Environmental Review
Environmental review assesses a proposed project's impacts to the human and natural environment and develops potential avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures by following the decision-making processes established in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), and other federal and state environmental laws.
I need help determining the level of environmental review required
- Environmental Document Decision Tree
- Programmatic Categorical Exclusion guidance
- Is my project a PCE or Non-PCE Categorical Exclusion?
I am ready to get started
- Early Notification Memos (ENMs)
- Early Notification Memo (ENM) Summary Table
- Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - Class I Action
- Categorical Exclusion (CE) - Class II Action
- Combined Environmental Assessment/Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EA/EAW) – Class III Action
- State Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW)
Concurrent processes
- NEPA and Public Involvement
- Wetlands Two Part Finding Form (Word)
- Section 4(f)
- Section 6(f)/Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (LAWCON)
- Section 106 National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA): under Cultural Resources (Archaeology and Historic Resources) guidance
- Section 7 Endangered Species Act: under Threatened and Endangered Species - Federal guidance
- Clean Air Act process: under Air Quality guidance
Activities
Water resources
- Floodplains
- Groundwater
- Municipal Separate Storm Sewer (MS4)
- Stream or Water Body Modifications
- Water Quality
- Wetland
- Wild and Scenic Rivers
Plants and animals
- Fish and Wildlife
- Threatened and Endangered Species - Federal
- Threatened and Endangered Species - State
- Vegetation
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) - MnDOT Liaison
Community and historic properties
- Business Impact Mitigation
- Complete Streets
- Construction Impacts
- Cultural Resources (Archaeology and Historic Resources)
- Environmental Justice
- Historic Bridges
- Scenic Byways
- Tribes and Transportation Coordination
- Visual Quality
Air, energy, climate and noise
Soil and waste
Land use
- 4(f) Properties
- 6(f) LAWCON Properties
- Airports and Aviation Coordination
- Farmland Impacts
- Land Use Impacts
- Right of Way
Assessment tools and construction
- Environmental Landscape Mapper (ELM)
- Environmental Management Plan (EMP)/Green Sheets
- Erosion Control
Transportation and safety
- Access Management
- Active Transportation (Walking and Biking)
- Airports and Aviation Coordination
- Railroads
- Interstate Access Requests
- Traffic Forecasts
- Transit