NEPA COMPLIANCE
ERO works closely with federal and state agencies and nonfederal project proponents to navigate the NEPA process and complete responsive, well-supported, and legally defensible compliance documents, including environmental impact statements, environmental assessments, and categorical exclusions. Our clients rely on our experience and expertise to provide a straightforward approach to completing the required level of NEPA compliance and associated permitting. Our goals are to support project proponents, agencies, and partners throughout the process as efficiently as possible and to find creative “no action” solutions that eliminate the need for NEPA documentation whenever possible.
Areas of Expertise
Scoping and public involvement
ERO plans and implements effective public involvement strategies, including public meetings, stakeholder outreach, and written materials (e.g., websites and newsletters). We use customized databases to efficiently manage and respond to public comments.
Project purpose and need and alternatives development
Biological resource assessment
Cultural resources
Water resources
Other environmental resources
Cumulative impacts
Paleontology
ERO has a long-standing relationship with on-call paleontological experts to team with us to perform paleontological surveys, construction monitoring, and fossil mitigation services including excavation, preparation, and curation of fossil specimens, as well as paleontological resource mitigation/treatment plans when necessary. These services include submeter Global Positioning System (GPS) technology capabilities, combined with our Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team, to provide accurate resource locations for better resource management and long-term planning. Also included in these services is phased planning of projects that allows cost and scheduling flexibility to our clients.
NEPA Services Leads
Aleta has worked for ERO since 1994 and has experience in National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act compliance. Her project experience includes highway reconstruction permitting, reservoir reoperation, water supply systems, oil and gas exploration and extraction, and mining operations. In addition to federal and state planning and permitting, Aleta has experience in local and municipal issues such as open space resource planning and management, watershed management and permitting, and County 1041 programs. In 2007, Aleta successfully established ERO’s Western Slope office in Hotchkiss, Colorado, and was elected President of ERO in 2012.
Email: apowers@eroresources.com
Nicole is a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) specialist and has experience in environmental consulting, hazardous materials management, and emergency response. Since 1997, she has prepared environmental documentation and coordinated activities under NEPA for multiple federal, state, and local agencies. Nicole has led NEPA projects from start to finish; performing NEPA compliance for a variety of projects such as water infrastructure, mining, transportation, and natural resource management. Her training and experience also includes public involvement and meeting facilitation, and she has prepared transportation and visitor use plans and transportation master plans for federal, state, and local agencies. In addition, Nicole has managed cleanups at superfund sites and performed hazardous materials compliance activities.
Email: nbauman@eroresources.com
Aliina joined ERO in 2017, bringing with her considerable experience with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Aliina’s NEPA experience includes the preparation of categorical exclusions (CatExs), environmental assessments (EAs), and environmental impact statements (EISs) for transportation and energy development projects, including socioeconomic assessments. She also has experience with transportation studies, including long-range transportation plans and pre-NEPA planning efforts. Aliina is adept at working with a range of stakeholders, including multidisciplinary teams, the public, and governmental organizations.
Email: afowler@eroresources.com
Emily has been managing environmental compliance and documentation projects since 2007. She is an experienced National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) specialist with project experience ranging from hard rock and coal mining projects to federal, state, and local land use planning. She has managed projects that involved a number of federal, state, and local entities, including the U.S. Forest Service; Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; National Park Service; Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; and numerous county governments. In addition to her NEPA experience, Emily specializes in Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) compliance and previously worked for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality as a MEPA coordinator. She also specializes in compliance with the Montana Metal Mine Reclamation Act (hard rock mining) and the Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act (coal mining) and has prepared documents in compliance with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (federal coal mining). Earlier in her career (2003 – 2007), Emily worked primarily on natural resources policy, serving in various positions in state and federal government and obtaining a master’s degree that focused on natural resources law and policy. Her master’s work culminated in a research project related to improving the BLM’s resource management planning process.
Emily is an experienced project manager. While at DEQ, Emily coordinated three MEPA/NEPA-mandated environmental impact statement (EIS) projects for Montana mines, including the Montanore Mine and Transmission Line EIS, the Troy Mine Reclamation Plan EIS, and the EIS for the Stillwater and East Boulder Mines’ Water Management Plans. At ERO, Emily has served as both the assistant project manager and the project manager for the Montanore Mine and Transmission Line EIS, as the project manager for the Montanore Project Evaluation Phase Supplemental EIS, and as the assistant project manager for both the Western Energy Rosebud Mine Area F EIS and the Western Energy Rosebud Mine Area B AM5 EIS.
Emily is an experienced public participation practitioner and a certified natural resources conflict resolution specialist, having completed a graduate-level certificate program at the University of Montana. She has organized and facilitated numerous public meetings for various project types, including mines and subdivisions. She understands how to effectively engage stakeholders and how to run meetings when tensions are high. She continues to add to her experience in this field, including serving as a volunteer “expert” in 2018 and 2019 for the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation’s annual scholar orientation mock stakeholder negotiations in Tucson, Arizona.
Email: ecorsi@eroresources.com