The three thresholds of environmental processing and documentation; Categorical Exclusion (CE), Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI), and Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements (DEIS and FEIS) all have distinctive levels of conditions. Projects affiliated with the federal government undergo different levels of scrutiny to determine their impacts on both the natural and human environments. Because only certain documentation is required to be circulated to the public and other federal agencies, the depth of the report coincides with the severity of the environmental impact, and every project affects the environment differently. The public should ultimately be involved in every project no matter the determination of impact on the environment; if any.
The Categorical Exclusion is different from the other two thresholds in that it is a preliminary part of the decision to continue with a project. Projects that qualify are minor and do not require environmental clearance. It is also unique in that it does not have to be circulated among other agencies and public participation is not required. Projects are simply classified by predetermined categories all of which set the criteria that a proposed project must meet; if significant impact is determined the next level of documentation (EA/FONSI) is necessary. The format and content consists of the following: 1) NEPA responsibilities, 2) Guidance to applicants, 3) Major actions normally requiring an EIS, and 4) Categorical Exclusions (Marriott, 1997). An example of when a CE would be implored would be to replace existing culverts and conducting forms of repairs that were caused by natural disasters; there is no significant environmental impact so the other two thresholds would not apply.
The second threshold is the Environmental Assessment/ Finding of No Significant Impact. The