Study of the review & comment phase of the draft environmental impact statement

220999611PDFTech ReportVHTRC 75-R4Environmental impact statementsEnvironmental impact analysisVirginiaVirginia Transportation Research CouncilHowell, David RVirginia Highway & Transportation Research CouncilUS Transportation CollectionSince the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, there has been considerable change in the efficiency of the preparation and distribution of environment a impact statements (EIS). This study was an evaluation of the review and comment phase as part of the overall EIS process. From a survey of agencies involved in this phase, it was determined that the majority of problems derive from: 1) the sporadic flow of statements to agencies for review; 2) the shortage of review staff; and 3) the complexity of some projects. An analysis of the review process showed that in part the difficulties are due to the "segmented" structure of the overall system. The lack of short-term flexibility and long-term adaptability are seen as the symptoms of this segmented system