To help with this issue, the EIS uses “terms to know” text boxes. This is especially true when the NEPA document must discuss legal terms. How does Plain Writing Act compliance come into play?Įven the best writers can’t always avoid discipline-specific terminology. easy-to-understand drawings, charts, and maps.a navigable structure with hyperlinks that readers can use to easily find the information they need.They think and write in the terminology of their discipline - in other words, jargon - and they sometimes assume that everyone understands the same words, concepts, and information that they do.įor the Angoon Airport EIS, a team of writers, editors, graphics specialists, and reviewers (from both the FAA and SWCA) transformed the normal complexity of an EIS using three components: EISs are usually written by teams of scientists who are good at their research but are not necessarily trained as writers. However, the Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires that federal agencies use “clear Government communication that the public can understand and use.”Įven with the passage of this act, many EISs are more complicated than they need to be. We can't fully disclose a project’s impacts if the information is dumbed down. But some professionals hear the guidance “write to an eighth-grade level” and think that means “dumb it down.” That’s not true, and it’s certainly not the intent of NEPA. It’s an interesting idea - and a good reminder to environmental professionals that EISs are meant for the public and should be as accessible as possible. There’s a common notion that EISs should be written for an eighth-grade level. How does this EIS do a better job of public disclosure ? This “plain language” EIS makes the alternatives and the potential effects of those alternatives very clear to a variety of readers. The result is an EIS that is engaging, accessible, and comprehensible, fulfilling the true spirit of public disclosure called for in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). With the SWCA team on board and a wide range of specialists with a similar goal in mind, the FAA-SWCA team worked together to develop an approach. Knowing the audience for this EIS would be broad, ranging from the residents of the remote village of Angoon to scientists and legal experts representing agencies and nongovernmental organizations, the FAA project manager, Leslie Grey, set a goal to prepare a document that members of the general public could readily understand but that would remain scientifically and legally defensible. Why did the FAA and SWCA choose a more graphical approach for the Angoon Airport EIS? Two of them are located in the Kootznoowoo Wilderness and one is on private lands. There are three airport locations analyzed in the EIS. The FAA is responsible for the safety and environmental requirements of public use airports and is the lead federal agency responsible for the preparation of this EIS. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is the party proposing the project and would maintain and operate the airport if it is built. The proposed project is the construction of a new land-based airport.
The small community of Angoon in southeast Alaska is currently accessible only by seaplane and ferry. Read below to learn more about the EIS from the project manager and managing editor. The document’s use of plain language, easy-to-understand graphics, and a navigable structure has earned praise from EIS readers and reviewers. News / AugAngoon Airport EIS Takes a Graphical Approach In January 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - produced in close coordination with SWCA - for the proposed Angoon Airport in Alaska.