State and Federal Permitting

One of the most important challenges before the engineering profession today is to plan for the required systems that we need for our growing population in a manner that protects our precious water resources, air quality, and sensitive habitats. Federal, state, and local environmental permitting regulations are complex and are easily used to delay, and even halt, improvements. In today’s complex regulatory environment, the permitting and mitigation costs can be as high as 20 percent of the total project investment.

GEI has a proven track record for minimizing permitting costs through a proactive approach. Our approach focuses on managing key process issues that can cause lengthy and costly permitting delays. For example, development of a solid project purpose and needs statement and a rigorous evaluation of practical alternatives can significantly shorten the permitting timeframe.

One of the tools that we have developed during our management of complex permitting projects is a computerized Decision Support System. This system has been successfully used in public forums to identify and resolve key issues and build project consensus during the permitting cycle.

In addition to our experience with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), our permitting expertise also includes 404 Permitting; NPDES permitting; wetlands and wetlands banking development; hazardous waste investigations and redemption; documentation under Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act, and Endangered Species Act clearances.