Project Development Process

All federally aided projects and/or projects with the need for federal permitting must comply and adhere to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA process often takes three (3) to eight (8) years to complete, and requires the following to complete:

  • Public input throughout
  • Technical studies (18)
  • Development of alternatives
  • Analyze alternatives
  • Development of a Preferred Alternative
  • Preparation of a draft environmental assessment
  • Revision of the preferred alternative
  • US Army Corps of Engineers decision

Current Status

The County has identified five reasonable alternatives. All five of the alternatives meet the purpose of the project and have varying impacts to the natural and human environments. The project team now needs your input on the presented alternatives.

Next Steps

Once the public comment period has ended, the design team will use your input, along with information gathered from preliminary environmental studies, to refine the project alternatives and identify a Preferred Alternative. Once selected, the County will present a Preferred Alternative, at which time the public will have another opportunity to ask questions and provide input on the project. The final design and right-of-way acquisition phase will begin following the second public comment period.