Project Information

Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act is generally  required when federal funds are being used for a project that may cause a significant impact to the environment.  As the City is seeking federal grant funds throught the Department of Transportation’s TIGER Grant Program to help pay for the possible renovation of the Fulton Mall, a NEPA Environmental Assessment (EA) must be prepared.  The EA will  analyze the potential environmental effects of the project proposed to be funded with the federal grant funds to determine whether an Environmental Impact Statement must be prepared or if a Finding of No Significant Impact can be made.  In this case the proposed project to be funded with federal funds is the renovation of the Fulton Mall.  If no EIS is necessary, it will aid the City in complying with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) by helping to narrow down the alternatives and identify better mitigation measures.  This outcome would result in a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)..  If an EIS is determined to be necessary, the EA facilitates preparation of the EIS.

The EA is being prepared under Caltrans supervision, in Caltrans’s role as the “NEPA Lead Agency” as assigned to it by the Federal Highways Administration.  (Unlike under CEQA, the City is not the “lead agency” for NEPA review.)  Questions about the NEPA EA may be referred to:

         G. William “Trais” Norris III
         Senior Environmental Planner
         California Department of Transportation
         855 M Street, Suite 200
         Fresno, CA 93721
         trais_norris@dot.ca.gov
         (559) 445-6447

For more information regarding the NEPA process, click here.