Glossary
The following definitions may help your understanding of some components of the US 50 Corridor East project.
Access - Any entrance or approach onto or exiting from the general street system is called access. Where two public roadways intersect, the secondary roadway shall be considered the access point. See also Limited Access.
Access Location - the position or place at which a secondary roadway intersects with the main roadway.
Access Management Plan - An Access Management Plan is a written procedure in which limitations and/or restrictions to the number of points onto or from the system is established
Access Point - See Access Location.
Administrative Record - A summary of the project's decision making activities that includes documentation illustrating how project managers and other decision makers moved from acquiring information on a given issue to their resulting decision(s) on that issue.
Affected Environment - Physical conditions present within the project area that can be identified and will be changed substantially by one or more of the project strategies and/or alternatives.
Agency Charter Agreement - An agreement approved by participating resource/regulatory agencies that includes a detailed description of the US 50 Corridor East Tier 1 EIS decision making process.
Alignment - The location of a roadway facility within a corridor.
Alternative - Choice between more than one idea or concept. See Corridor.
Agency Working Group (AWG) - See Working Group.
Categorical Exclusions - Actions which: do not induce significant impacts to planned growth or land use for the area; do not require the relocation of significant numbers of people; do not have a significant impact on any natural, cultural, recreational, historic or other resource; do not involve significant air, noise, or water quality impacts; do not have significant impacts on travel patterns; or do not otherwise, either individually or cumulatively, have any significant environmental impacts.
Community Involvement - Public, citizen and/or community participation intended to establish and maintain an exchange of information and ideas between the public and the project team regarding project issues.
Community Memorandum of Understanding - An agreement approved by corridor communities that includes a detailed description of the US 50 Corridor East Tier 1 EIS decision making process.
Community Working Group (CWG) - See Working Group.
Cooperating Agency - With regard to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this term describes any agency, other than a lead agency, which has legal or regulatory jurisdiction or a special knowledge or expertise related to a federal action (i.e., project) significantly affecting the quality of the human or built environment.
Corridor- The term "corridor" as used during the Tier 1 EIS process means an area generally 1,000 feet wide in which Tier 2 transportation improvements may be located. The width of the corridor may vary depending on specific resource issues.
- Regional Corridors - An expansive area, approximately 1 to 20-miles wide, reviewed during the previous US 50 feasibility planning study, within which potential regional alternative transportation route locations were considered.
- Existing Regional Corridor - The regional area, generally 2-miles wide (and may also include an additional buffer area surrounding individual communities) on or near the existing US 50 roadway, selected during the previous planning study for further analysis. The Existing Regional Corridor is the project area for the Tier 1 EIS process.
Corridor Communities - The following communities are considered corridor communities for the US 50 Corridor East project: Pueblo County, Otero County, Bent County, Prowers County, City of Pueblo, Town of Fowler, Town of Manzanola, City of Rocky Ford, Town of Swink, City of La Junta, City of Las Animas, City of Lamar, Town of Granada, and Town of Holly.
Corridor Location Alternative - Describes a general area within which a transportation facility could be located.
Corridor Preservation Plan - A formal statement describing the strategies that US 50 corridor communities and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will implement to preserve the preferred corridor alternative as evaluated and documented in the Tier 1 EIS document.
Corridor Vision - The vision approved in the previous US 50 planning study entitled "A Corridor Selection Study: A Plan for US 50," called for an improved road, on or near the existing US 50, that maintains safety, reasonable traffic flow and speed for the movement of people and goods.
Draft EIS (DEIS) - A draft report that provides a detailed description of the proposal, the purpose and need, reasonable alternatives, the affected environment, and presents analysis of the anticipated beneficial and adverse environmental effects of the alternatives.
Environmental Assessment (EA) - A concise public document that provides sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an environmental impact statement or a finding of no significant impact. It includes brief discussions of the need for the proposal, alternatives, the environmental impacts of the proposed action and alternatives, and a listing of agencies and persons consulted.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - A document, required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), prepared for an action (i.e., project) that is likely to have significant impact. This document summarizes the major environmental impacts, outlines issues, examines reasonable alternatives, and arrives at a Record of Decision (ROD), identifying the selected alternative for the project.
Environmentally Preferable Alternative - The choice that has a lesser or reduced effect on the natural environment or on community resources when compared with other viable alternatives.
Environmental Study - An evaluation or analysis studying the impacts a project might have on the natural and built environment.
Final EIS (FEIS) - The FEIS addresses the comments on the draft EIS and identify, based on analysis and comments, the preferred alternative. It follows a formal comment period and receipt of comments from the public and other agencies on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Geographic Information System (GIS) - Data management software tool that enables data to be displayed geographically (i.e., as maps).
Impacts - A term to describe the positive or negative effects upon the natural or built environments as a result of an action (i.e., project).
Intergovernmental Agreement - A legal pact authorized by state law between two or more units of government, in which the parties contract for, or agree on, the performance of a specific activity through either mutual or delegated provision.
Key Milestone - Critical point during the US 50 Tiered EIS (TEIS) process where agency and/or community agreement is sought. At these points certain agencies and corridor communities will be asked to participate in the TEIS process in one of three ways: 1) By providing input to a project decision making entity or the Project Management Team (consisting of CDOT, FHWA, and consultant members); 2) By participating in decision making activities on a project-related issue and providing their organization's support and approval for that decision; or 3) By reviewing project documents or information.
Lead Agency - The lead agencies for the US 50 Corridor East project are the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Lead agencies are responsible for ensuring that National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements are met.
