Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Nepa topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Aspen council begins pre-NEPA work to test whether a new EIS is warranted for Entrance to Aspen
Summary
City staff and Jacobs outlined a months-long pre-NEPA process to develop a concise purpose-and-need statement, gather traffic and safety data and hold stakeholder workshops — steps intended to delay the NEPA clock and test whether FHWA/CDOT will agree a new EIS is needed.
City officials and Jacobs consultants used the Aspen City Council work session on Dec. 16 to launch a pre-NEPA phase that would develop a purpose-and-need statement and assemble the technical data needed to determine whether to request a new environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Entrance to Aspen corridor.
A Jacobs presenter told the council the pre-NEPA work will include traffic and safety analyses, an origin–destination study and targeted stakeholder outreach, with the goal of refining a short, digestible purpose-and-need statement for FHWA and CDOT. "[CDOT and FHWA] said it would require a strong purpose and need that's backed up by the data," the Jacobs presenter said during the session.
Staff emphasized that the pre-NEPA effort is intended in part to delay the formal two-year NEPA clock. The presenter explained that recent NEPA guidance requires EIS work be completed in two years once a Notice of Intent is issued, and doing upfront studies and public engagement can help the city meet federal timelines if it chooses to initiate a new EIS.
Council members pressed Jacobs on what changes to the previously adopted preferred alternative would trigger a new EIS. Jacobs said certain alternatives (for example a three-lane shifted or split-shot alternative) would likely require a new EIS and that CDOT/FHWA — not the council — would make the final call on whether a new EIS is warranted, after reviewing a data-driven purpose and need.
