Applied NEPA Process and Impact Analysis Workshop
Upcoming Session: October 27-29th, 2026
SWCA’s Applied NEPA Process and Impact Analysis Workshop is online, highly interactive, and includes facilitated breakout sessions with our expert instructors.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) continues to evolve, and SWCA remains at the forefront of helping agencies and project proponents navigate a rapidly changing regulatory landscape. Since federal agencies began finalizing their revised NEPA procedures in 2026, practitioners have faced new requirements, expectations, and opportunities.
A major driver of these changes is the Supreme Court’s decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, which reinforced agency discretion in determining how NEPA requirements are applied. As agencies implement their new procedures, SWCA continues to work alongside federal agencies in real time to support regulatory compliance, defensible decision-making, and successful project delivery under increasingly compressed schedules.
SWCA’s nationally recognized, issue-based approach to NEPA focuses on the environmental issues most relevant to decision-makers while producing clear, concise, and legally defensible documents. Through instruction and facilitated workshops based on a real-world project, participants in this course will learn tools and techniques for preparing focused, efficient environmental reviews that meet agency requirements, statutory deadlines, and page limitations. Drawing on decades of experience training federal agencies and NEPA practitioners, SWCA provides practical, issue-based NEPA training that participants can apply immediately.
Upcoming Session: October 27-29th, 2026
Click here for workshop information and registration.
Course Fees
- Non-Government Rate – $995
- Government Rate – $895
- Student Rate – $895
- Tribal Rate – $795
Discounts are available for groups of 3 or more. Contact Luigi Leone for more information. For groups of 15 or more, contact Ben Gaddis to discuss customized training opportunities for your staff.
Course Materials
Instructors will provide registrants with access to a digital training manual, course workbook, and additional training resources.
Intended Audience
- Industry managers and planners who work on federal lands or with federal permits
- Agency planning and environmental coordinators
- Municipal planners
- Consultant project managers and resource specialists
- Decision-makers involved in or reviewing NEPA documents
Takeaways
- Understand the overall philosophy and purpose of NEPA
- Receive a basic overview of the agencies’ NEPA guidelines and NEPA case law
- Have a working knowledge of the stages and levels of the NEPA process
- Understand the implications of the decisions required throughout the NEPA process
- Be prepared to determine appropriate situations for categorical exclusions (CE), environmental assessment (EA), and environmental impact statements (EIS)
- Have the practical skills to be able to write concise, defensible documents that meet the updated NEPA regulations regarding schedule and page requirements
- Learn the role of major federal agencies in the NEPA process and understand the responsibilities of the “third party” NEPA consultant in agency analysis
- Have an understanding of the responsibilities and ethics of the lead agency, cooperating agencies, and NEPA consultant
- Understand the step-by-step process from project kick-off through publication of a decision
- Learn how to design a NEPA process and maintain the administrative record to minimize litigation risks
- Course Overview
- Introduction to NEPA
- Project Kickoff: Identifying the Players and Appropriate Level of NEPA Analysis
- Document Outline: A Plan for Concise and Defensible NEPA
- Purpose and Need: Setting the Stage for the Project
- Developing a Reasonable Range of Alternatives
- Eliminating Alternatives from Detailed Analysis
- Planning for Issue-Based Impact Analysis
- Identifying Substantive Issues
- Eliminating Non-Substantive Issues
- Identifying Impact Indicators and Methodology
- Developing Impact Analysis Plans
- Cumulative Impacts Analysis
- Course Closeout/Questions
Meet the Experts
Ben Gaddis
With 20 years of experience spanning environmental consulting, federal land management, and technical facilitation and training, Ben is a proven leader in environmental planning. Prior to joining SWCA, he has held leadership roles at the BLM, including Branch Chief for Planning and Environmental Coordination at the Utah State Office. Ben also served on the New Mexico State Office’s oil and gas leasing team in the early part of his tenure with the BLM, playing an instrumental role in putting BLM New Mexico on the leading edge of high-quality oil and gas leasing NEPA documentation. Earlier in his career, Ben led SWCA’s Great Basin Natural Resources and Planning Program, overseeing some of the company’s largest and most complex projects at the time, while also serving as a mentor, facilitator, and subject matter expert in NEPA compliance, facilitation, and project management. He later expanded his network and expertise as an independent consultant before joining the BLM. Ben’s project experience includes timber, mining, oil and gas, transmission, vegetation management, roads, land exchanges, land use planning, solar development, and more. In addition to the BLM, over the years he’s been engaged in NEPA processes involving the National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Forest Service, and Federal Energy of Regulatory Commission, among others. His facilitative leadership style demonstrates his ability to deliver accelerated, high-quality results while developing people and strengthening organizational capacity. Ben brings to every role a commitment to collaboration, continuous learning, and creative solutions that drive organizational success.
Kari Chalker
Kari Chalker is a lead environmental planner based in SWCA’s Great Basin region. Her diverse background includes more than 20 years as a writer and editor specializing in archaeology, the environmental sciences, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Kari previously served as the Managing Editor for SWCA’s Rockies region, where she oversaw an in-house Technical Publications team of editors and production specialists. She manages projects and facilitates collaboration among agencies, clients, subcontractors, subject matter experts, GIS specialists, and writers. Kari serves as an instructor for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) National Training Center and has taught NEPA courses virtually and in-person for BLM field offices in the Western U.S.
Lillis Urban
Lillis Urban, Ph.D., is a Senior Planning Technical Director at SWCA with more than 20 years of experience in environmental planning and compliance. She specializes in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) strategy, environmental review, and complex, multi-jurisdictional permitting processes.
Lillis has worked across federal, state, municipal, academic, and private-sector settings, including roles with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, state agencies, municipal government, and environmental consulting firms. Her experience enables her to guide projects through complex regulatory frameworks while balancing environmental stewardship with project objectives. She works closely with multidisciplinary teams and diverse stakeholders to navigate regulatory requirements and deliver defensible, effective permitting solutions. Lillis holds a Ph.D. in Biology with a focus on plant ecology and systematics.
Bryan Klyse
Bryan Klyse has more than 20 years of experience supporting and managing NEPA projects for the BLM, USFS, and other federal clients. He has supported or managed 17 large complex EIS projects and several EA projects and prepared associated technical reports. He supported the development of 14 resource management plan projects, serving as a project manager on 5 of these projects. He has managed every phase of the NEPA and land use planning processes, from scoping through development of the decision.
Jamie Young
Jamie joined the SWCA training team in 2016 and also serves as a lead facilitator for Bureau of Land Management NEPA courses offered as part of the National Training Center’s curriculum. With COVID-19’s restrictions to in-person trainings, Jamie led SWCA’s conversion of courses into online modules to provide virtual training options. Since 2009, Jamie has worked on EIS projects and EAs closely with SWCA’s other NEPA facilitators, including being project manager on controversial EISs.
Jill Grams
Jill is a public involvement specialist and trained facilitator with more than 20 years of experience. She has a Master of Landscape Architecture degree and enjoys bringing diverse project teams and the public together to solve complex problems.
Amanda Nicodemus
Amanda specializes in wildlife ecology and compliance with ESA, MBTA, BGEPA, and NEPA. With 22+ years of experience, she excels in project management, training, and stakeholder engagement.
