SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

National Environmental Policy Act
Assessments and Training

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires agencies to consider the environmental impacts of federal activities while avoiding potential conflicts of interest.

The Geosciences and Engineering Division at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has more than 20 years of experience with NEPA, and offers complete support to organizations with environmental impact assessment responsibilities under NEPA. Compliance requires publicly accessible documents that integrate complex technical and policy issues. Continuous evaluation on a case-by-case basis ensures freedom from conflict of interest for each project.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidelines

Document Review

Multidisciplinary teams are assembled to review environmental impact assessments. On a site-specific basis, staff reviews include:

• Assessment of compliance with NEPA requirements and other regulations

• Independent, confirmatory analyses

• Checks on technical accuracy and consistency

• Readability and clarity

The review is focused on those aspects of the proposed action that represent the greatest potential significant impacts. The scope of the review is carefully tailored to provide the level of detail desired by the client.

Independent Assessments

Staff conduct independent environmental assessments to support NEPA compliance. Analyses are documented in EAs or EISs prepared with a level of detail scaled to the significance of the potential impact. Key aspects of this approach include:

• Rigorous quality assurance

• High-quality technical analysis

• Data traceability and visualization

• Reporting clarity

All work at SwRI is conducted in accordance with rigorous quality assurance requirements that provide transparency and traceability necessary to ensure a defensible analysis.

NEPA Training

Effective NEPA documentation relies on systematic, technically sound reviews to ensure accurate, objective analysis and presentation for the important issues. To respond to this need, SwRI offers training in NEPA analysis and document review. Participants become familiar with key NEPA concepts, including:

• Categorical exclusion

• Environmental assessment (EA)

• Findings of no significant impact (FONSI)

• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

• Impact significance determination

• Cumulative impact assessment

• Environmental justice

This hands-on training can be offered onsite at client facilities, or at our facilities in San Antonio, Texas. The training is appropriate for professionals with several years of NEPA experience, as well as junior staff just beginning environmental impact assessment work. The course covers the basic requirements of NEPA, but it can be tailored to emphasize areas that are most important to meeting client needs.

For more information about our NEPA assessments or NEPA training capabilities, or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Dr. Gary Walter at gwalter@swri.org or (210) 522-3805.
 

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Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

August 29, 2011