You are proposing to build a power plant in an industrialized area. The site is located in an attainment area but local regulations require offsets be incorporated into the plan. The closest waterway is 1.5 miles away. The gradient of the land slopes towards the water. There is a small population of people that surrounds the industrial area.

Scenario 3

You are proposing to build a recycling center in a rural area. The area consists of numerous waterways. There are many farms in the area. The population is medium in size and spread throughout the area. The area is in a nonattainment area.

Scenario 4

You are proposing to build a shopping mall in a heavily populated rural area. The area adjacent to the site consists of a nature preserve. The main road into and out of the site is a single lane road in each direction. The area of the site is in an attainment area.

Develop a scoping plan for the scenario of your choice. Include a minimum of three (3) alternatives as well as the no build alternative.

Discuss a minimum of three (3) important criteria from each chapter regarding your proposed site (i.e., discuss land-use and development, social and neighborhood effects, economic factors, relocations, traffic and transportation, energy, historic and archaeological resources, visual resources, air quality, noise, geology and soils, water resources, floodplains and coastal areas, wetlands, and vegetation and wildlife). It is understandable that every category may not be affected by your proposed project. However, you must indicate the category and include a brief statement as to why certain criteria do not apply. Since the scenarios provided may not address every situation that could arise, you may extrapolate and be creative regarding the surrounding area. Make sure that you support any decision that you make by explaining its importance in regards to the site and the community. Provide evidence throughout your paper to support your statements.

Week 4

Geology and Soils. The Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981 (FPPA) (amended in 1987) provides specific criteria for projects that attempt to convert viable agricultural land to nonagricultural purposes. The impetus is the protection of a potential food source for an expanding population. The federal government can halt any project if a Section 1006 score is near 160 (out of 260 points). On the other hand, environmentalists endeavor to ensure that natural lands are afforded the same stringent protection.

Review the FPPA in Chapter Sixteen of Environmental Impact Assessment: A Practical Guide. Is it important to provide a special section for protecting farmland within the NEPA regulations? Does it appear that these two purposes contradict one another by protecting open farmland and potentially disrupting natural lands? Explain your answer.

Water Resources. The vast majority of public opinion indicates that the protection of water resources should be high on the concerns of environmental protection. Water resources include all components associated groundwater, surface water, and marine environments. In addition to determining the impacts in relation to NEPA, there are numerous other regulations that must be considered including the Safewater Drinking Act, Clean Water Act, and the Rivers and Harbors Act.

Review the flow charts (Figure 18.5a and Figure 18.5b) in “18.6 – Summary of Water-Related Permits and Legislation” of Environmental Impact Assessment: A Practical Guide. Explain one concern that NEPA preparers may have when evaluating the impacts of a proposed project in relationship to these acts. Select two (2) different acts and discuss the importance of these acts in association to NEPA and water resources

Case Study: Environmental Impacts. Search the Internet for an EIS that has been written in your local area. If one is not present in your local area, expand your search to include your county or state. Note: You are not required to read the entire EIS. These can run several hundred pages.

Address the following:

A Practical Guide? Does the EIS address each of the main chapter categories (i.e., transportation, energy,

air quality, noise, public safety, and water resources)

constraints? Of those remaining, briefly discuss the preferred alternative.

Week 5

Sorting through it All. The purpose of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is to provide a harmonious union between human’s interactions and the environment. One EIS can take, on average, two to three years to complete. The volumes of data collection can be overwhelming, yet it is important to present the information in a way that the public can comprehend.

What do you think are the most important components of the comparative evaluation process? Explain your answer and provide a minimum of two examples to support your statement.

Overall Impressions. The EA/EIS process is one of length and detail. After learning the components of the entire process, the role of public participation, and examining actual completed EIS, what are your overall impressions of the process? What do you believe could improve the entire process and purpose of the environmental documents?

Focus of the Final Paper

The creation of an Environmental Impact Statement can take two to three years to complete, depending on the complexity of the proposed project. There are numerous individuals and technical experts involved. For the Final Paper, you will develop an abbreviated form of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by selecting one of the scenarios below.

Scenario 1

You are attempting to build a wastewater treatment plant in a newly developed urban area. The site is located in an attainment area. There is a local waterway that runs through the site. The area is heavily populated.

Scenario 2

You are proposing to build a power plant in an industrialized area. The site is located in an attainment area but local regulations require offsets be incorporated into the plan. The closest waterway is 1.5 miles away. The gradient of the land slopes towards the water. There is a small population of people that surrounds the industrial area.

Scenario 3

You are proposing to build a recycling center in a rural area. The area consists of numerous waterways. There are many farms in the area. The population is medium in size and spread throughout the area. The area is in a nonattainment area.

Scenario 4

You are proposing to build a shopping mall in a heavily populated rural area. The area adjacent to the site consists of a nature preserve. The main road into and out of the site is a single lane road in each direction. The area of the site is in an attainment area.

Develop a scoping plan for the scenario of your choice. Include a minimum of three (3) alternatives as well as the no

build alternative.

Discuss a minimum of three (3) important criteria from each chapter regarding your proposed site (i.e., discuss land-use and development, social and neighborhood effects, economic factors, relocations, traffic and transportation, energy, historic and archaeological resources, visual resources, air quality, noise, geology and soils, water resources, floodplains and coastal areas, wetlands, and vegetation and wildlife). It is understandable that every category may not be affected by your proposed project. However, you must indicate the category and include a brief statement as to why certain criteria do not apply. Since the scenarios provided may not address every situation that could arise, you may extrapolate and be creative regarding the surrounding area. Make sure that you support any decision that you make by explaining its importance in regards to the site and the community. Provide evidence throughout your paper to support your statements