127.1 Request for Environmental Services
| Forms |
| Request for Environmental Services (RES) Form. (This is the new electronic system.) |
| Instructions for the RES Form |
127.1.1 Introduction
127.1.1.1 Overview
The Request for Environmental Services (RES) ensures that Design Division staff has the necessary information to obtain approvals and clearances from FHWA and the resource agencies (i.e., Corps of Engineers, Missouri Department of Natural Resources etc.), ensuring project compliance with state and federal regulations thus preventing project delays or stoppages. The district will submit an RES at each project development milestone (see EPG 127.1.2 Project Development Milestones) or at least once annually for all MoDOT projects.
127.1.1.2 Process
| DeRES |
| DeRES is a Lotus Notes mailbox that sends an electronic copy of the RES to a distribution list. The distribution ensures that RES submissions do not wait on an individual who may be out of the office for an extended period of time. In addition to submitting the RES to DeRES, a copy should be submitted to the appropriate Design Liaison Engineer. Use of electronic submissions is preferred to paper copies and allows for a faster response from the Environmental/Historic Preservation staff. |
The RES needs to be prepared and submitted when you have information ready for that stage of the project. You do not need to wait to submit the RES, for example, until you send in preliminary plans for approval. Prepare two copies of the RES, with attachments, sending one copy to the Lotus Notes mailbox DeRES and one copy to the Design Liaison Engineer assigned to your district. When hard copies are submitted, the copies must be mailed separately. If Environmental/Historic Preservation requires an electronic copy, they will request that the district submit the copy by email. Submitted electronic copies must include all applicable documentation and attachments and must be legible, do not need to be emailed seperately, but are rather emailed to Environmental/Historic Preservation and carbon copied to the Design Liaison Engineer assigned to your district. If electronic copies are submitted and it is determined by Environmental/Historic Preservation that a hard copy is required, Environmental/Historic Preservation will either produce a hard copy (if a legible copy can be made) or request that the district mail them a legible hard copy.
Design Division staff will examine the RES and the project location to determine what environmental or historic preservation concerns, if any, are associated with the project. An RES response will be prepared and submitted by e-mail to the sender of the RES and the project manager. The Design Division keeps copies of all RES-related correspondence on file.
A response will be prepared and returned to the district in 30 days from the date an RES is received. This 30-day turn-around time could be affected by completeness of the submitted RES, staff workload, and changing priorities. The RES response indicates identified concerns and advises the district what actions remain to be accomplished by both district and design staff. The goal of this process is to position projects to be compliant with environmental law and regulation before letting.
Most projects will require RES submittals at all the major milestones or at least annually. Some projects involve activities that cause very little disruption to the natural and human environment. These projects will require only one RES submittal, as long as the scope and location of the project does not change and project construction begins within one year of the submittal. However, an RES must be submitted for any project that has had no activity for a year since the last RES. The types of projects that require only one RES, to be submitted just before the final design stage, are those that involve:
- No excavation
- No soil disturbance
- No new or additional right of way (including donated right of way)
- No easements
The examples below are not an exhaustive list but illustrate the type of project activities that, if conducted properly, are considered to have minimal environmental impact. A single RES submittal is needed to alert environmental staff to the project location and schedule. In a few cases, these projects may require that job special provisions (JSPs) be added to the construction contract or other special considerations; this is determined from the RES.
| Types of Project Activities that Require Only One RES Submittal* | |
| diamond grinding | resurfacing |
| traffic signals | pavement markings |
| contract level course | contract mowing |
| scrub seal | microsurfacing overlay |
| cold milling | chip and seal |
| lighting installation | full depth pavement repair |
| on-call guardrail repair | on-call fence repair |
| crack pouring and sealing | rumble strip milling |
| snow/ice removal | epoxy bridge deck sealing |
| striping | joint repair |
| *This list is for example only and does not include every possible project that may require only a single RES. | |
127.1.2 Project Development Milestones
Indicate the project’s current development milestone on the RES. The milestones are:
127.1.2.1 Initial Screening Stage
RES attachments required:
- 8½" x 11" location map (county map) and
- topographic map showing project limits—include quadrangle name.
At the initial project screening stage, Design Division staff will conduct initial constraints screening. When the RES response is prepared for this milestone, the NEPA environmental classification for the project may be determined. Depending on complexity, FHWA needs to review some projects before a NEPA classification can be assigned. Also at this stage, project core team members from the Design Division staff are selected.
127.1.2.2 Location/Conceptual Plan Stage
RES attachments required:
- 8½" x 11" location map (county map) and
- topographic map showing project limits—include quadrangle name;
- if available, preliminary plan sheets showing alternatives.
At the location/conceptual plan stage, we should have obtained or be well on the way toward gaining NEPA approval for a particular project. If NEPA has been completed and approved, environmental staff update the NEPA Approval Date field on the Right of Way and Construction Program Project Status software at this time. Other issues on-going at this stage include resource agency coordination and identification of potential wetland mitigation sites.
127.1.2.3 Preliminary Plans Stage
RES attachments required:
- 8½" x 11" location map (county map),
- topographic map showing project limits—include quadrangle name, and
- 11" x 17" preliminary plan sheets showing alternatives.
At this milestone, preliminary plans are approved and the project moves to detailed design. All NEPA approvals need to be in hand before preliminary plans are approved. Detailed design of the project cannot proceed without first obtaining NEPA approval or risk the loss of federal funds. Also at this stage, preparation of Section 404 permits begins, so the permit application is submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) between this milestone and right-of-way plans milestone.
127.1.2.4 Right of Way Plan Stage
RES attachments required:
- 8½" x 11" location map (county map),
- topographic map showing project limits—include quadrangle name, and
- 11" x 17" right of way plan sheets.
At the right-of-way plan stage, the Design Division staff continue to monitor the project for changes in location and scope, relying heavily on the district to highlight all changes in project scope or location, and further ensure that all permits or approvals are in hand or have been requested.
127.1.2.5 Final Design Stage
RES attachments required:
- 11" x 17" copy of final plans.
At final design stage, all environmental and historic preservation concerns are addressed as well as all permits and approvals obtained to enable project letting. If issues have been addressed and permits/approvals acquired, environmental staff can update the All Environmental Issues Finalized field on the Right of Way and Construction Program Project Status software. This field covers all environmental issues that do not have their own stand-alone field within the software (e.g., threatened or endangered species, public lands, or socioeconomic concerns). Cultural Resources and Section 404 have separate fields that can be updated by the project manager.
