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June Agenda

WG Update - Peter Havens, WG Chair

• The NAEP official web site has been updated through April http://www.naep.org/
• Checkout the new web site that can accommodate forums and wiki http://draftnepa.wetpaint.com/
• 2007 Annual Report - Please read and comment so that the report can grow and improve
• 2008 Annual Report - Grace Musumeci is ready to take input. Also, you may enter your input onto the new wiki site

News

• See the Department of Energy's Quarterly NEPA Lessons Learned, edited by Yardena Mansoor. This issue has several articles of interest, including photos from the 2008 NAEP Annual Conference.
• The Bush Administration has prepared two global warming reports: 1) The effects of climate change on agriculture, land resources, water resources, and biodiversity in the United States and 2) Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Warming on the United States.
• The Congressional Research Service has prepared a report on global warming litigation titled Climate Change Litigation: A Growing Phenomenon.

Academic support - Denise Keele

• Research Proposal: Environmental Impact Assessment
• Description: The extent to which project level impacts predicted/assessed in Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) were realized when the chosen action was implemented is virtually unknown. The purpose of this research is to monitor post-implementation environmental impacts in order to measure them against pre-implementation predicted/assessed environmental impacts. Recent project level EIS's will be selected (perhaps can be representative of the diversity of geography, project type and agency) to measure post-implementation impacts against pre-implementation predictions. The monitoring program developed could be adapted to many agency NEPA procedures and the results/data could be used to better inform new project documentation and decisions within the NEPA process. In addition to discussing the idea for the research, I would like to ask the WG members their thoughts on different methodological approaches as well as ways they may be willing to help with the project.
  

FAQ Question – Jean Krewson

• How should I deal with climate change in my NEPA Documents?
  Direct impactsAcknowledge data not available for indirect effectsOther issues such as
  invasive species contributing to warming which plantings can sequester carbon how far do we go? no panaceas

National Forest Management Act 2008 Planning Rule

The 2008 Planning Rule was published in the Federal Register 21 Apr 08. See the Forest Service web site for the rule, explanatory notes, Q&A's and more: http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/nfma/2008_planning_rule.html

This final rule describes theNational Forest System (NFS) landmanagement planning framework; sets up requirements for sustainability of social, economic, and ecological systems; and gives directions for developing, amending, revising, and monitoring land management plans. It also clarifies that, absent rarecircumstances, land management plans under this final rule are strategic in nature and are one stage in an adaptivec ycle of planning for management of NFS lands. The intended effects of the rule are to strengthen the role of science in planning; to strengthen collaborative relationships with the public and other governmental entities; to reaffirm the principle of sustainable managementc onsistent with the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (MUSYA) and other authorities; and to streamline and improve the planning process by increasing adaptability to changes in social, economic, and environmental conditions. This rulemaking is the result of a United States District Court of Northern California order dated March 30, 2007, which enjoined the United States Department of Agriculture (the Department, the Agency, or the USDA) from putting into effect and using theland management planning rule published on January 5, 2005 (70 FR1023) until it complies with the court’s order regarding the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act (NEPA), theEndangered Species Act (ESA), and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)(Citizens for Better Forestry v. USDA,481 F. Supp 2d 1059 (N.D. Cal. 2007)). The purpose of this final rule is torespond to the district court’s ruling.

Oops

The Annual Report link at the right appears to have broken. I will fix that when I have some time. In the meantime, please go to www.naep.org and navigate to the NEPA Working Group page. You can view and download the Annual Report from that page. Please email/call me if you have any questions.

May Notes

NAEP NEPA Working Group members,

This month, we turn our attention to electing a Vice Chair for our group. Please vote today after considering the nominees' bios.

To vote, send me an email identifying your preference for one of three nominees for the WG Vice Chair position, Rich Gilmour, Jean Krewson, or Paul Valihura (see bios below). As you recall the WG vice chair assists the chair in conducting the monthly meetings, taking notes, managing the WG membership list and identifying new tpics and activities for group consideration. The vice chair also stands in for the chair in the occasional event when the chair is absent.

Also, this month, we begin our monthly conference calls. Please let me know if you have any agenda items in addition to the following:
- Vice Chair election
- Review of 2008 Conference
Please set aside Wednesday, 14 May, 11:30 Pacific (2:30 PM Eastern) for this conference call. To access the call, Dial 1-800-414-2147 and ask the operator to connect you to the conference call at 526-5056. You will be asked for your name, and then connected to the call. If you dial in too early, you will receive a message that the call is about to begin, and then you will be disconnected. If that happens, redial in a minute or two.

The Annual NEPA Report for 2007 is available! See links here and in the upper right of the blog home page. Grace Musumeci is the NEPA Report coordinator, editor, compiler, etc. Please let her or me know what you think.

Thank you for your continued support of the NAEP NEPA Working Group. Please call or email me if you have any comments, questions or suggestions about the WG.

