Scott Schang: Our conversation today is about expedited NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act1] review and what that really means. We'll see if our panelists can help us come up with a definition for that. This got started a couple of months ago when it became clear that siting new transmission lines to try to tie alternative energy sources into the grid was going to run up against NEPA and other environmental reviews. At the Environmental Law Institute, we were concerned that, once again, environmental law was being portrayed as standing in the way of progress. So, we started thinking about that and talking with folks; then events overtook us. Between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's letter suggesting that NEPA be expedited and/or waived, and some amendments that were suggested to the stimulus bill, expedited NEPA review became very real.

We convened a conference call among 20 or 25 very knowledgeable NEPA experts to talk about what NEPA review meant to them and how to expedite review while remaining true to the core principles of NEPA. The call also discussed consideration of alternatives, involvement of the public, and doing environmental review in an intelligent way without looking at waivers in particular. That call was a very interesting discussion, and it led us to gather this panel here today.