Web-Only Document 183:
Expediting NEPA Decisions and Other
Practitioner Strategies for Addressing High
Risk Issues in Project Delivery
National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc.
Washington, DC
Nossaman, LLC
Washington, DC
Perkins Coie, LLC
Washington DC
NCHRP
The information contained in this report was prepared as part of NCHRP Project 20-24,
Task 71, National Cooperative Highway Research Program.
SPECIAL NOTE: This report IS NOT an official publication of the National Cooperative
Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council,
or The National Academies.
Contractor’s Final Report for NCHRP Project 20-24/Task 71 Phase 2
Submitted March 2014
Guidance for Managing NEPA-Related
and Other Risks in Project Delivery
Volume 2
The
National Academy of Sciences
is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific
and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the
authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federa
l
government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a
parallel
organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with
the
National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering
also
sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the
superior
achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent
members
of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under
the
responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal governmen
t
and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of t
he
Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community
of
science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning
in
accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both
the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public,
and
the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine.
Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transporta-
tion Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchang
e,
conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage
about
7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and aca
demia,
all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal
agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individu-
als interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org
www.national-academies.org
Acknowledgments
ThisstudywasconductedfortheAmericanAssociationofStateHighwayandTransportationOfficials,
withfundingprovidedthroughtheNationalCooperativeHighwayResearchProgram(NCHRP)Project
20‐24(71),ExpeditingNEPADecisionsandotherPractitionerStrategiesforAddressingHighRiskIssues
inProjectDelivery.TheNCHRPissupportedbyannualvoluntarycontributionsfromthestate
DepartmentsofTransportation.Project20‐24isintendedtofundquickresponsestudiesonbehalfof
AASHTOandstateDOTleadership.ThereportwaspreparedbyHowardP.WoodofParsons
Brinckerhoff,Inc.TheotherauthorsofthisreportwereHalKassoff,PE,SeniorVicePresident,Parsons
Brinckerhoff;TravisMcGrath,PhD,PE,ManagingPrincipal,GolderAssociatesInc.;WilliamG.Malley,
ManagingPartner,PerkinsCoieLLP;DavidC.Rose,PhD,VicePresident,ParsonsBrinckerhoff;andNancy
Skinner,SeniorProjectManager,ParsonsBrinckerhoff.TheprojectwasmanagedbyAndrewC.Lemer,
PhD,NCHRPSeniorProgramOfficer.
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permissionsfrompublishersorpersonswhoownthecopyrighttoanypreviouslypublishedor
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CooperativeResearchPrograms(CRP)grantspermissiontoreproducematerialinthispublicationfor
classroomandnot‐for‐profitpurposes.Permissionisgivenwiththeunderstandingthatnoneofthe
materialwillbeusedtoimplyTRB,AASHTO,FAA,FHWA,FMCSA,FTA,TransitDevelopmentCorporation,
orAOCendorsementofaparticularproduct,method,orpractice.Itisexpectedthatthosereproducing
thematerialinthisdocumentforeducationalandnot‐for‐profituseswillgiveappropriate
acknowledgmentofthesourceofanyreprintedorreproducedmaterial.Forotherusesofthematerial,
requestpermissionfromCRP.
Disclaimer
Theopinionsandconclusionsexpressedorimpliedarethoseoftheresearchagencythatperformedthe
researchandarenotnecessarilythoseoftheTransportationResearchBoardoritssponsoringagencies.
ThisreporthasnotbeenreviewedoracceptedbytheTransportationResearchBoardExecutive
CommitteeortheGoverningBoardoftheNationalResearchCouncil.
