Regulatory Analysis,
Development, & Compliance
ICF International specializes in developing innovative and comprehensive regulatory
compliance strategies that balance the needs of our clients with federal,
state, and local regulatory requirements. Our regulatory compliance team of legal experts, economists, technical
experts, and policy and regulatory analysts works closely with regulatory
agencies and multidisciplinary project staff to help clients navigate the
maze of overlapping, sometimes conflicting environmental requirements. Our
staff are nationally recognized experts who have:
- Coauthored highly regarded textbooks and how-to manuals on National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance
and documentation, wetlands and streams regulation, conservation, and mitigation
planning
- Led seminars and training programs on the above topics, as well as habitat
conservation planning, environmental impact assessment development, mitigation
measure development and monitoring, and Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance
The ICF team also supports federal and other clients in the analysis,
development, and review of environmental regulations and programs.
To help these clients manage the often unwieldy public comment process,
we have developed a proprietary software tool—CommentWorks®—which
has been used to manage hundreds of thousands of comments on important
rules.
ICF Regulatory Analysis, Development, & Compliance Services
- Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance and permitting
- State and federal ESA planning and permitting
- State fish and wildlife code compliance
- Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10/Section 9 and National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permits
- State departments of environmental quality support
- NEPA/CEQA/Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) compliance
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- Porter-Cologne Act waste discharge requirements
- Environmental education
- Regulatory drafting and support for Office of Management and Budget-required
analyses
- Comment-response assistance
- Financial assurance and responsibility analysis
- Program evaluation and improvement
- Training, meeting support, and conference planning
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Selected Regulatory Analysis, Development,
& Compliance Clients
- U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Federal Trade Commission
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
- U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Department of Labor
- Washington, California, Oregon, and Utah departments of transportation
- California Department of Water Resources
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- California Department of Fish and Game
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
- San Diego County Water Authority, California
- San Bernardino County, Department of Public Works Flood Control
District, California
- Port of Vancouver, Washington
- CALFED Bay-Delta Program—State of California and federal agencies
participating in Bay-Delta Accord
- Southern California Edison
- San Diego Gas and Electric, California
- Portland Gas and Electric, Oregon
- Pacific Gas and Electric
- Waste Management, Inc.
- The Irvine Company
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Selected Regulatory Analysis, Development,
& Compliance Projects
Rulemaking Support for the Environmental Review of Nuclear Reactor License
Renewals
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
ICF is providing rulemaking support to the NRC's proposed revisions to 10
CFR Part 51, Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating
Licenses. The NRC implements Section 102(2) of NEPA through the Commission's
environmental protection regulations in 10 CFR Part 51. The proposed rule
is updating information that licensees must include in the license renewal
application to extend the operating license of a power plant for an additional
20-year period. As part of the license renewal application, each applicant
must include an Environmental Report that analyzes the environmental impacts
of continued plant operation. The NRC then reviews the information provided
and develops a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the applicant.
ICF is supporting the regulatory analysis, Office of Management and Budget
Statement, and comment analysis for the rule.
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Sunrise Powerlink Project Wetland, "Waters," and
Riparian Conservation
Area Delineations and Project Permitting
San Diego Gas and Electric, California
ICF provided extensive biological surveys and monitoring in support of the
Sunrise Powerlink Project for San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). The project
consists of planning and design of an approximately 150-mile-long transmission
line in Imperial and San Diego Counties. Initial surveys consisted of classifying
vegetation types within the proposed power line alignments, conducting habitat
assessments for sensitive species, mapping wetlands and other jurisdictional
waters, and compilation of a comprehensive geographic information systems (GIS) database to be used in impact
analysis.
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Environmental Program Management
San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), California
ICF performed a variety of environmental tasks for the SDCWA in association with numerous projects requiring a wide range
of support and analysis services. These tasks include addressing issues that
arise concerning routine maintenance of the Water Authority's conveyance
system and associated access roads, assisting SDCWA through the scientific
advisor/review process required to successfully complete the preparation
of the authority's Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP)/Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), and preparing an evaluation of impacts on cultural and
biological resources within Mission Trails Regional Park, resulting from
a pipeline break and water discharge.
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Angeles National Forest Special Use Permit Services
U.S.
Forest Service
ICF was contracted to perform site surveys and prepare NEPA documentation
for 114 special-use permit renewals on the Angeles National Forest. The project
included field surveys for cultural, biological, and botanical resources;
collection of digital photos and GPS readings at each permit location to
document the facilities and permit boundaries; and archaeological reconnaissance,
biological evaluation, and air quality de minimus reports for each permit.
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Regulatory Development for Select Toxins and Biological Agents
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
ICF is supporting CDC's preparation of a rule captioned "Possession, Use,
and Transfer of Selected Agents and Toxins" to implement provisions of the
Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002. ICF helped
draft an interim final rule, conducted economic analyses of the rule's impact,
provided logistical support for the public meeting held to discuss the rule,
and provided support for managing responses to comments. We are also assisting
in developing the final rule.
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Hillsboro Landfill Environmental Compliance, Permitting, Floodplain
Creation and Enhancement
Waste Management, Inc.
ICF provided biological consultation regarding wetland creation and enhancement
within a 380-acre site in Hillsboro, Oregon. ICF developed a two-phase wetland
mitigation plan encompassing more than 100 acres of the Tualatin River floodplain
to offset impacts for an approximately 40-acre landfill expansion. ICF monitored
approximately 40 acres of constructed wetlands while Waste Management continued
to expand mitigation concomitant with landfill construction. The project
also included an approximately 30-acre mitigation bank component and a peatland
fen restoration component. ICF also provided assistance with other regulatory
compliance as needed.
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Preparation of Environmental Assessment Guidelines
Utah Department of
Transportation (UDOT)
The Utah Department of Transportation identified the need to address streamlining
and consistency in preparation of environmental assessments (EA) for UDOT projects. ICF developed a
comprehensive guidebook and template that was easy for junior planners to
apply and became a resource for seasoned UDOT professionals. The guidelines
promoted understanding of the EA process among UDOT environmental personnel,
Federal Highway Administration, and consultants; ensured consistency in methodology and language; and
improved the overall quality of UDOT EAs.
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Programmatic Environmental Compliance Support
CALFED Bay Delta Program
ICF prepared approximately 20 Negative Declarations (ND) or Mitigated Negative Declarations (MND) for the California State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to provide CEQA compliance for specific water rights
applications. ICF acted as an extension of the SWRCB's staff to ensure that
the CEQA compliance was expedited and completed in an efficient manner. ICF
assisted the CALFED Bay-Delta Program (CBDA) by preparing A Guidebook
of Regulatory Compliance for Implementing CBDA Actions, a guidebook
intended to provide guidance for anyone implementing CBDA actions to assure
that regulatory compliance is addressed in a consistent and efficient manner.
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