NEPA in Practice: Tools for Interdisciplinary Team Members
Description
This highly practical and interactive workshop is designed for newly assigned field-level professionals who are now serving as members of Interdisciplinary Teams (IDTs) in environmental review and land management processes. Participants will gain a hands-on understanding of how to apply NEPA effectively in real-world settings, moving from theory to practice with the tools, workflows, and confidence needed to support project delivery.
Using real case studies and basic and advanced NEPA instructional material from scoping to final decision , this training bridges the gap between NEPA policy and day-to-day responsibilities on the ground. Ideal for resource specialists, new IDT members, and anyone tasked with navigating environmental compliance as part of a collaborative team.
Objectives
Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Understand the full NEPA process and effectively participate in agency-specific procedures and related resource laws.
Contribute meaningfully to interdisciplinary teams and support the preparation of NEPA documents (EAs, EISs, CEs) and resource specific analyses.
Integrate public involvement and issue identification into agency decision-making processes through applied exercises.
Screen for appropriate documentation levels and identify when and how to elevate or tier from previous analysis.
Work with internal and external partners to move projects efficiently through the NEPA process.
Content
1. Understanding Your Role on the Interdisciplinary Team
Best practices for IDT participation across agencies and disciplines. Learn how specialists can add value and ensure their input is aligned with NEPA responsibilities.
2. Reading and Reviewing NEPA Documents with Purpose
How to critically evaluate Categorical Exclusions, EAs and EISs: identifying gaps, red flags, and ensuring your section is complete, accurate, and legally defensible.
3. Writing Concise, Defensible Resource Input
Guidance on developing resource sections that are targeted to the proposed actions and alternatives, avoid unnecessary detail, and meet legal and policy standards.
4. Identifying and Describing the Affected Environment
How to describe baseline conditions in plain language using current best practices.
5. Effects Analysis: Reasonably Foreseeable Effects
Best Practices to avoid analytical overreach, and focus on impacts that are “reasonably foreseeable.”
6. Scoping and Issue Identification
How to use scoping to sharpen focus, streamline the document, and ensure issues drive the analysis.
7. Categorical Exclusions and Extraordinary Circumstances
What every IDT member needs to know about applying CEs and identifying when circumstances may require an EA or EIS.
8. Working with Decisionmakers and Project Managers
Tips for communicating findings, resolving conflicts, and keeping projects moving while staying compliant.
9. Timing, Triggers, and Common Pitfalls
Where delays commonly happen, how to avoid rework, and what IDT members can do to keep documents on track.
10. NEPA and Related Laws: When Your Resource Has Its Own Regulations
A practical reference on how NEPA interacts with Section 106, ESA, Clean Water Act, and other regulatory frameworks.
Audience
This course is designed for new or recently appointed Interdisciplinary Team members, resource specialists, land managers, and other field-level staff involved in environmental reviews. It is particularly beneficial for those who contribute to NEPA analysis but may not lead the process themselves. The instructional materials and breakout group work are expected to benefit all NEPA experience levels and will provide new practitioners with skills needed to effectively engage in the NEPA process and provide additional skills and best practices to seasoned NEPA practitioners to enhance their effectiveness in engaging in their Agency NEPA procedures.
Process
This workshop is offered as a 2-day virtual or in-person course and includes:
60% Instruction / Lecture
40% Guided Exercises and Group Discussion
Materials
Participants receive a comprehensive workshop manual designed to support the instruction and to serve as an ongoing reference.