August 1, 2006

Shipley News

Feature Article

 
“Prevention of NEPA Documentation Disasters”
By Larry Freeman, PhD.
The Shipley Group, Senior Consultant

NEPA documents can sometimes be disasters despite a NEPA team’s best efforts. A documentation disaster usually begins at the earliest stages of document creation. Team members may fail to get clear and consistent task descriptions, so their contributions to an EIS or EA are weak, perhaps irrelevant. Or the entire team conceptually frames key information without getting approval from the decision maker. Whatever the actual reason, most document disasters occur when the initial conception for the EIS or EA is flawed, and no one catches the flaws until the EIS or EA is published.

Click Here to View Entire Article (.pdf file)

 ENVIRONMENTAL/NEPA 
News from across the Agencies

"The Air Force Facility Energy Program won more national recognition when it received the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2006 Climate Protection Award May 17.”
    click to view
 

”The Bureau of Land Management today published in final form a new set of grazing regulations that will improve the agency’s management of public lands grazing.” 
  click to view

 

“The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released an ambitious new research agenda for the development of cellulosic ethanol as an alternative to gasoline.”
 click to view 
 

 

NEPA Tip of the Month

How to Establish and Manage
an Interdisciplinary Team

Listed below are five principles that are effective in managing teams. The five phrases capture impressions and trends that every IDT leader has confronted at some time. There are other principles that may be of equal value, but these five can lead to better team dynamics and greater efficiency of teams.

  1. Put it in writing- Instructions to teams should be done in writing, not to avoid direct communication or confrontation, but to serve as an “anchor” for future reference.
     
  2. The boss is the boss- The line officer is the ultimate arbitrator of disagreements on process decisions and decisions on allocation of resources, people, and dollars.
     
  3. Your problem is my problem- Team members should have a sincere interest in the problem and a strong desire to solve it.
     
  4. Variety is the spice of life- It is not only essential that you apply diversity of technical skills to your problem, but also recognize the importance of varied personal temperaments.
     
  5. You’re OK, I’m OK- All members of the team are rational in their decisionmaking.
     

 There are an additional five phrases found in the IDT Manual.

 

How to Establish and Manage an Interdisciplinary Team (IDT)
September 18-19, 2006 Salt Lake City, UT  

 

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THE SHIPLEY GROUP.
1584 South 500 West
Woods Cross, UT 84010
USA
Telephone: 888.270.2157

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Important Links 

  • National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 
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  • Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) 
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  • Submit comments on federal documents affecting you! 
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  • Register NOW for the NEPA Certificate Program at USU!
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