ENV 333 Week 5 Final Paper

Final Paper – Mock Draft Environmental Impact Statement

The creation of an Environmental Impact Statement can take two to three years to complete, depending on the complexity of the proposed project. There are numerous individuals and technical experts involved. For the Final Paper, you will develop an abbreviated form of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by selecting one of the scenarios below.

Scenario 1
You are attempting to build a wastewater treatment plant in a newly developed urban area. The site is located in an attainment area. There is a local waterway that runs through the site. The area is heavily populated.

Scenario 2
You are proposing to build a power plant in an industrialized area. The site is located in an attainment area but local regulations require offsets be incorporated into the plan. The closest waterway is 1.5 miles away. The gradient of the land slopes towards the water. There is a small population of people that surrounds the industrial area.

Scenario 3
You are proposing to build a recycling center in a rural area. The area consists of numerous waterways.  There are many farms in the area. The population is medium in size and spread throughout the area. The area is in a nonattainment area.  

Scenario 4
You are proposing to build a shopping mall in a heavily populated rural area. The area adjacent to the site consists of a nature preserve. The main road into and out of the site is a single lane road in each direction.  The area of the site is in an attainment area.

Develop a scoping plan for the scenario of your choice. Include a minimum of three (3) alternatives as well as the no build alternative.

Discuss a minimum of three (3) important criteria from each chapter regarding your proposed site (i.e., discuss land-use and development, social and neighborhood effects, economic factors, relocations, traffic and transportation, energy, historic and archaeological resources, visual resources, air quality, noise, geology and soils, water resources, floodplains and coastal areas, wetlands, and vegetation and wildlife).  It is understandable that every category may not be affected by your proposed project. However, you must indicate the category and include a brief statement as to why certain criteria do not apply. Since the scenarios provided may not address every situation that could arise, you may extrapolate and be creative regarding the surrounding area. Make sure that you support any decision that you make by explaining its importance in regards to the site and the community. Provide evidence throughout your paper to support your statements.

Writing the Final Paper
The Final Paper:

• Must be a minimum of eight (8) double-spaced pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style as outlined in the approved style guide.
• Must use a minimum of five (s) scholarly resources, two from the Ashford Library.
• Must provide a cover page that includes:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must address one of the topics found in Final Paper guidelines.
• Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
• Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.
• Must use APA (6th ed.) style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources.
• Must include a Reference Page that is completed according to APA (6th ed.) style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.