Considering Cumulative Effects Under the National Environmental Policy Act Page: 22
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3
DESCRIBING THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENTPRINCIPLES
* Us natural bundaries.
*: Focuso eac ffeted reso e,
.cowstem, and human comrlrn ty.
Characterizing the affected environment in
a NEPA analysis that addresses cumulative
effects requires special attention to defining
baseline conditions. These baseline conditions
provide the context for evaluating environ-
mental consequences and should include histor-
ical cumulative effects to the extent feasible.
The description of the affected environment
relies heavily on information obtained through
the scoping process (Chapter 2) and should
include all potentially affected resources, eco-
systems, and human communities. Determin-
ing the cumulative environmental consequences
based on the baseline conditions will be
discussed in Chapter 4. The affected envir-
onment section serves as a "bridge" between the
identification during scoping of cumulative
effects that are likely to be important and the
analysis of the magnitude and significance of
these cumulative effects. Specifically, describ-
ing the environment potentially affected bycumulative effects should include the following
steps:Step 4
Step I7Characterize the resources, eco-
systems, and human communities
identified during scoping in terms
of their response to change and
capacity to withstand stresses.
Characterize the stresses affecting
these resources, ecosystems, and
human communities and their
relation to regulatory thresholds.
Define a baseline condition for
the resources, ecosystems, and
human communities.Describing the affected environment when
considering cumulative effects does not differ
greatly from describing the affected environ-
ment as part of project-specific analyses; how-
ever, analyses and supporting data should be
extended in terms of geography, time, and the
potential for resource or system interactions. In
project-specific NEPA analysis, the description
of the affected environment is based on a list of
resources that may be directly or indirectly
affected by the proposed project. In cumulative
effects analysis, the analyst must attempt to
identify and characterize effects of other actions
on these same resources. The affected envir-
onment for a cumulative effects analysis,23
I _~ __ _ __
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Council on Environmental Quality (U.S.). Considering Cumulative Effects Under the National Environmental Policy Act, text, January 1997; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc31126/m1/31/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .