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Environmental Impact Statements: Finding an EIS

This guide provides background information on Environmental Impact Statements, and provides tools for locating statements and related documents. (Braxton)

Where and how to search for Environmental Impact Statements

Search Strategies and Tips

Title / keyword search:  In library catalogs, Environmental Impact Statements typically contain the words environmental impact statement in the title or somewhere in the record, but the words may not appear as an exact phrase in all cases.

Subject searches: 

  • "Environmental Impact Statements" is a Library of Congress Subject Heading frequently applied to EIS records in library catalogs. 
  • "Environmental Impact Analysis" is sometimes applied to EIS records in the catalog.  Note that it is a broader subject, however, that is also applied to works about procedures for determining environmental impact.

Narrowing a search:

  • Add a geographic location (e.g., a state) to search for EISs in that area.
  • Add a specific project name to see if there are EIS documents for that project.

EIS Numbers:  The Environmental Protection Agency assigns unique sequential numbers to Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements. These numbers appear in the records of the EPA's free EIS Database as the EIS Number, and in some other database records as the EPA number. 

Don't Forget FONSIs!  Not all projects require a formal EIS, there may be only a brief Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).  See Background tab for information on various levels of environmental analysis required by NEPA, and Finding a FONSI for tips on locating reports on projects that did not result in a formal EIS.

NWU Transportation Library's EIS Collection

One of the world's largest collections of EISs is held in the Transportation Library of Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. This is a near comprehensive collection of all of the EIS's issued by federal agencies since 1969, most in both draft and final form.  These are available for Interlibrary Loan, and can be requested through WorldCat, or using your ILLiad Interlibrary Loan account.