Attainment of the spirit of NEPA: A case study
- Braun Intertec Environmental, Inc., Mendota Heights, MN (United States)
- Great Lakes Gas Transmission Co., Detroit, MI (United States)
Great Lakes Gas Transmission Company recently undertook a major expansion of their interstate natural gas pipeline system. The environmental permitting process for this large (460 mile), multi-state construction project exemplified the pervasiveness of the spirit of NEPA in dozens of federal, state, and local jurisdictional agencies, as well as associated organizations which lacked permitting authority but which took an active interest in the permitting process. Additionally, approvals from watershed districts, county zoning offices, and military preserves were obtained. Permit applications and agency consultations were complex and extremely labor-intensive. Overlapping jurisdictional authority turned permit acquisition into a labyrinth for which progress needed to be tracked weekly, and interagency logjams proved to be problematic. One specific example involved an archaeological site at the edge of a wetland under an eagle's nest. While the efficiency of multiple agencies administering NEPA is questionable, there seems little doubt as to the efficacy of the spirit of NEPA in this geographic region.
- OSTI ID:
- 6020234
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930523-; CODEN: EPROD9
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Professional; (United States), Vol. Supplement; Conference: 18. National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) annual conference on current and future priorities for environmental management, Raleigh, NC (United States), 24-26 May 1993; ISSN 0191-5398
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Evaluation of impacts on wetlands: do NEPA analyses integrate wetland protection requirements
Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization