Environmental reviews under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) require a multidisciplinary team in order to assess potential impacts to the environment as a whole, with cultural resources being one of many considerations for advancing a project. Part of the environmental factors that need to be addressed in an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is the project’s effect on cultural resources, which include both primary impacts to historic or precontact resources and secondary impacts to viewsheds or the built or perceived cultural environment.
Environmental assessments and environmental impact statements are complicated undertakings that typically require a large group of organizations coordinating their efforts to get the projects finished. These projects also may require third-party review by an experienced firm when agency infrastructure does not include mechanisms for Section 106 review.
The most important consideration when beginning a multi-disciplinary compliance study like an EA or EIS is communication. Streamlined project coordination and communication will always serve to avoid delays or complications in the environmental review process.
