4. Can Mercer County and Trenton Mercer Airport request an Environmental Impact Statement from the Federal Aviation Administration?

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The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process is determined by the FAA. The FAA determines the type of NEPA review that include three (3) options: Categorical Exclusion (CATEX); Environmental Assessment (EA); and, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). During the pre-project planning and consultation with FAA, the FAA determined that this project would following the EA process.

 

This decision could change if the FAA determines there are environmental or human impacts that would be significant and mitigation of the impacts cannot reduce the impacts to levels below significant thresholds.

 

The type of NEPA process is based upon the anticipated environmental impacts. A CATEX refers to a category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment, and for which, neither an EA nor an EIS is required.

 

An EA is used to determine whether a Proposed Action has the potential to significantly affect the natural or human environment that provides sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an EIS or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and/or a Record of Decision.

 

An EIS requires the same technical analysis that is conducted for an EA-level project; however, it is anticipated that one or more environmental or human impacts would be significant and mitigation measures cannot reduce the impact(s) below significant levels.