Environmental Site Assessment Guidelines - Ohio Department of ...

Approval of NEPA documents is under the guidance of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
ODOT has developed its Project Development Process (PDP) which incorporates NEPA requirements
into the project planning process.
The time limits in AAI for the information collected in the Phase I ESA are generally shorter than the
time it takes a transportation project to be approved through NEPA/PDP. ODOT's Office of Real
Estate may begin to acquire property for a project with federal funds only after the NEPA document
has been approved since ODOT may only acquire property necessary for the project and no more.
Since the last revision of this manual, FHWA reviewed the remediation and reuse of brownfields
across the country. As a result FHWA has published a white paper which reversed its position on
contaminated properties. Originally, DOT's had to consider avoidance of contaminated properties.
Through the white paper, FHWA now encourages DOTs to build through brownfields properties
without fear of losing federal funding for the project.
The interview portion of the Phase I ESA has been modified from AAI. While AAI is to address liability
concerns between a willing seller and a willing buyer, property being acquired by ODOT for a project is
not typically part of an advertised sale of property. If the owner will not voluntarily sell the property for
the project, ODOT may acquire the property as part of an eminent domain action and compel the sale
of the land. Because of this, property owners and/or tenants may not be willing to take part in the
interview for the Phase I ESA. They may avoid the consultant by either not being available or missing
several appointments or refuse outright to be interviewed. In very rare instances, ODOT may direct
that the property owner/tenant not be contacted due to ODOT receiving a threat from the property
owner to anyone associated with the transportation project.
For the regulatory information, ODOT typically contacts the regulatory agencies for sites where there
are active and/or on-going remedial or enforcement actions. Based on this information, ODOT either
communicates with the regulatory agency to ensure that open/active regulatory issues are resolved
prior to the sale of the project or coordinates with the regulatory agency on the actions that must take
place during the construction of the transportation project. Therefore, database reviews conducted as
part of the ODOT ESA process do not have a specific time limit since the most current regulatory
information is obtained directly from the agency involved.
The procedures detailed in this manual are designed to address issues involving “due diligence” and
“due care” during the PDP (see Appendix A). All projects with federal and/or state funding must follow
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