NEPA Reasonably Foreseeable Effects Analysis and Documentation

Description

Participants learn how to evaluate various impact methodologies, examining their strengths and limitations in clearly disclosing environmental effects. The course focuses on recording environmental effects in a manner that produces clear, legally robust Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs).

Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to do the following:

• Identify emerging trends and likely paths of change in NEPA regulatory practices.

• Develop strategies to monitor, track, and effectively respond to ongoing changes, including potential court responses.

• Assess the implications of these changes on environmental analysis demands and adapt existing practices accordingly.

• Employ a range of analytic techniques to evaluate how regulatory shifts may affect environmental effects analysis.

Content

We tailor each workshop to meet the needs of the participants. The basic format of the interactive workshop includes the following components:

1. Understanding the Legal and Regulatory Landscape

• Examine current NEPA standards alongside emerging regulatory changes.

• Discuss the likely trajectories of these changes and their potential impact on environmental effects analysis.

2. Establishing Analysis Boundaries Amid Change

• Analyze how shifting regulatory guidelines affect the spatial and temporal boundaries for each resource impacted by a proposal.

• Explore strategies for adjusting analysis parameters in response to new legal benchmarks.

3. Identifying Key Actions and Trends

• Learn to establish baseline conditions by integrating historical actions with current and anticipated future scenarios.

• Discuss techniques for tracking changes in legal interpretations and court decisions that influence NEPA practices.

4. Adapting Analytic Techniques to Evolving Demands

• Explore a range of scientific tools and methods designed to assess environmental effects under a changing regulatory framework.

• Develop approaches for modifying analysis techniques to ensure continued compliance and robust documentation in the face of new challenges.

Audience

Participants for this training generally include NEPA coordinators, technical specialists, interdisciplinary team(IDT) leaders and members, decisionmakers, and reviewers of NEPA documents.

Process

NEPA Environmental Effects Analysis and Documentation is an interactive workshop designed with both new and experienced resource managers in mind. For optimal learning, class size is limited to 30 participants.This 2- or 3-day workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following components:

  • 60% Lecture

  • 40% Exercises

Materials

Participants receive the following:

  • Comprehensive workshop manual

  • Workshop Resources workbook