Approximately twenty states have their own programs for preparing environmental impact assessments of proposed governmental and private actions. These are often called "little NEPAs," but in the aggregate, they are responsible for the preparation of far more impact assessments than are created under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The American Bar Association Environmental Impact Assessment Committee and the International Association for Impact Assessment, in partnership with the Environmental Law Institute, are holding the First Annual "Little NEPA" Conference: State-Level Environmental Impact Assessment. The conference will take place May 30, 2005, from 8:25 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The special one-day program will include four panels of experts from around the country addressing topics such as jurisdiction, coordination, scope, preparation, enforcement, and litigation of state environmental impact assessments. The conference will also include special topic lunchtime roundtables.
More information is available at www.abanet.org/environ/programs/nepa/home.html.
Inquiries and media questions may be directed to John Thompson, 202-939-3833.