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| Introduction | |
 2.5
Overview of the NEPA Process — NEPA Issues |
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| The Analysis Process | Purpose and Need for Action | Defining the Proposal | Connected, Cumulative, and Similar Actions | NEPA Issues | Internal Scoping | Alternatives | Affected Environment | Impacts | Determining the Appropriate NEPA Pathway | Using Contractors | The Administrative Record | Working with Other Agencies | Emergency Actions | ||
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In NPS planning, an “issue” often describes concerns or “obstacles” to achieving a park goal. Planning “issues” might be “lack of appropriate level of funding” or “visitors desire more solitude.” In NEPA, the goal is minimizing effects of proposals on the human environment and issues are possible barriers to achieving that goal. Planning issues and those issues defined in the NEPA analysis should both be incorporated into the plan/NEPA document as appropriate.
In determining relevant issues, the IDT should pay particular attention to the specific action element of the alternative causing harm and the specific element of the resource that may be affected. In the example above, the concern might be “the two-story west wing of the lodge” rather than the entire lodge. The resource affected might be the “view of the Colorado River for hikers on a 200-meter stretch of the rim trail.” This narrower description will help focus impact topics to just those resources affected, and mitigation measures or alternatives to just those actions causing problems for those resources. If the team finds that certain issues that it or the public thought would be problematic will not be, it should discuss these in an EA or an EIS as “issues considered but dismissed” and drop them from the analysis. Further Links:
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To
be more specific, in NEPA, an “issue” describes the relationship
between actions (proposed, connected, cumulative, similar) and environmental
(natural, cultural, and socioeconomic) resources. Issues are usually problems
that either the “no action” alternative has caused, or that
any of the alternatives might cause, but they may be questions, concerns,
problems, or other relationships, including beneficial ones. As an example,
“Building a lodge on the north rim could create a man-made obstacle
to an otherwise untouched view of a spectacular natural scene” is
an issue that details the relationship between the action (building the
lodge) and an environmental resource likely to be affected (the view).
Issues do not predict the degree or intensity of harm the action might
cause, but simply alert the reader as to what the environmental problems
might be if action is taken. The interdisciplinary approach must be used
to decide relevant issues.