Federal Lands

Building projects on Federal lands, like those managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), triggers the application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

NEPA sets forth a rigorous analysis of the environmental effects of Federal permitting actions and their alternatives, and the NEPA process produces an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) document that permits the project. Biological studies are the primary focus of impact analysis, with bird and bat monitoring occurring over the course of a year or more if species of concern are at issue, and particular attention is paid to migration seasons. Greenbriar intentionally chooses sites without known avian issues and has never been faced with more than a year of pre-construction bird monitoring. A NEPA analysis is shared with the affected public and public comment is an integral part of a final NEPA document. When listed endangered species may be present, the lead agency is required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to consult with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to determine whether the Federal action has the potential to impact a species. Sometimes a project encounters impacts that outweigh its benefits, and we abandon it in the planning stages. Acceptable impacts are minimized to the extent we can through project design and mitigated by measures dictated by USFWS and the action agency. Such mitigation measures may include avoidance of environmentally or culturally significant areas, strict presence of biologists to monitor for endangered species during ground-disturbing activities, and the purchase of land outside the project boundaries to replace lost habitat. Under the ESA, we also work directly with USFWS to develop comprehensive Habitat Conservation Plans that look at our projects and the cumulative impacts of projects in the area as a seamless ecological whole and minimize and mitigate impacts.

We also develop projects on land owned by state governments, and on privately owned lands. The ESA still applies directly if an endangered species is present, but in general, state laws that mimic NEPA and the ESA, as well as a host of other laws that protect the environment, govern permitting actions by state and local governments. California has some of the strictest environmental laws in the United States, with its California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California Endangered Species Act (CESA) dictating more rigorous scrutiny than their Federal counterparts. Under CEQA, the action agency, usually a county government, crafts mitigation measures in consultation with the public and the California Department of Fish & Game and incorporates them into an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that is analogous to the above-mentioned EIS under NEPA. When a state-listed species is present, CESA requires that we obtain an Incidental Take Permit that dictate biological monitoring of all activities and the purchase of replacement habitat. California also requires mitigation of impacts to water through permits obtained from Fish & Game and from the Regional Water Quality Control Board.