Although upwards of 50,000 Environmental Assessments (EA) are prepared annually, the focus of the National Environmental Policy Acts (NEPA) Regulations is clearly on defining requirements for preparing environmental impact statements. Surprisingly, until now, there has been no authoritative and comprehensive guide on how to prepare Environmental Assessments (EAs). Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA EAs fills that gap. Authored by one of the nations leading experts, and recipient of the President's Award for Outstanding Performance by the National Association of Environmental Professionals, the book provides you with de facto direction and best professionals standards for preparing publicly defensible EAs. The result is an indispensable source of practical information. No other book available come close to providing the wealth of information provided in Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA EAs.

The complex regulations of the Endangered Species Act established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can be challenging for environmental professionals who must comply with them or assist clients in compliance. This is true especially for those without a background in biology or ecology. The Endangered Species Act: History, Implementation, Successes, and Controversies discusses the Act using clear scientific prose that all professionals whose activities fit into the ESA compliance process can readily comprehend, including those with limited education in science. The book begins by exploring the deeply rooted history of the Endangered Species Act, which extends back decades preceding its enactment in 1973. It continues with a discussion of the basic scientific theory underlying the Act and provides an overview of its key regulations. The author also examines the Act in the context of other key environmental planning statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, especially Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which relates specifically to wetlands. The remainder of the book details the regulatory processes faced by other government agencies and private developers who must routinely ensure that their actions comply with the Endangered Species Act. It concludes with a broad discussion of current controversies associated with the Act and how those controversies might ultimately change how environmental practitioners will have to comply with the Act in the future. The book is neither a defense of the Endangered Species Act and its associated regulations nor a call to repeal or modify the Act or regulations. The presentation is factual and avoids the hype and hyperbole commonly directed at the Act by both environmental activists and deregulation proponents. Readers will gain a solid understanding of how the Act was established, what goals were envisioned by its framers, how current environmental practice under the Act has been shaped, and how those practices might be changed in the future.

Although upwards of 50,000 environmental assessments (EAs) are prepared annually-compared to some 500 environmental impact statements (EISs)-the focus of U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations is on defining requirements for preparing EISs. Written by Charles Eccleston and J. Peyton Doub, who have established themselves among the top environmental experts in the world, Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A User's Guide to Best Professional Practices fills the need for an authoritative and comprehensive guide on how to prepare EAs. Bridging the regulatory gap, this book identifies relevant EIS regulatory requirements that can be logically interpreted to also apply to EAs. It compiles and synthesizes information scattered throughout NEPA's regulations, executive orders, and guidance documents, and incorporates case law to provide additional clarification. The authors also draw on the professional experiences and best professional practices (BPP) of NEPA practitioners. From the fundamentals to more advanced topics, the book presents a consistent methodology to help beginners, students, and professionals manage, analyze, and write legally sufficient EAs. It addresses dilemmas that have traditionally plagued preparation of EAs, provides BPPs, tools, and approaches for resolving problems, and introduces methods for streamlining the EA process. Building on Eccleston's previous guide to EAs, Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA Assessments (2001), this book reflects the rapid changes in government policy over the past ten years. An indispensable source of practical information, it provides readers with step-by-step direction and best practices for preparing defensible EAs.

Although upwards of 50,000 environmental assessments (EAs) are prepared annually-compared to some 500 environmental impact statements (EISs)-the focus of U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations is on defining requirements for preparing EISs. Written by Charles Eccleston and J. Peyton Doub, who have established themselves among the top environmental experts in the world, Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A User's Guide to Best Professional Practices fills the need for an authoritative and comprehensive guide on how to prepare EAs. Bridging the regulatory gap, this book identifies relevant EIS regulatory requirements that can be logically interpreted to also apply to EAs. It compiles and synthesizes information scattered throughout NEPA's regulations, executive orders, and guidance documents, and incorporates case law to provide additional clarification. The authors also draw on the professional experiences and best professional practices (BPP) of NEPA practitioners. From the fundamentals to more advanced topics, the book presents a consistent methodology to help beginners, students, and professionals manage, analyze, and write legally sufficient EAs. It addresses dilemmas that have traditionally plagued preparation of EAs, provides BPPs, tools, and approaches for resolving problems, and introduces methods for streamlining the EA process. Building on Eccleston's previous guide to EAs, Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA Assessments (2001), this book reflects the rapid changes in government policy over the past ten years. An indispensable source of practical information, it provides readers with step-by-step direction and best practices for preparing defensible EAs.

Although upwards of 50,000 Environmental Assessments (EA) are prepared annually, the focus of the National Environmental Policy Acts (NEPA) Regulations is clearly on defining requirements for preparing environmental impact statements. Surprisingly, until now, there has been no authoritative and comprehensive guide on how to prepare Environmental Assessments (EAs).
Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA EAs fills that gap.
Authored by one of the nations leading experts, and recipient of the President's Award for Outstanding Performance by the National Association of Environmental Professionals, the book provides you with de facto direction and best professionals standards for preparing publicly defensible EAs. The result is an indispensable source of practical information. No other book available come close to providing the wealth of information provided in Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA EAs.

The complex regulations of the Endangered Species Act established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can be challenging for environmental professionals who must comply with them or assist clients in compliance. This is true especially for those without a background in biology or ecology. The Endangered Species Act: History, Implementation, Successes, and Controversies discusses the Act using clear scientific prose that all professionals whose activities fit into the ESA compliance process can readily comprehend, including those with limited education in science. The book begins by exploring the deeply rooted history of the Endangered Species Act, which extends back decades preceding its enactment in 1973. It continues with a discussion of the basic scientific theory underlying the Act and provides an overview of its key regulations. The author also examines the Act in the context of other key environmental planning statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, especially Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which relates specifically to wetlands. The remainder of the book details the regulatory processes faced by other government agencies and private developers who must routinely ensure that their actions comply with the Endangered Species Act. It concludes with a broad discussion of current controversies associated with the Act and how those controversies might ultimately change how environmental practitioners will have to comply with the Act in the future. The book is neither a defense of the Endangered Species Act and its associated regulations nor a call to repeal or modify the Act or regulations. The presentation is factual and avoids the hype and hyperbole commonly directed at the Act by both environmental activists and deregulation proponents. Readers will gain a solid understanding of how the Act was established, what goals were envisioned by its framers, how current environmental practice under the Act has been shaped, and how those practices might be changed in the future.