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NEPA Compliance Support

Enabling Responsible Innovation: Supporting NEPA Compliance and Environmental Stewardship Across DOE Energy Programs

Client:

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Challenge

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental regulations to responsibly advance innovative energy research, development, and demonstration projects. This requires detailed environmental reviews, risk assessments, and documentation for hundreds of activities across multiple DOE offices each with unique regulatory, technical, and stakeholder considerations. DOE needed an experienced technical contractor to assist with the volume, variability, and complexity of these compliance requirements while ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and alignment with evolving federal standards.

Our Solution

Lindahl Reed provides DOE with critical environmental compliance support, ensuring that energy R&D activities meet NEPA and other statutory requirements. Our work includes:

  • NEPA Review and Technical Support: Participate in environmental documentation development and review for a range of research projects and facility activities, including designs, project scoping, and data submissions that feed into NEPA analyses.
  • Efficient NEPA Determinations: Complete determinations efficiently to establish the appropriate level of NEPA review, ensuring full compliance with DOE NEPA procedures and timely advancement of project activities.
  • Environmental Risk Assessment: Support project-specific reviews to assess risks associated with deployment of energy and technologies, contributing to environmental and regulatory strategy documents.
  • Incident Reporting and Lessons Learned: Provide support for incident investigations and the development of best practice guidance, enabling DOE to identify root causes and implement compliance improvements.
  • Environmental Document Review: Review environmental deliverables for DOE projects, including Technical Performance Plans and permitting documentation for energy demonstrations.
  • Regulatory Strategy and Engagement: Assist in the development and review of DOE’s environmental roadmaps and regulatory engagement strategies for emerging technology areas, ensuring consistency with NEPA and other federal compliance frameworks.

Results & Impact

  • Regulatory Assurance and Project Continuity: Supported successful completion of multiple NEPA-aligned reviews and environmental checklists, enabling clean energy projects to proceed on time and in compliance.
  • DOE Best Practices Contribution: Contributed to DOE’s repository of environmental best practices, including documentation templates, review standards, and lessons learned databases used across offices.
  • Enhanced Stakeholder Coordination: Facilitated DOE engagement with state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and other entities to expedite environmental consultations and permitting for energy projects.

Why It Matters

Environmental stewardship is central to DOE’s mission. Lindahl Reed ensures that environmental compliance is a value-add and not a bottleneck, protecting ecosystems, mitigating risks, and enabling responsible innovation. By supporting NEPA reviews, risk assessments, and regulatory documentation, we help DOE maintain public trust and accelerate innovative energy deployment without compromising on environmental stewardship.

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What our Clients Say...

“I want to thank you all for the expedited review of the complex modification to award DE-EE0009373 in a two-month period. This project is making critical developments in a top SETO priority area… and I am deeply appreciative of the work to move this forward on the accelerated schedule necessary for the project to have the desired impact. In particular, I want to thank [Lindahl Reed staff members] for prioritizing this review at a busy time of year and working with the SETO team to quickly identify and address questions. I also want to thank [Lindahl Reed] for updating the NEPA determination in less than a week. Thank you for the great teamwork!”

-Becca Jones-Albertus, Ph.D., Director, Solar Energy Technology Office, DOE
Markets:
Solutions Areas:
Capability Areas:
  • Environmental Policy, NEPA Compliance, Research & Development Oversight, Risk Management, Technical Document Review