Capstone Project - Resource Management and Conservation Program - Environmental Studies - Antioch University New England

Sample Capstone Project

Scoping in Environmental Impact Assessment: Determining Issues for Baseline Analysis

"Scoping" is the process of focusing the analysis, within the context of environmental impact assessments (EIA) on only those issues of significance. This is a necessary step when there are limited resources such as time and budget to conduct such analyses.

This student’s research was to review and assess scoping methodologies found at the State level that reflected a process similar to the National Environmental Policy Act. Specific topics addressed in this analysis were determining the scale of the review, the role of public participation, the interjection of values and subjective judgment and the determination of what was significant for inclusion in the analysis.

Results from this analysis concluded that the formulation of the baseline study aspect of the EIA often was not consistent and somewhat influenced by political realities. The recommendations focused upon refining the scale of such analyses, with clearly the administrative, project, ecological and technical boundaries of the study. The conclusion also emphasized the importance of public participation in data collection analysis and determination of what is significant should not be rigidly applied from the top down, but generated through the public participation process.

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