Are there real benefits from faster delivery of projects and the immediate gratification associated with expedited delivery?
Focus Area
NEPA Process
Subcommittee
Environmental Process
Status
Current
Cost
$100k-$249k
Timeframe
1-2 years
Research Idea Scope
Much has been made about the time it takes for NEPA (mostly specific to EISs) processes to be completed with politicians and consumptive industries strongly suggesting NEPA is inefficient, archaic and too costly with little benefit in return. A deep dive into the claims may reveal something completely different. Investigating real costs, assigning values to commonly identified as qualitative values, and examining the rate of cost-reductive advancements in project delivery may shed light on the effects relative to the time it takes to deliver a project.
Urgency and Payoff
NEPA continues to be under more scrutiny in the last 6-8 years than in the previous 45 years of its existence. Much of the changes proposed to the law are directly tied to the timeliness of NEPA processes. And if examined closely, it is likely much of the claims made about the law’s adversity are fabricated to support a select few in our society. A deep dive on the subject couldn’t be more timely.
Submitted
06/14/2023