1st Edition

The EIS Book Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements

By Charles H. Eccleston Copyright 2014
    510 Pages 74 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    510 Pages 74 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Poor Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) practice leads to poorly planned projects, and ultimately poor environmental protection. Written by recognized NEPA authority Charles H. Eccleston, The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements supplies focused direction on preparing an EIS, highlighting best professional practices (BBP) and lessons learned from case law that provide valuable direction for preparing legally defensible documents.

    The book is not about preparing bigger or more complicated EISs—but better ones. Beginning with fundamental topics and advancing into successively more advanced subjects, Eccleston describes EIS preparation as a comprehensive framework for planning future actions, rather than merely a document preparation procedure. He supplies direction for preparing defensible analyses that facilitate well-planned projects and improved decision-making.

    • Discusses EIS document requirements including the Council of Environmental Quality’s NEPA regulations and related guidelines, EPA guidance and requirements, presidential executive orders, and case law
    • Covers how to perform a legally sufficient cumulative impact assessment and how to evaluate greenhouse emissions and climate change
    • Details a step-by-step approach for navigating the entire EIS process that includes all pertinent process requirements from issuing the notice of intent, through public scoping, to issuing the final record of decision (ROD)
    • Includes analytical requirements for preparing the EIS analysis and guidance for performing various types of analyses
    • Provides tools, techniques, and best professional practices for preparing the EIS and performing the analysis
    • Presents a case study that reinforces key EIS regulatory requirements, and integrates lessons learned from this case study with appropriate regulatory requirements

    The book gives readers a firm grasp of the process for preparing an EIS, including all key regulatory requirements that a legally sufficient EIS document must satisfy. No other book synthesizes all such requirements and guidance into a single source for easy and rapid access.

    Scientific Shams - How Not to Prepare an EIS
    A Human and Environmental Disaster of Epic Proportions
    Calvert Cliffs – NEPA’s First Major Lawsuit
    NRC’S Flawed EIS Process
    Mismanagement Threatens Society
    When Nuclear Power and Black Swans

    Overview of NEPA and the EIS Process
    The Development of NEPA and it’s EIS Requirement
    The NEPA Statute
    Introduction to the EIS Process
    Sliding Scale, Rule of Reason, and Nomenclature

    Preliminaries and Pre-Scoping
    Initiating the EIS Process
    Pre-Scoping
    EIS Management Tools

    Preparing the Environmental Impact Statement
    General EIS Direction and Concepts
    Issuing the Notice of Intent
    The Formal Scoping Process
    Consultation and Identifying Environmental Regulatory Requirements
    Preparing the Draft EIS
    Filing the DEIS with the EPA
    Circulating the Draft EIS for Public Comment
    Preparing the Final EIS
    The Record of Decision
    Mitigation, Post-EIS Monitoring, and Enforcement
    Referrals
    Supplemental EISs
    Legislative EISs
    Programmatic EISs

    Performing the EIS Analysis
    Six-Step Technique for Analyzing Impacts
    Impact Assessment Methodologies
    Investigating and Describing the "Affected Environment" and "Alternatives"
    Assessing Direct and Indirect Impacts, and Significance
    Performing a Health Impact Assessment in an EIS
    Performing the Cumulative Impact Assessment
    Performing a Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Assessment
    Performing an Accident Analyses in an EIS

    Writing the Environmental Impact Statement
    Requirement for Writing the Notice of Intent
    General Requirements for Writing the EIS
    Techniques and Hints for Writing the EIS
    Page Limits and Size of the EIS
    The EIS Content and Format
    The Record of Decision

    Closing Thoughts
    How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Flawed Planning and Decision-Making
    Capstone Problems
    Glossary
    Appendices

    Biography

    Charles H. Eccleston