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What is a Notice of Intent?

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has established certain classes of action for transportation projects that prescribe the level of documentation required in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. There are three level of classes, with Class 1 requiring the most comprehensive level of environmental documentation. A new controlled-access freeway is a Class 1 action and would require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The SR 6219, Section 050, project has been determined by the FHWA to be Class 1 action since the project is examining the construction of a new controlled-access freeway.

The federal regulations state that "As soon as practicable after determining that a proposal is sufficiently developed to allow for meaningful public comment and requires an environmental impact statement, the lead agency shall publish a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement in the Federal Register. The notice shall include, as appropriate:

  1. The purpose and need for the proposed action;
  2. A preliminary description of the proposed action and alternatives the environmental impact statement will consider;
  3. A brief summary of expected impacts;
  4. Anticipated permits and other authorizations;
  5. A schedule for the decision-making process;
  6. A description of the public scoping process, including any scoping meeting(s);
  7. A request for identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the proposed action; and
  8. Contact information for a person within the agency who can answer questions about the proposed action and the environmental impact statement."

At this time, the team is working to pull this information together and plans to have a NOI report prepared and published in the Federal Register following the June 2022 public meeting. By publishing the NOI, the FHWA is requesting comments and suggestions on potential project alternatives and impacts, and the identification of any relevant information, studies, or analyses of any kind concerning impacts affecting the quality of the human environment. This request aims to bring relevant comments, information, and analyses to FHWA's attention, as early in the process as possible, to enable the agency to make maximum use of this information in decision making.