The Texas Department of Transportation conducts an environmental assessment to evaluate the impact of a state or federally funded project on the environment. This is required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to ensure government agencies gather information about any environmental consequences a project may have and relay that information to the public. The environmental assessment is conducted early in a project while preliminary engineering is underway but before formal plans are developed. Public input is incorporated when assessing the scope of the work to be done in a proposed project. TxDOT will also conduct a technical study to gauge the project’s effects on the environment, including air quality. Results from the technical study are then summarized into a draft environmental assessment report that is available for the public to review. Any comments from the public are incorporated into the final report that includes an agency’s decision on the project’s impact.