Level of Detail - The amount of data collected, and the scale, scope, extent, and degree to which item-by-item particulars and refinements of specific points are necessary or desirable in carrying out a study.
Limited (or Controlled) Access - Restricted entry to a transportation facility based upon facility congestion levels or operational condition. For example, a limited access roadway normally would not allow direct entry or exit to private driveways or fields from said roadway.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), or Programmatic Agreement - An agreement that documents the desire of involved parties to engage in a particular course of action.
Milestone - See Key Milestone.
Mitigation - A means to avoid, minimize, rectify, or reduce an impact, and in some cases, to compensate for an impact.
Mitigation Plan - A collection of strategies to avoid, minimize, rectify, or reduce impacts, and in some cases, to compensate for impacts.
Mobility - The ability to move or be moved from place to place effectively and efficiently.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - A law enacted in 1969 that established a national environmental policy requiring that any project using Federal funding or requiring Federal approval, including transportation projects, examine the effects the proposal and alternative choices have on the environment before a decision is made.
No Action Alternative - An alternative that is used as the basis to measure the impacts and benefits of the other alternative(s) in an environmental assessment or other National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) action. The no build alternative consists of the existing conditions on the roadway, plus any improvements which have been identified in the CDOT 5-Year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
Notice of Intent (NOI) - A Federal announcement, printed in the Federal Register, advising interested parties that an environmental impact statement will be prepared and circulated for a given project. The NOI for the US 50 TEIS was published on January 30, 2006.
Preferred Alternative - The corridor location alternative that fulfills the applicant agency's statutory mission and achieves the project's stated Purpose and Need.
Preferred Corridor Alternative - The corridor location alternative that fulfills the applicant agency's statutory mission and achieves the project's stated Purpose and Need.
Programmatic Agreement - See Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Project - The project is to complete a Tier 1 EIS on the US 50 East Corridor from Pueblo to the Kansas State Line.
Project Area - The area on or near US 50 where transportation improvements are being considered.
Project Need - See Purpose & Need.
Project Purpose - See Purpose & Need.
Project Team - The project managers and designated staff who are working with CDOT to complete the project.
Public Involvement - The process of involving the public in planning and project development.
Public Meeting - A formal event held prior to a decision that gathers community comments and positions from all interested parties for public record and input into decisions.
Purpose & Need - The project Purpose and Need provides a framework for developing and screening corridor locations. The purpose is a broad statement of the project's transportation objectives. The need is a detailed explanation of existing conditions that need to be changed or problems that need to be fixed.
Range of Corridor Location Alternatives - All reasonable corridor location alternatives that must be rigorously explored and objectively evaluated.
Record of Decision (ROD) - A concise decision document for an environmental impact statement that states the decision (selected alternative or choice), other alternatives considered, and mitigation adopted for the selected alternative or choice.
Regional Corridors - Expansive area, approximately 1 to 20-miles wide, reviewed during the previous US 50 feasibility planning study, within which potential alternative transportation route locations were considered on a regional basis.
Regulatory Agency - An agency empowered to issue or deny permits.
Resource Agency - A Federal or State agency or commission that has jurisdictional responsibilities for the management of a resource.
Resource Methodology - A proposed frame work for differentiating between Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels of detail for resource data collection, analysis, and documentation related to a particular resource.
Right-of-Way - Land, property, or interest therein necessary for transportation infrastructure.
SAFETEA-LU - Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. Approximately $22 million was earmarked for sections of the US 50 Corridor between Pueblo and the Kansas state line as part of this Act.
Scoping - A formal coordination process used to determine the scope of the project and the major issues likely to be related to the proposed action (i.e., project).
Screening Criteria - Criteria used to compare corridor location alternatives.
Section of Independent Utility (SIU) - A section of a larger project that would be a usable and reasonable expenditure even if no other sections of the larger project were built and/or improved.
Strategy - An intended action or series of actions which when implemented achieves the stated goal.
Study Area - The area within which evaluation of impacts is conducted. The study area for particular resources will vary based on the decisions being made and the type of resource(s) being evaluated.
Tiered Environmental Impact Statement (TEIS) - A series of reports developed as part of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, which detail the impacts of a proposed action (i.e., project) on the natural and built environment.
- Tier 1 - A National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) corridor-level analysis that may be completed for large studies that require certain broad questions to be answered before a more detailed study (a Tier 2 analysis) can be done.
- Tier 2 - A National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) project-level analysis focusing on specific sections of independent utility within the project's selected corridor.
Tiered NEPA Process - The process that results in a Tiered Environmental Impact Statement (TEIS).
Transportation Facility - Something designed to make possible or ease the carrying of people or goods from one place to another, especially in vehicles. These can include truck, rail and passenger terminals, as well as roads and rails.
Transportation Project - Any activity connected with a roadway facility, such as US 50. Those activities can be planning, designing or constructing such a roadway.
Vision - See Corridor Vision.
Work Plan - A detailed guide for implementing the Tiered Environmental Impact Statement (TEIS) process. The Work Plan addresses many administrative and policy issues and clarifies the process to manage the project and meet its defined goals.
Working Group - A group composed of project representatives formed to address specific issues or a specific range of project-related issues. The Community Working Group is composed of individuals representing the corridor communities, and the Agency Working Group is composed of individuals representing resource/regulatory agencies.
Workshop - An educational seminar or series of meetings emphasizing interaction and exchange of information among a usually small number of participants.
