Connecticut State Council on Environmental Quality

What is Scoping?

Scoping is the gathering and analysis of information that a state agency will use to establish the breadth, or scope, of environmental review of a proposed project.
 
When a Connecticut state agency decides it might launch a project -- a new building or road, for example -- it notifies other agencies and the public through a Scoping Notice. All Scoping Notices are published in the Environmental Monitor, which usually occurs well before the agency conducts its environmental review or decides on a course of action. At the scoping stage, the agency proposing the project, or the "sponsoring agency", describes the preliminary concept of the project, and asks for comments or feedback. Other state agencies and the public are asked to submit information that will help the sponsoring agency to:
  • identify alternatives to the proposed project that would fulfill the project's stated purpose and need. These might include alternate locations for the project, or different strategies (such as rebuilding an existing structure instead of building a new one);

  • identify specific aspects of the environment that need to be analyzed. Individuals might have unique knowledge of a property and its resources (such as wildlife or historical significance).

The public can submit comments in writing to the contact person listed in the Scoping Notice by the date indicated. If the sponsoring agency holds a Public Scoping Meeting, people will have the opportunity to offer oral comments. The sponsoring agency is required to consider all of the comments it receives from other agencies and the public.

After the comment period is over, the sponsoring agency will assess the potential environmental impacts and issue a Post-Scoping Notice in the Environmental Monitor that explains the agency's determination that either 1) the project will not go forward, 2) an Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) is needed, or 3) no EIE is needed and the project is likely to proceed. If an EIE is developed, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the EIE at a later date.