SAME Huntsville Post

Scholarships 2020-2021 Awardees

July Monthly Meeting (Free WEBINAR Event)

Date: July 9, 2020

Time: 11:00 am CDT

Place: Webinar (Must register to receive meeting access. Please register NLT July 8)

(Meeting anticipated to be conducted through Microsoft Teams. Access to meeting will be emailed to all registered participants)

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Brian Boose, CEP and Ms. Jennifer Warf (AECOM)

Presentation: Streamlining the NEPA Process Through Innovation

A strong case can be made that the NEPA process, specifically the EIS development process, in current practice, takes too long, costs too much, and often produces overly lengthy documentation. Many practitioners are quick to identify a litany of justified reasons why the NEPA process for many projects takes a longer time, costs more than originally anticipated, and results in longer documents than originally intended. As such, there is a critical difference between the law’s general goals and the current reality at the project-specific level. This chasm will be explored during the session and we will suggest some bridges that might be most suitable for each of the critical components: time, cost, and length of documents. We will review NEPA “success stories” and real-time measures that can and have been used to achieve efficiencies in the NEPA process. The presentations within this session will address streamlining, using real-world examples, and suggest methods that meet the multiple and competing objectives associated with the NEPA process while reducing time, cost, and document size.

Brian W. Boose is an Associate Vice President at AECOM with 32 years of consulting experience in environmental impact assessment and permitting for the US Federal government. Mr. Boose leads AECOM’s US Federal IAP(Environmental Planning) practice He is a recognized subject matter expert (SME) in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, as well as possesses strong knowledge and experience in Natural Resources Management, Cultural Resources Management, and Environmental Due Diligence, for a wide array of Federal clients. Over his career, he has managed and contributed to multiple, complex environmental impact analyses (more than 25 EIS/RODs and 500 EA/FONSIs), led over 50 NEPA training courses nationally, developed NEPA compliance handbooks and tools for a variety of Federal agencies, and served as a mentor to numerous NEPA practitioners across the nation. Brian has worked in all 54 states and US territories and provided consulting services to virtually every Federal agency.

Jennifer Warf is an Associate Vice President and serves as the National Department of Defense (DoD) Environmental Planning Leader for AECOM. She is a Senior Environmental Planner / Natural Resources Specialist with over 19 years of experience in preparing large-scale natural resources management plans and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents, and leading coordination and consultation with regulatory agencies. Ms. Warf is notably experienced with natural resources surveys, management, regulations, and issues specifically on DoD installations. She has served as a project manager, author, or technical reviewer on 9 Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) and more than 75 Environmental Assessments (EAs) pertaining to military training and testing, construction of new facilities, flood damage reduction, and natural resources management. She has served in a similar capacity on more than 150 documents/studies focusing on installation-level planning and natural resources management for the DoD. Furthermore, Ms. Warf has worked in 51 states/territories across the US

In support of our national security, and as underscored by President Trump's message to the nation and emergency declarations being made in communities across the country, the SAME Huntsville Post is joining the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. We feel it is prudent to be very deliberate in deciding whether to proceed with in-person gatherings for now.

We will be reaching out directly to guests who have registered for these events to issue credits and/or refunds. At this time, no other Huntsville Post events have been canceled. We will continue to monitor the situation and any updates will be distributed via email and our social media sites.

The work that SAME members, partners, and stakeholders do is vital to national security, and building relationships and trust through their interactions in the Society is a critical part of how they do it. However, right now the focus needs be on containing the spread of coronavirus in an effort to shorten its duration. Reducing community spread and limiting in-person gatherings are necessary approaches to take.

SAME is dedicated to the health and safety of all its members and event participants, and we thank you for your understanding during these unprecedented circumstances in order to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.