National Environmental Policy Act Process and Public Involvement
NEPA is a U.S. federal law that requires federal agencies to identify and analyze the potential environmental impacts of a proposed action before deciding whether to proceed with that action. The law encourages and facilitates public involvement to inform decision makers on actions that may affect the community or the environment. Public involvement is an important part of the NEPA process, and a number of opportunities are available for the public to participate throughout the development of the EIS/OEIS.
Public and agency input allows decision makers to benefit from local knowledge and consider community issues and concerns. The public participates in the NEPA process during the following stages by:
• Scoping Period: Helping to identify the scope of the analysis, including potential environmental issues and viable alternatives
• Draft EIS/OEIS Public Review and Comment Period: Evaluating and providing substantive comments on the draft analysis
• Final EIS/OEIS Wait Period: Reviewing the Final EIS/OEIS and Navy responses to substantive comments received on the Draft EIS/OEIS
The Navy encouraged the public, government agencies, elected officials, and organizations to participate by submitting comments at the public meetings, via the project website, or by mail.
The Navy completed the HSTT NEPA process in 2018.
The National Marine Fisheries Service was a cooperating agency for this EIS/OEIS.