Eliminating Contract Document Conflicts with Environmental Impact Assessment: An Example from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Abstract

Government agencies, environmental consultants, and the public alike are frustrated by poor the coordination between agency planning and environmental impact assessment (EIA). Contracts for project design, construction, and management too often fail to provide for EIA, or to accommodate its results. A systematic review of standard contract documents and guidelines used by one major U.S. government agency revealed that they seldom took into account the need for EIA or provided for integrating the results of EIA into planning. Correcting these deficiencies was not very difficult. Other agencies may be well advised to undertake similar reviews.

Note

Notes

1 Some agencies have taken this bull by the horns. Many state transportation agencies, for instance, with encouragement and support from the Federal Highway Administration, have implemented systems to ensure that EIA is performed and that its results are incorporated into project design and implementation.