NEPA Assignment Navigator
ESA’s NEPA Assignment Navigator GPT is a conversation-based guide intended to help transportation practitioners navigate the practical, day-to-day realities of NEPA Assignment. It is designed as a working companion for when you are translating statutory requirements, MOU provisions, or audit expectations into clear next steps.
Using the Navigator Effectively
The Navigator works best when you provide specific prompts and questions that will give you the information you need.
- Begin with context. Identify the state, the program type (e.g., §327 NEPA Assignment or §326 CE assignment), and where you are in the program lifecycle (exploring, applying, operating, renewing, or responding to audit observations).
- Ask for usable deliverables. Examples include: “Provide a checklist,” “Draft an outline,” “Summarize expectations,” “Compare options,” “Identify likely administrative record components,” or “Translate this requirement into roles, responsibilities, and steps.”
- Share the text you are working from. If you have a clause, excerpt, or audit finding, copy the content and paste it directly into the GPT. The Navigator can explain what the language is doing, why it matters, and how programs typically operationalize it. Then you can confirm the interpretation against the underlying source materials.
You do not need a perfect prompt. If you can describe the decision or implementation question in front of you, the Navigator can usually help refine the question, identify the governing requirement, and map it to a practical approach.
What to Expect in Response
Responses are typically presented in two parts:
- A plain-language explanation (the practical “so what”)
- Source-forward references and links to support verification and enable confident citation in your work
Privacy and Confidentiality
This Navigator runs on a third-party AI platform. ESA does not receive, collect, or store the conversations you have with this Navigator. No ESA team member has any access to view chats and any files you upload during a conversation with the GPT will be deleted once you complete the chat. The GPT will not retain user files beyond the active session.
However, as with any external tool, you should avoid entering sensitive, confidential, or privileged information. If you need to work through a sensitive scenario, you can describe it in general or anonymized terms (e.g., “a coastal State DOT,” “a complex EIS,” “a Section 7 schedule issue”) and still receive useful guidance.
Prompt Library
If you are not sure where to start, consider the following starter prompts:
- “Summarize what §327 shifts to the state, and what FHWA retains, in practical terms.”
- “What does an effective QA/QC approach look like under NEPA Assignment? Provide a simple operating model.”
- “We are preparing for an audit/monitoring review. Provide a readiness checklist organized by program element.”
- “Draft a one-page internal ‘roles and responsibilities’ description for our NEPA Assignment organization.”
A Note on Judgment Calls
The Navigator is a guide, not a substitute for agency direction, legal counsel, or formal determinations. For close calls (particularly those involving legal sufficiency, litigation risk, or commitments under an executed MOU), use the Navigator to organize the issue and clarify options, then confirm the approach with the appropriate decision-makers.
If you would like a human sounding board, ESA is here to help. Contact Eric Beightel, Federal Strategy Director, at ebeightel@esassoc.com. Before joining ESA, Eric served as consultant lead for California in obtaining NEPA Assignment from FRA and was also a former senior environmental policy advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation coordinating closely with FHWA on the NEPA Assignment program.
