Eccleston / Doub Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments

A User’s Guide to Best Professional Practices
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4398-0890-0
Verlag: Taylor & Francis
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 316 Seiten

Although upwards of 50,000 environmental assessments (EAs) are prepared annually—compared to some 500 environmental impact statements (EISs)—the focus of U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations is on defining requirements for preparing EISs. Written by Charles Eccleston and J. Peyton Doub, who have established themselves among the top environmental experts in the world, Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A User’s Guide to Best Professional Practices fills the need for an authoritative and comprehensive guide on how to prepare EAs.
Bridging the regulatory gap, this book identifies relevant EIS regulatory requirements that can be logically interpreted to also apply to EAs. It compiles and synthesizes information scattered throughout NEPA’s regulations, executive orders, and guidance documents, and incorporates case law to provide additional clarification. The authors also draw on the professional experiences and best professional practices (BPP) of NEPA practitioners.

From the fundamentals to more advanced topics, the book presents a consistent methodology to help beginners, students, and professionals manage, analyze, and write legally sufficient EAs. It addresses dilemmas that have traditionally plagued preparation of EAs, provides BPPs, tools, and approaches for resolving problems, and introduces methods for streamlining the EA process.

Building on Eccleston’s previous guide to EAs, Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA Assessments (2001), this book reflects the rapid changes in government policy over the past ten years. An indispensable source of practical information, it provides readers with step-by-step direction and best practices for preparing defensible EAs.

Zielgruppe

NEPA practitioners including contractors and consultants; students; environmental scientists and analysts; environmental regulators; decision-makers; program and project managers; regulators; public and private interest groups; environmental engineers; and environmental attorneys.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Eccleston, Charles

Doub, J. Peyton

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltschutz, Umwelterhaltung
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltmanagement, Umweltökonomie
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Umweltrecht Umweltrecht allg., Technikrecht, Immissionsschutzrecht
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltverschmutzung, Umweltkriminalität, Umweltrecht
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Umwelt- und Gesundheitspolitik
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltpolitik, Umweltprotokoll

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Section 1: The NEPA Environmental Assessment Process

Overview and Historical Development of NEPA
Introduction
Origin of Environmental Movement
The Historical Development of NEPA
Brief Overview of NEPA
The NEPA Regulations
Overview of the NEPA Planning Process
References

General Concepts and Requirements
Introduction
NEPA is a Planning and Decision-Making Process
Interim Actions
Integrating NEPA with Other Requirements
Conducting an Early and Open Process
Scoping
Systematic and Interdisciplinary Planning
Writing Documents in Plain English
Incorporation by Reference
Adopting Another Agency’s EA
Methodology
A Fair and Objective Analysis
Dealing with Incomplete and Unavailable Information
References

NEPA and Environmental Impact Analysis
Introduction
Actions
Environmental Disturbances
Receptors and Resources
Impact Analysis
Significance
Mitigation and Monitoring
References

The Threshold Question: Determining Whether an EA or an EIS is Required
Introduction
Proposals
Legislation
Major
Federal
Actions
Significantly
Affecting
Human Environment
Categorical Exclusions
Long Versus Short Environmental Assessments
References

The Environmental Assessment Process
Introduction
Planning the Environmental Assessment
The Analysis in an EA
Streamlining the EA Compliance Process
Issuing a Finding of No Significant Impact
The Administrative Record
Serving as an Expert Witness
References

The Environmental Impact Assessment
Introduction
Sliding-Scale Approach
Identifying Alternatives
Impacts
Human Health Effects
Accident Analyses
Considering Other Environmental Requirements
Environmental Justice
References

Writing the Environmental Assessment
Introduction
General Direction for Preparing an EA
Typical Contents of an Environmental Assessment
Performing the Analysis
Specific Documentation Requirements and Guidance
References

Assessing Significance
Introduction
Definitions and Use of the Term "Significance"
General Procedure for Determining Significance
Significant Beneficial Impacts
References

The Finding of No Significant Impacts
Introduction
Reaching a Determination of Nonsignificance
Preparing the FONSI
Mitigated FONSIs
References

Section 2: NEPA Case Law and Non-NEPA Environmental Assessment Documents
An Overview of NEPA Law and Litigation
Principles Underlying Legal Interpretations of NEPA
Process for Passing Laws and Regulations
Interpreting NEPA’s Regulatory Requirements
A Substantive Versus Procedural Process
Requirements for Bringing a Successful Environmental Lawsuit
The Litigation Process
Legal Standards Applied in Reviewing NEPA
Judicial Remedies in NEPA Suits
Recent Case Law Involving NEPA
EA Case Law and EAs
Study of Alternatives Analysis in NEPA Documents
Other Cases Reflecting on the Preparation of EAs
References

Specialized Non-NEPA Environmental Assessment Documents
Introduction
The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
The Cell Tower NEPA Review
The Biological Assessment
Environmental Assessments and State NEPA Programs
References

Summary
Introduction

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Charles H. Eccleston is listed in Marquis’ Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who in America as a nationally recognized NEPA authority. He is a consultant, author, and lecturer with some 30 years experience in NEPA, environmental policy, and analyzing the impacts of projects and energy-related policies. He also frequently consults on NEPA lawsuits. He is the author of nine books and 80 professional publications. Some of his recent books include:

- Environmental Impact Assessment: A Guide to Best Professional Practices

- Inside Energy: Developing and Managing an ISO 50001 Energy Management System

- Global Environmental Policy: Concepts, Principles, and Practice

- NEPA and Environmental Planning: Tools, Techniques, and Approaches for Practitioners

J. Peyton Doub, CEP, PWS, is an Environmental Scientist and expert in preparing EAs. He has more than 20 years experience preparing EAs and EISs, wetlands and natural resources investigations, and other environmental reports. He is the author of The Endangered Species Act: History, Implementation, Successes, and Controversies (CRC Press, 2012).