Successes in Stewardship: May 2003

Definitions

• Direct impacts are caused by an action and occur at the same time and place as the action.
• Indirect impacts (also referred to as secondary impacts) are caused by the action and are later in time or farther removed in distance, but still reasonably foreseeable. Indirect impacts may include growth-inducing effects and other effects related to induced changes in the pattern of land use, population density or growth rate, and related effects on air, water, and other natural systems, including ecosystems.
• Cumulative impacts are the impacts on the environment that result from the incremental impacts of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions, regardless of what agency or person undertakes such other actions. Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time.

Definitions are based on CEQ regulations 40 CFR § 1500 - 1508.

Regulatory History of Indirect and Cumulative Impacts

Under NEPA, project sponsors are required to identify and avoid, minimize, or compensate for direct project impacts. While the NEPA legislation does not mention indirect or cumulative impacts, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) established Federal agency responsibility for identifying, analyzing, and documenting direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts in its "Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR §§ 1500 - 1508)." CEQ regulations direct that the environmental consequences section of an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment include a discussion of adverse impacts that cannot be avoided, including direct and indirect impacts.

Other statutory and regulatory mandates include indirect and/or cumulative impact requirements, including the Endangered Species Act, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice.

Highlights from the Interim Guidance

The interim guidance provides FHWA field offices, state DOTs, and other environmental practitioners with a variety of information, including:

• Explanations of what direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts are and in what statutes, regulations, guidance, and court law they are found.
• A review of existing NEPA requirements regarding consideration, analysis, documentation, and mitigation of direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts in Environmental Impact Statements, Environmental Assessments, and Categorical Exclusions.
• Strategies for addressing indirect and cumulative impacts and for streamlining the project development process. Strategies discussed include early participation of all partners and stakeholders in project scoping, inventory of features, resources, ecosystems, and human communities within the project area of influence, and incorporation of planning considerations in the local area, such as land uses and transportation plans, into the project study.
• Examples of several state DOTs' procedures for analyzing and documenting indirect and cumulative impacts.
• References to indirect and cumulative impact guidance.
• Training opportunities.

FHWA/EPA Workshops on Methods for Evaluating Secondary and Cumulative Land Use Impacts.

In February 2003, FHWA Headquarters and the New England Region (Region 1) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency co-sponsored one-day workshops on successful methods for evaluating the secondary and cumulative land use impacts of transportation projects. Workshops were held in Albany, New York, Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, and participants included representatives from state and Federal transportation and natural resource agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, non-profit organizations, local governments, universities, and private consulting firms. Participants reviewed the available methods for analyzing land use impacts of transportation projects, the guidelines for selecting methods, and a case study on the use of the Delphi Process, which utilizes expert panels. Methods discussed included comprehensive plans, qualitative techniques (including the Delphi Process), quantitative techniques, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, statistical methods, regional economic/demographic models, and land use models. More workshops may be held in the future due to their initial popularity.

Contact Information

Lamar Smith
FHWA Office of Project Development & Environmental Review
400 7th Street, SW
Room 3222
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: (202) 366-8994
Fax: (202) 366-7660
Email: Lamar.Smith@fhwa.dot.gov

"Successes in Stewardship" is a Federal Highway Administration newsletter highlighting current environmental streamlining practices from around the country. To subscribe, contact Cassandra Allwell at (617) 494-3997 or allwell@volpe.dot.gov.