The Program Review Committee for the Civil Engineering career field has approved the development of a new course covering the Environmental Impact Analysis Process (EIAP). This class will be offered by the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Civil Engineer and Services School and will focus on methods the Air Force uses to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) via the EIAP program. In passing NEPA, Congress established a national policy of protecting and preserving the environment for future generations, and they levied the requirement on federal agencies to evaluate environmental impacts of proposed actions and alternatives before making project decisions.

Under NEPA, each federal agency was authorized to develop its own implementing regulations. The Air Force NEPA regulations are contained in 32 CFR 989, and they cover the three tiers of NEPA documentation: the Categorical Exclusion (CATEX), the Environmental Assessment (EA), and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Every agency has developed their own list of CATEXs, actions with a proven track record of minimal environmental impact, thus permitting them to be “categorically excluded” from a full environmental impact analysis. If there is no CATEX for a proposed action and the severity of the environmental impacts is unknown, an EA would likely be prepared. If an agency anticipates significant environmental impacts from a proposed action, an EIS is required. Each level of NEPA documentation has requirements that must be met, and determining which level of NEPA document should be prepared and understanding all of the steps required will be covered in detail in the new EIAP class.

As part of course development, an Education Working Group (EWG) will be held on 17-18 October at AFIT. The EWG will include the Air Force EIAP program manager at the Pentagon, two MAJCOM EIAP program managers, and several associated EIAP professionals at Air Staff, including the Assistant Deputy General Counsel. Once the key topics and lessons are identified, the course schedule and individual lessons will be developed.

“I get calls and emails regularly from people across the Air Force who are looking for guidance on their EIAP program, as people are confused about when they can apply a CATEX based on an existing environmental assessment and how they tier off previously-prepared EIAP documents, and this new class will help fill the knowledge void that’s currently out there,” said course director and primary instructor Connie Strobbe.