Background

Environmental review documents prepared under NEPA begin with a discussion of the
"purpose and need" of a proposed action, which provides context and criteria for the development and screening of alternatives to the proposed action. This purpose and need statement is essentially the foundation of the NEPA decision-making process. The statement influences the rest of the project development process, including the range of alternatives studied and, ultimately, the selected alternative. The Army Corps of Engineers requires the establishment of project purpose for permit applications in order to evaluate "practicable" alternatives that may have impacts on wetlands and waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act. Therefore, a purpose and need statement should satisfy multiple regulatory requirements and guidelines as part of a streamlined environmental review process.

Work Group Activities

The first activity of the Purpose and Need Work Group was to compile baseline information on purpose and need statements based on a review of Environmental Impact Statements and discussions with staff at federal and state transportation and resource agencies. The Work Group developed a baseline assessment report, which is under review by the Work Group and Task Force.

Components of the report include:

• A compilation of laws, regulations, and Executive Orders and their relation to purpose and need statements;
• A summary of selected case law relating to purpose and need;
• An annotated bibliography of guidance documents relating to purpose and need;
• A compilation of training programs related to purpose and need; and
• An assessment of challenges and opportunities, and recommendations for next steps.

Purpose and Need Work Group, Baseline Report, Revised Draft, March 15, 2005