The Public and NEPA

Call it public participation, involvement, outreach and/or collaboration. The basic idea that the NEPA process entails public scrutiny is central to the law and to a successful NEPA practice.

Dealing with the public is an art. People have strong emotions, different ways of learning and a variety of experiences. Often people do not express themselves in a polite manner. Public interaction has to be done by knowledgeable, public-oriented professionals. We have seen agencies unnecessarily generate hostility by the way that they approach public engagement. We've worked with agency personnel who would have preferred to have a root canal than stand in front of a public audience.

As NEPA specialists, Mangi Environmental Group has designed and conducted a wide range of public involvement engagements, including newsletters, workshops, websites, and meetings of various formats. We have effectively managed public comments, by the dozens, the hundreds, and the thousands.

Mangi Environmental knows how to make public engagement a useful (and often pleasant) part of the NEPA process.