Sincerely,
Peter W. Havens, CEP
NAEP NEPA Working Group Chair


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NAEP NEPA Working Group
Vice Chair 2008-2010 nominees
Professional background statements have been edited and condensed for comparison by Peter Havens from information provided by the individual and information available on the Internet.

Rich Gilmour, AICP
Professional Planner
Coastal Management Division
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.

Rich is a consultant employee specializing in environmental, community, and regional planning. His experience encompasses population, employment and land use analyses; environmental assessment preparation, environmental impact statement preparation and coastal zone planning. His experience also includes coordinating environmental impact studies, permit application packages and other analyses for major infrastructure projects.

Jean Krewson
Environmental Review Services Coordinator
Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Jean is a state employee who integrates environmental impact assessment within the Iowa State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. [PH note: The Iowa SRF distributes public funding for utilities development projects] Working with SRF applicants, consultants and grant administrators, Jean composes and distributes environmental impact assessment documents as part of the SRF application approval process. She works with the USACE, USFWS, NRCS, 30 Native American Tribes, and the Iowa SHPO to apply either standard or creative means to resolve environmental and funding issues. She also coordinates directly with IDNR Conservation and Recreation, Floodplain, Field Offices, and the Iowa Attorney General's Office.

Paul Valihura, PhD
Environmental Compliance Team Leader
Department of Transportation
Research and Innovative Technology Administration

Paul is a federal employee who formulates and executes studies integrating transportation and the human environment. He leads multidisciplinary teams preparing environmental impact statements and mitigation plans, monitoring construction and permit compliance, developing and analyzing site alternatives, considering hazardous waste compliance, instituting community involvement, completing ecological field monitoring, and leading public presentations. He has provided public expert testimony on ecological impacts of alternative transportation.

Pre-publication Forest System Land Management Rule Available

The final rule describes the National Forest System (NFS) land management planning framework; sets up requirements for sustainability of social, economic, and ecological systems; and gives directions for developing, amending, revising, and monitoring land management plans. It also clarifies that, absent rare circumstances, land management plans under this final rule are strategic in nature and are one stage in an adaptive cycle of planning for management of NFS lands.

The intended effects of the rule are to strengthen the role of science in planning; to strengthen collaborative relationships with the public and other governmental entities; to reaffirm the principle of sustainable management consistent with the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (MUSYA) and other authorities; and to streamline and improve the planning process by increasing adaptability to changes in social, economic, and environmental conditions.

This rulemaking is the result of a United State District Court of Northern California order dated March 30, 2007, which enjoined the United States Department of Agriculture (the Department, the Agency, or the USDA) from putting into effect and using the land management planning rule published on January 5, 2005 (70 FR 1023) until it complies with the court’s order regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (Citizens for Better Forestry v. USDA, 481 F. Supp 2d 1059 (N.D. Cal. 2007)). The purpose of this final rule is to respond to the district court’s ruling. This final rule replaces the 2005 final rule (2005 rule) (70 FR 1022, Jan. 5, 2005), as amended March 3, 2006 (71 FR 10837) (which was enjoined by the district court’s ruling) and the 2000 final rule (2000 rule) adopted on November 9, 2000 (65 FR 67514) as amended on September 29, 2004 (69 FR 58055).

See the entire pre-pub version and other USFS NFMA planning info at: http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/nfma/2008_planning_rule.html

BLM Western Oregon Plan Revisions

The Bureau of Land Management is revising the six western Oregon Resource Management Plans tiered to the Northwest Forest Plan. The revised plans (to be completed in the fall of 2008) will address public lands and resources managed by the Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, Medford, and Coos Bay Districts and the Klamath Falls Resource Area of the Lakeview District. The planning area includes approximately 2,550,000 acres of public lands. About 2,100,000 of those acres are land revested from the Oregon and California Railroad and are managed under the O&C Lands Act of 1937.

The planning process began on September 7, 2005 with formal issue scoping. A Draft Environmental Impact Statement was available for public review from August 10, 2007 through January 11, 2008. More about public involvement activities >>>

A Science Team consisting of seven scientists and natural resource specialists from several federal and state agencies was formed in 2005 to provide scientific advice to the BLM to “enhance the quality and credibility of RMP revision analyses”.

See more at: http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/wopr/index.php

NHTSA CAFE EIS Notice and Request for Scoping Comments

NHTSA plans to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address the potential environmental impacts of the agency's Corporate Average Fuel Economy [CAFE] program for passenger automobiles (= "passenger cars'') and non-passenger automobiles (= "light trucks''). The EIS will address new fuel economy standards for model year 2011-2015 passenger cars and light trucks. The notice initiates the NEPA scoping process to identify the environmental issues and reasonable alternatives to be examined in the EIS, and requests comments regarding those and other matters related to the scope of NHTSA'S NEPA analysis for the new standards.

See FR notice at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-6227.htm