This course provides instruction regarding the purpose and procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), how NEPA affects the decision-making process involving Federal planning and actions, how to structure and review NEPA documents, and how other laws and regulations relate with NEPA.  Interactive exercises are included to reinforce lecture sessions.

College Credit:  2 semester hours

Who Should Attend:  Personnel whose job responsibilities include ensuring their agency is in compliance with NEPA, including review of environmental documents.

Length:  4.5 days/36 hours

Objectives:  At the completion of this course participants will be able to do the following: 

• Describe the purposes, objectives and goals of NEPA;
• Describe the role of the Council of Environmental Quality;
• Define terminology as intended by NEPA;
• Apply regulations and policies that drive the NEPA process;
• Describe the three pathways (EIS, EA, CATEX) in the NEPA decision model that helps determine which type(s) of documents need to be developed;
• Define the basic components of each type of NEPA document;
• Identify strategies for scoping and public participation in the NEPA process;
• Describe the purpose of,  and how to keep, an Administrative Record;
• Comment effectively on other agency’s NEPA documents;
• Identify risk for NEPA decision-makers through scoping, impacts analyses and fatal flaw analyses of NEPA documents;
• Develop a well-crafted NEPA document based on a team approach;
• Describe different NEPA processes that apply to different Fish and Wildlife Service programs;
• Access references and literature that can assist with NEPA document review and development; and
• Describe how NEPA relates to other laws and authorities.