State Environmental
Impact Report (SEIR):
Purpose, Definition and Process
The FDOT, which has proposed to
potentially fund up to 50 percent of the
Miami Streetcar project’s capital costs,
is required by Florida Statutes 334, 338
and 339 to evaluate the potential
impacts of major transportation projects
on the human environment. Consequently,
and at the request of the FDOT, the
state environmental review and
assessment process was used for the
Streetcar project; the FDOT’s process
for preparation of a State Environmental
Impact Report (SEIR) was employed, as a
result of ongoing coordination between
the City of Miami and the FDOT.
The SEIR was prepared according to Part
1, Chapter 13 of the FDOT’s Project
Development and Environment (PD&E)
Manual, which provides statewide
guidance for documentation of studies
performed in compliance with the Federal
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
requirements.
The SEIR document, along with its
appendices and referenced technical
reports, contains the results of
analyses of potential impacts to the
social, cultural, natural and physical
environment. All technical reports may
be viewed on the project website, under
the “Technical Reports” tab.
Social impacts address a project’s
likely degree of involvement in matters
related to land use, community cohesion
and services, displacement, community
controversy, Title VI and VIII (US Equal
Rights Act) considerations, bicycles,
pedestrians, utilities and railroads, as
applicable. Cultural impacts address
project-related implications to historic
and archaeological sites, as well as
parks and recreation resources. Natural
environment analyses look at the
project’s potential influence over
wetlands, aquatic preserves, water
quality, rivers, scenic resources,
floodplains, coastal barrier islands,
wildlife, wildlife habitat and
farmlands. Physical impact studies
assess potential impacts to ambient
noise, air quality, construction,
contamination and navigation, again, as
applicable. The SEIR also contains a
list of required permits for project
implementation.
Lastly, the SEIR documents the resulting
commitments and recommendations to be
carried through project implementation,
derived from the study and the
coordination conducted with public
agency representative and community
stakeholders. In addition, a public
involvement program and requirements for
a public hearing (as outlined in Part 1,
Chapter 8 of the FDOT’s PD&E Manual)
were followed during the process,
concurrent with the assessment of
potential project impacts.
Over the course of conducting the SEIR,
over 50 public meetings were held,
including two open houses and six
neighborhood workshops. In addition, a
website was established, flyers
distributed and other mechanisms, such
as comment cards and e-mail, were used
to gather and consider comments and
reactions from the public. The SEIR must
be approved by the project sponsor, the
City of Miami in this case, to
facilitate potential future financial
contribution from the FDOT.
