Applying the NEPA Process to Weapons System Acquisitions

Description

This workshop, Applying the NEPA Process to Weapons System Acquisition is designed to help participants “lift the fog” that all too often shrouds this subject matter. Through this training participants will be able to better meet NEPA responsibilities or assist others in meeting their responsibilities—right at the program execution level. Ultimately, the application of this knowledge will help an agency or organization make more-informed decisions that include appropriate environmental considerations.This workshop is NOT designed to teach the principles or processes of DoD weapons system acquisitions. That’s a separate subject matter. Here the focus is on applying NEPA within such actions.

Objectives

  • Understand the NEPA Process within Weapons System Acquisition—essential to your meeting NEPA’s legal mandates, particularly that of obtaining more-informed decisions and for managing risk to the program.
  • Understand NEPA Fundamentals—essential to your applying NEPA properly in a weapons program’s system engineering activity.
  • More broadly understand how environmental planning is just good management practice.

Content

  • Understanding the Acquisition Process for Weapon Systems: Learn the parameters of DoD 5000.2-R and how environmental considerations are important factors in defense system acquisitions.
  • Understanding NEPA Fundamentals: Learn NEPA requirements and design criteria as outlined in P.L. 91-190 and the CEQ implementing regulations.
  • Applying NEPA to the Systems Engineering Process for Acquisition Programs: Learn how NEPA analysis supports the weapon system acquisition process decisionmaking. Learn when formal NEPA documentation is required.Understanding NEPA’s Regulatory Framework, Triggering Mechanism, and Relationship to Other Environmental Laws: Learn NEPA’s basic triggering mechanisms, service-specific regulatory framework, and what makes it different from most other environmental laws that focus on “compliance.”
  • Understanding the Proponent’s Role in the NEPA Process: Learn the NEPA responsibilities of the proponent in the NEPA process.
  • Reviewing the Categorical Exclusion (CATEX) as an Instrument of NEPA Compliance:Learn the purpose of the CATEX and how it can be used to comply with NEPA.
  • Reviewing the Analytical Process and Format of the Environmental Assessment(EA)and the Environmental Impact Statement(EIS):
  • Learn the elements of the analytical process for the EA and EIS.
  • Adjusting the NEPA Process for Acquisition Program Actions Abroad and in the Global Commons: Learn how to adjust the NEPA process for aspects of a weapon system life cycle abroad or in the global commons.

Audience

Participants for this training generally include supervisors,resource managers, environmental planners, resource specialists, agency decisionmakers, and others who work on compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) acquisition procedures set forth in DoD 5000.2-R.

Process

Applying the NEPA Process to Weapons System Acquisitions is an interactive workshop designed with both new and experienced participants in mind. For optimal learning, class size is limited to between 20 and 25 participants.This 2- or 3-day workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following:

  • 30% Lecture
  • 40% Discussion
  • 30% Exercises

Materials

Participants receive the following:

  • Comprehensive Workshop Manual
  • Workshop Resources Book
  • How to Write Quality EISs and EAs