AASHTO PG12

Abstract

<strong>Overview</strong> <br>The requirement to assess indirect and cumulative impacts of proposed federal actions was established in the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). <br>&#9632; Indirect effects are caused by the project or plan, but are separated from direct effects by time and/or distance. Indirect effects include induced growth and related environmental impacts. <br>&#9632; Cumulative impacts are the aggregate result of the incremental direct and indirect effects of a project or plan, the effects of past and present actions, and effects of reasonably foreseeable future actions by others on resources of concern. <br>This Handbook focuses primarily on the assessment of indirect effects and cumulative impacts for individual transportation projects. This Handbook also briefly describes a range of approaches for using the statewide or metropolitan transportation planning process to address indirect effects and cumulative impacts for a region or corridor. <br>A consistent theme throughout this Handbook is the importance of maintaining a clear distinction between an indirect effects analysis and a cumulative impacts analysis. For that reason, those analyses are addressed separately in the Practical Tips section of the Handbook.