Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
scientists and planners. These scientists (particularly biological scientists) have
a well-earned reputation of curiosity and a desire to know every detail about
how things are and how they work, which is a laudable attribute in research
but can run amuck in environmental analysis. If the scientists are managing
the environmental analysis, they must develop basic project management skills
and apply them to the effort, or the direction and control of the analysis will be
assigned to engineers or managers with the required training. When this hap-
pens, important career opportunities can be lost and the environmental prac-
titioners with the skills and understanding of the environmental issues do not
have a seat at the table when important decisions affecting the environment are
made and then implemented. Thus developing management skills should be
included in the career development path of environmental analysis practitio-
ners with appropriate skills and a desire to increase the influence of their work.
It is far beyond the scope of this topic to convey proiciency in project man-
agement. But summary descriptions of some of the basic management tools
and processes applicable to environmental impact analysis can highlight the
importance, benefits, and rewards of an efficiently conducted analysis. The
summary description should also make it obvious that successful project
management is 90% common sense and thus not the exclusive purview of
business and engineering professionals. Experience has demonstrated that
many basic management tools are particularly helpful in conducting envi-
ronmental analysis and their use within the capabilities of environmental
analysis practitioners is summarized below.
Probably the most important axiom in project management is adherence to
the scope of work. If the effort strays beyond the stated, authorized, and funded
scope and the project exceedance of budget and schedule is assured, it is just a
question of how much. Most of the following sections describe tools and tech-
niques to ensure the environmental analysis effort stays within the scope, but
prior to employing these techniques, there are other efforts which can be used
successfully to stay on schedule and increase resource efficiency. These have to
do with focusing and limiting the scope of work for the environmental impact
analysis before work even starts in earnest, and these tools are discussed first.
9.3.1
Focused Scope of Work and Truncated Analyses
Limiting the scope at the outset is an obvious, important, and useful tool in
reducing the budget and time required for the environmental impact anal-
ysis. Or alternatively, if there is a fixed budget and schedule, limiting the
scope allows the focus and concentration of time and effort on the issues that
are most critical. As described in Section 4.3, scoping is a key tool in limit-
ing and focusing the scope. Understanding, both from a social and technical
standpoint, which issues are of greatest concern or have the potential for
the most significant impact, should receive the greatest effort and time. If a
topic or environmental resource, such as community services or cumulative
impacts, has not been identified as a concern during scoping, any proposal
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