{"id":2454490,"date":"2020-02-12T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=320861"},"modified":"2020-02-12T23:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T06:00:00","slug":"nepa-turns-50-amid-new-challenges-to-public-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/nepa-turns-50-amid-new-challenges-to-public-process\/","title":{"rendered":"NEPA turns 50 amid new challenges to public process"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Katherine Hudson looks over a map that features the proposed trail between Redstone and McClure Pass. Hudson plans to voice her concerns about the project during the public comment period required by NEPA.<\/strong>
Marci Krivonen \/ Aspen Journalism<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is 50 years old this year and a fundamental component of the law is public involvement.<\/p>\n

Projects such as a new ski lift, trail or natural-gas lease each receives a NEPA review, and most of the time the public weighs in. NEPA has evolved over the years, but the biggest change may come in a new proposal from President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

In January, the White House released a plan to streamline NEPA, marking the first major update in decades. The changes would impose strict deadlines on completing analyses, would more closely involve contractors in studies and would eliminate requirements to consider climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would make it really difficult to analyze the impacts on climate in any project,\u201d said Will Rousch, executive director at Wilderness Workshop, a public-lands watchdog group based in Carbondale. \u201cIt would redefine what a major federal action is. That might eliminate some projects from going through the NEPA process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, he said, fewer projects undergoing a review means fewer opportunities for the public to weigh in.<\/p>\n

But supporters say NEPA has become time consuming for federal agencies, project applicants and people seeking permits.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, a Republican from Colorado, points to a NEPA review of an Interstate 70 project near Denver that took 13 years to complete. He said lawsuits and reviews from multiple agencies kept it from moving forward more quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a good example of how we do need to make sure that we\u2019re doing the right thing environmentally but also that we\u2019re not creating roadblocks that stifle any kind of development at all,\u201d Tipton said.<\/p>\n

A NEPA case study: The trail between Redstone and McClure Pass<\/p>\n

Katherine Hudson lives near the Crystal River between Carbondale and Redstone. She loves living close to nature but thinks a proposed multi-use recreation trail will disturb the river.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s not just about the view,\u201d she said. \u201cI value this incredible waterway and how lucky we are to have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hudson, a member of the Pitkin County Healthy Rivers Board, believes bridges planned along the trail will constrict the river.<\/p>\n

A 5-mile section of the proposed trail sits on Forest Service land and will get, thanks to NEPA, a close review. Hudson was one of about 50 people looking over maps and visiting with Forest Service staff at an open house in Carbondale in late January.<\/p>\n

Under NEPA, federal agencies must consider impacts to the environment when projects such as the Redstone to McClure Pass Trail are proposed on public land. The law applies to all major federal actions, including infrastructure permitting and road construction. One goal is to \u201ccreate and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony,\u201d according to the Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n

Local efforts to make NEPA more efficient<\/p>\n

President Richard Nixon signed NEPA into law in 1970. Two catastrophic events prompted its creation: Millions of gallons of crude oil leaked into the Pacific, and a heavily polluted river in Ohio caught fire. Now, agencies such as the White River National Forest use the law all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of our work daily, for sure,\u201d said WRNF supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams. \u201cWe use NEPA on almost every single project. But there\u2019s varying levels of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For large, complex projects, a team of scientists may analyze a project\u2019s impacts and create alternatives informed by public input. Small-scale projects, such as replacing a trailhead sign, don\u2019t get in-depth reviews and public comments. The Forest Service determines how a project is analyzed based on its significance.<\/p>\n

The White River National Forest, like the Trump administration, sees ways to make NEPA more efficient. The agency has developed tools that reduce the time it takes to do an environmental analysis. Their work began with a Forest Service-wide effort in 2017. The White River National Forest\u2019s efficiencies have reduced NEPA document size and planning by more than 80% compared with the national average.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to be more efficient with the taxpayers\u2019 money and really streamline where it\u2019s appropriate,\u201d Fitzwilliams said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean we cut corners. We still have a responsibility to disclose impacts, consider alternatives and involve the public, but we want to do it in a way that\u2019s a little less bureaucratic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the streamlining began, Fitzwilliams estimates his agency has saved time and money by not conducting three environmental-impact statements \u2014 the most-in-depth analyses \u2014 that would have been done before. An EIS is still utilized, he said, if a project is significant enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing less EIS\u2019s and more EA\u2019s (environmental analyses),\u201d said Fitzwilliams.<\/p>\n

The approach began with ski areas. Hundreds of NEPA analyses have been done on ski hills in the White River National Forest, so a new project, such as a lift, may receive a lighter review because previous studies help inform it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the ground really well, and so we really focus on what the key issues are,\u201d Fitzwilliams said. \u201cInstead of doing a full specialist report on all the wildlife potential impacts, we may just focus on elk-calving areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agency isn\u2019t cutting corners, he said, and still focuses on considering impacts, alternatives and public involvement, the latter of which remains a high priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople expect that of their government,\u201d Fitzwilliams said. \u201cThey don\u2019t expect government to waste time and money just because.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White River National Forest\u2019s efforts to innovate NEPA earned the agency national distinction in December at the Under Secretary\u2019s Awards and Chief\u2019s Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next locally and nationally?<\/p>\n

The NEPA process for the Redstone to McClure Pass Trail is just getting started. It will take one year to complete, partly because it\u2019s contentious. It\u2019s getting an environmental assessment \u2014 a middle-ground approach under NEPA. It\u2019s neither the law\u2019s deepest analysis nor its lightest-touch approach, and the public will have two chances to give feedback.<\/p>\n

The concerns raised at the open house \u2014 river health, maintaining biodiversity and preventing habitat fragmentation \u2014 will inform the final assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an issue that a lot of people care about, and I think without the NEPA process, you\u2019d end up with a much worse project regardless of how it turned out because people wouldn\u2019t get a say,\u201d Rousch said.<\/p>\n

Hudson said she\u2019s glad for the opportunity to comment on the trail project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in it for the long haul because there are a lot of things that are at stake,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Crystal River is a jewel of this watershed, and decisions could be made with this project that could permanently alter that treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she will submit concerns during both comment periods.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Council on Environmental Quality, which oversees NEPA, is also taking public input on Trump\u2019s proposed changes to NEPA until March 10.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katherine Hudson looks over a map that features the proposed trail between Redstone and McClure Pass. Hudson plans to voice her concerns about the project during the public comment period required by NEPA.Marci Krivonen \/ Aspen Journalism The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is 50 years old this year and a fundamental component of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2454490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 15:58:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2454490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454490\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}