127.26 Environmental Classification

MoDOT projects are assigned an Environmental Classification as part of the NEPA process based on the magnitude of impact that the project will have on the environment.

Categorical Exclusion (Programmatic CE, CE2): A category of actions that, based on past experience with similar actions, do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, and for which, therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required. They are actions which: do not induce significant impacts to planned growth or land use for the area, do not require the relocation of significant numbers of people; do not have a significant impact on any natural, cultural, recreational, historic or other resource; do not involve significant air, noise, or water quality impacts; do not have significant impacts on travel patterns; and do not otherwise, either individually or cumulatively, have any significant environmental impacts.

Environmental Assessment (EA): A concise public document prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), that briefly discusses the purpose and need for an action, alternatives to such action, and provides sufficient evidence and analysis of impacts to determine whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement or a Finding of No Significant Impact.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): A detailed written statement required by Section 102 (2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), analyzing the environmental impacts of a proposed action, adverse effects of the project that cannot be avoided, alternative courses of action, short-term uses of the environment versus the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and any irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources.