Phase III is commonly known as the environmental review process and is required for any project requesting federal funding as outlined by the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) Act. The process began in June 2017 with the submittal of the Notification of Intent (NOI). For the last 4 years, there have been a number of achievements, with the first being the Public Scoping Meeting held in January 2018 and concluding the year with an approved Scoping Report in December.
As for 2019, Project DeRenne promoted the “Let’s Go Initiative from Chatham Area Transit”; due to concerns expressed during the previous phases of the need for improved mobility within and surrounding the EJ communities. In addition, the project team began discussing creating a Relocation Assistance Program (RAP). At the beginning of 2020, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was submitted for Legal Sufficiency Review with FHWA; and, concluded with an approved DEIS and the Public Hearing Open House (PHOH).
The final milestone to conclude this phase is approval of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD). Approval of the FEIS/ROD is expected in the 2nd Quarter of 2022
August 2021
March 2021 Updates
Final Environmental Impact Statement/Record of Decision (FEIS/ROD)
o A Draft FEIS/ROD was submitted to GDOT for review on January 15, 2021.
o The revised FEIS/ROD addressing GDOT comments was transmitted to GDOT February 26, 2021
Public Hearing Open House (PHOH) Response Letter
o A response to comments received from the November 2020 PHOH was sent to all those providing a home or email address on February 26, 2021. A copy of the response letter can be found here (PHOH Comment Letter_Signed)
o The Project DeRenne Public Involvement Plan has been updated and a copy can be found here (Public Involvement Plan_Revised)