Environmental Impact Statements: A Practical Guide for Agencies, Citizens, and Consultants

Environmental Impact Statements focuses on the roles of the various participants in the EIS review process. Whether you are an EIS author or reviewer, member of a public agency, a private sector consultant, a developer, environmental activist, or private citizen, understanding your own role and the roles of others in the process will increase your effectiveness, reduce duplication of effort, and save time and money.

This hands-on guide offers a unique, comprehensive approach to preparing, managing, and reviewing an EIS. It chronicles the preparation process step by step, from kickoff meeting through final submission and, unlike other books, it integrates technical discussions on the regulatory environment and impact analysis into the planning chronology instead of treating them independently. The book's combined emphasis on process and interaction of roles enables participants to adapt each step to their own federal or state EIS projects.

Author Diori Kreske explains all concepts needed to understand the EIS process and presents them first at an introductory level and later in greater detail. In the first half of the book she introduces readers to the EIS process, defines the roles and responsibilities of major participants, and discusses the process in relation to federal and state requirements and court decisions. Then Kreske concentrates on the nuts and bolts of preparing and managing an EIS. She describes how to build an EIS team, establish the statement's framework, manage the preparation process, determine when and how to involve the public, and write and review EISs.

Whatever your role in the EIS process, and wherever your interests lie, this invaluable resource will help you develop a clear understanding of your responsibilities within the defined requirements and ensure that the process will be more effective in accomplishing its stated purpose: to reduce the negative impacts of our actions on the environment.

Environmental Impact Statements is the first book to approach the preparation and management of the EIS process through the roles and responsibilities of process participants. It enables participants to reduce conflicts, avoid duplication of effort, and most importantly, produce a more useful EIS. This invaluable book provides a step-by-step guide to preparing an EIS that can be readily adapted to any state or federal EIS project. It also:
* Explains major participants' roles and how their responsibilities and goals can be effectively integrated into the process
* Describes the responsibilities and perspectives of both the public and private sectors
* Gives how-to advice on preparing and managing the EIS process
* Offers suggestions on how EIS teams can streamline the process and reduce time, effort, and paperwork
* Provides case studies that illustrate the preparation and management of EISs
* Includes numerous illustrations, an extensive list of acronyms, and appendices useful in preparing EISs, including NEPA and CEQ regulations


For anyone involved in the EIS process, this unique resource will make you a more effective participant and help you produce a more accurate, reliable, and effective EIS.