NEPA Efficiencies Clearinghouse

February 8th, 2012

John JedinyDeputy Associate Director for NEPA Oversight 

Council on Environmental Quality Executive Office of the President

John_H_Jediny@ceq.eop.gov

CEQ has created this workspace as a place for federal agencies to identify, share, and review NEPA Efficiency Examples (i.e. case studies, programs, plans, templates, tools, techniques, etc.)  to prepare timely, effective, and efficient NEPA environmental reviews.  This workspace is intended as just that, a work space, not an endorsement or approval space - there will be other opportunities for a more formal process.  In that spirit, here are some guidelines that we ask you to respect:

• Non-attribution is a virtue - posting does not mean or imply, nor require, any formal approval. 

• Be constructive, not critical - If you believe a posting is offensive, let us know.

• Be respectful - postings are provided so we can learn together.  If you want to quote someone or attribute an example to a person or organization – consult with them first.

• Be creative and add value - we want to improve our work, not just seek endorsements

NEPA Efficiencies ClearinghousePurpose and Guidelines

Register on MAX.gov

1. Open Internet Explorer and enter www.MAX.gov2. Click “Register Here”, use your federal email address (.gov, .mil, or fed.us) 3. Follow the instructions in the confirmation email to log-in

Navigating to NEPA Efficiencies Clearinghouse1. Copy and Paste the NEPA Efficiencies Clearinghouse direct link into your browser and bookmark: https://max.omb.gov/community/x/WIMTJ

OR

2. Login to MAX.gov and Click “MAX Federal Community”

• Go to “Council on Environmental Quality” • “Intergovernmental Collaborations”

• “NEPA Efficiencies Clearinghouse”

Steps to Creating an “NEPA Efficiency Example”

Step 1 – Determine Relevance

Step 2 – Add Example

Step 3 – Create Example Page

Step 4 – Rate Examples

Step 1 – Determine Relevance

File Example under the relevant Heading• Concise NEPA Documents• Early NEPA Integration in Planning• Scoping• Inter-Governmental Coordination (State, Local, or Tribal Environmental Reviews)• Coordinating Reviews and Documents Under Other Applicable Laws• Adoption• Incorporation by Reference• Expediting Responses to Comments• Clear Timelines for NEPA Reviews

We understand that many examples can be filed under multiple headings. Use these two rules to file your example accordingly:

• Cause Rule - File by the cause not the effect. (Ex. Concise NEPA Documents can be caused by effective Scoping and/or Inter-governmental coordination.

• % Rule - File by the highest % of relevance. (Ex. If the Example was a novel approach to Scoping and Inter-governmental Collaboration, what was the most significant focus?

The Headings are based on the layout of the Draft NEPA Efficiencies Guidance

Step 1 – Determine Relevance

2. Click the Heading, the Example is MOST RELAVANT to…

1. Review Instructions and Filing Guidance

Need help filing your Example?

NEPA Efficiencies Clearinghouse - Instructions

Step 2 – Add Example

1. Add a Title for the Example

2. Click “Add Example” to create a new entry

Step 3 – Create Example Page

1. Upload Documents

3. Add Keywords (labels)

2. Add Hyperlink

Example Page Overview

Upload Documents

1. Click “Browse” and select the file to

upload

2. Add an “optional comment”

3. Click “Attach” to Upload

Uploaded documents will look like this

Step 3 – Create Example Page

Add HyperlinkStep 3 – Create Example Page

Add Keywords (labels)Step 3 – Create Example Page

Labels can include location, resource areas, the type of activity, agencies, etc.

Click “Modify Keywords” tochange a page’s labels.

Max.gov will suggest labels based onother example pages, but feel free to

add your own as needed.

Step 4 – Rate Examples

Rate and Comment on the Example

Questions?