NEPA & the Transportation Decision-Making Process: Integrated Project Development & Public Interest Analysis

Description

Former FHWA NHI 142005 Equivalent

Designed to Meet or Exceed the Learning Outcomes of Former FHWA National Highway Institute Course NHI 142005 – NEPA and the Transportation Decisionmaking Process

This comprehensive, instructor-led course provides a foundational and operational understanding of how NEPA shapes transportation project development and public decision-making. Participants explore the historical evolution of NEPA and related environmental laws, how those laws influence FHWA policy and procedures, and how transportation agencies integrate social, environmental, and economic considerations into project decisions that serve the overall public interest.

This course is structured as a direct functional replacement for the former FHWA National Highway Institute Course NHI 142005 – NEPA and the Transportation Decisionmaking Process and is designed to meet or exceed the original federal learning outcomes.

The course emphasizes:

  • Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations

  • FHWA NEPA policy and implementation guidance

  • Section 4(f) integration

  • Transportation planning–NEPA linkages

  • Environmental stewardship, streamlining, and leadership

While not a document-writing course, participants learn the core principles of high-quality environmental documentation, including:

  • Purpose and need development

  • Alternatives analysis

  • Impact identification and mitigation

  • Public and interagency coordination

  • Documentation sufficiency and transparency

Participants apply concepts through guided group exercises built around realistic transportation project scenarios involving social, environmental, and economic tradeoffs.

Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to do the following:

• Describe the core principles of NEPA as applied to transportation project development

• Explain how the NEPA “umbrella framework” influences transportation decision-making

• Define the roles and responsibilities of agencies and participants in the NEPA process

• Apply the principles of a reasoned, collaborative alternatives development process

• Analyze how agencies balance competing interests and public values in transportation decisions

• Identify the key planning milestones that link transportation planning and NEPA project development

• Describe the documentation requirements and decision standards of the NEPA process

• Apply principles of environmental streamlining, stewardship, and leadership in managing NEPA compliance

Audience

This course is structured for multidisciplinary transportation decision-makers and practitioners, including:

  • FHWA Headquarters, Division, and Federal Lands Staff

  • State Departments of Transportation

  • Environmental and Engineering Consultants

  • Federal and State Resource Agencies

  • Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)

  • Local Governments and Project Sponsors

A mixed audience of planning and environmental staff is strongly encouraged to mirror real-world transportation decision environments.

Process

This is a 3-day interactive workshop designed to build practical skills. For optimum learning, class size is limited to between 20 and 30 participants.

  • 60% Lecture

  • 40% Discussion and exercises

Materials

Participants receive the following:

  • Comprehensive Workshop Manual

  • Workshop Resources Workbook