About the training

This online training covers responsibilities that the State of Alaska must carry out under the “NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Assignment Program” when developing federally funded state highway projects that Alaska’s Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) designs and constructs. Specifically, in the Memorandum of Understanding dated November 3, 2017 and executed by FHWA and DOT&PF, Alaska has taken on the responsibility for ensuring compliance with environmental regulations for such projects and has assumed FHWA’s legal responsibilities and liabilities for its actions and decisions pertaining to environmental reviews and approvals. To help DOT&PF in implementing its responsibilities, the online training highlights key NEPA Assignment Program concepts and points to relevant resources.

The training is based on DOT&PF’s Alaska Environmental Procedures Manual (EPM.)

Organization of the Training

The online training includes 12 modules on various aspects of the NEPA Assignment Program as aligned with highway project design, development, and construction. The focus of the modules is on the roles and responsibilities of DOT&PF staff at each stage of a project. More broadly, the training is intended to provide an introduction to key steps and primary considerations for effective implementation of the NEPA Assignment Program. The modules in this online training correspond to the chapters of the Alaska Environmental Procedures Manual:

• Module 1: Overview


• Module 2: Class of Action Determination


• Module 3: Categorical Exclusion


• Module 4: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact


• Module 5: Environmental Impact Statement


• Module 6: Re-evaluation


• Module 7: Public Involvement


• Module 8: Section 4(f) and Section 6(f)


• Module 9: Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act


• Module 10: Cultural Resources (Section 106)


• Module 11: Quality Assurance & Quality Control


• Module 11a: QA/QC for Environmental Assessments


• Module 11b: QA/QC for Environmental Impact Statements


• Module 12: Emergency Procedures

Getting Credit for Taking the Training

To get credit for completing an individual module, you must take the short, multiple-choice quiz at the end. To complete the entire course, you must go through each module and take each module-specific quiz—there is no final, comprehensive test at the end.

Note that, unlike the course itself, module quizzes reside on RD&TT’s training platform. For this reason, you will need to login to the RD&TT training platform whenever you take a module quiz. If you don’t already have an RD&TT user account, you can quickly set one up at: https://dot.alaska.ecatts.com/do-login?title=Login

Each module takes approximately 25 minutes to complete.

Training Format and Navigation

Each module takes you through a sequence of screens featuring text, graphics, occasional clickable interactions as well as icons calling out Key Points and Resources. Each screen also provides voiceover narration. Use the control panel at the bottom of the screen to move through the screens. You can also control the audio from this panel. To move to a particular module in the course, use the linked Table of Contents.

Print-Friendly Version of the Training Modules

Click on the links below for printable PDF versions of each training module.

• Module 1: Overview


• Module 2: Class of Action Determination


• Module 3: Categorical Exclusion


• Module 4: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact


• Module 5: Environmental Impact Statement


• Module 6: Re-evaluation


• Module 7: Public Involvement


• Module 8: Section 4(f) and Section 6(f)


• Module 9: Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act


• Module 10: Cultural Resources (Section 106)


• Module 11: Quality Assurance & Quality Control


• Module 11a: QA/QC for Environmental Assessments


• Module 11b: QA/QC for Environmental Impact Statements


• Module 12: Emergency Procedures

Questions?

Any questions or comments about this training should be directed to:

Doug Kolwaite, Statewide Environmental Program Manager
Phone: (907) 465-8413
Email: douglas.kolwaite@alaska.gov

Go to Module 1