The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a cornerstone of environmental protection in the United States, guiding the development of environmentally sound projects, including those in the aviation industry. In 2024, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule, which went into effect July 1, 2024 (see a full summary in our Phase 2 NEPA Updates blog).

One element of the rule in particular can have a significant impact on the obligations of all federal agencies—the emphasis on mitigation monitoring and reporting programs (MMRPs). With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) holding airport sponsors (i.e., the public agencies or tax-supported organizations that own and operate airports) responsible for carrying out NEPA, it is anticipated that airports will also be responsible for MMRP compliance. This blog post explores what MMRPs are, their implications for airport clients, and how our team can help navigate this evolving regulatory landscape.

What is an MMRP?

Under NEPA, an MMRP provides a framework to ensure that a project’s mitigation measures successfully achieve their intended environmental goals and the project’s overall impact is minimized consistent with a federal agency’s resource impact determination. An MMRP involves documenting mitigation implementation and ongoing monitoring of the mitigation sites, collecting data on the ecological health and performance of the mitigation sites, and reporting the results to regulatory agencies.

Implications of MMRPs

Management and tracking of MMRPs takes time and effort from staff, but the level of effort required can be reduced by setting an intentional strategy from the start. “Increased scrutiny of environmental obligations at the federal, state, and local levels have made MMRPs a critical tool for airports to demonstrate their commitment to and compliance with environmental quality regulations,” explains Laura Nickelhoff, Technology Services Lead.

“An effective MMRP lays out clear and discrete actions required to mitigate environmental impacts and is backed by a robust data management system that supports both document management and monitoring data collection.”

Laura Nickelhoff, Technology Services Lead

Key Changes in NEPA for MMRP Regulations

NEPA guidance now requires the applicant to answer the “who, what, when, where, and how” line of questioning in preparing the MMRP and detailing monitoring and compliance. Specifically, applicants must provide details including:

  • A basic description of the mitigation measure or measures.
  • The parties responsible for monitoring and implementing the mitigation.
  • If appropriate, how monitoring information will be publicly available.
  • The anticipated timeframe for implementation and completing the mitigation.
  • The standards for determining compliance with the mitigation and the consequences of non-compliance.
  • How the mitigation will be funded.

FAA has traditionally relied on airports to implement mitigation consistent with the commitments made as part of the NEPA process. It’s anticipated that airports will now be required to monitor and report to both the FAA and other agencies demonstrating environmental commitments under NEPA are being met.

Best Practices for MMRPs at Airports

MMRPs are not new to ESA. The State of California has long required MMRPs for projects in compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regulations. ESA has worked extensively to assist clients with managing MMRPs under CEQA for a wide variety of projects. Some of these programs efficiently track hundreds of individual mitigation measures, each of which may require several discrete actions to achieve compliance. ESA’s mitigation, data management, and FAA NEPA experts have been supporting airport clients with environmental management efforts and have developed some important best practices.

  1. Engage with us early. With proactive planning and coordination with our ESA aviation environmental experts, we can align the mitigation measures, required documentation, and data compliance and mitigation tracking applications to create a NEPA-compliant program that’s scalable to meet your future needs.

  2. Plan for ongoing data collection. The success of an MMRP hinges on the ability to conduct regular, reported, and tracked mitigation monitoring. ESA’s team of field biologists and ecologists are on-site for our clients on a regular basis, conducting field-based data collection to bring the data straight to the project’s dashboard.

  3. Consider MMRP updates as part of your public outreach. Reporting back to key constituents, coordinating agencies, interested parties, and community members is important. That’s why we can make easy-to-read dashboards that can be shared publicly or at project meetings.

How ESA Can Help

While the changes to NEPA are new, ESA has the in-house experts to develop compliant and effective MMRP processes. As part of our environmental review services, we can provide a complete list of necessary mitigation measures for your project, develop an easy-to-use tracking and reporting system, and provide the people on-the-ground to monitor the project over time. If you have questions about the MMRP requirements and how they might affect your upcoming project, please reach out to Airports/Aviation Market Leader Mike Arnold.

Date

September 20, 2024

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