Our Project Development and Environmental Services (PDES) team works to help clients implement sound transportation infrastructure throughout the Southeast. The PDES team ensures National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, seeking that balance of maximizing project benefits while minimizing environmental impacts. PDES studies are a crucial stage in the pre-construction process.
All transportation and infrastructure projects with a federal nexus must undergo an environmental evaluation to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. NEPA mandates that federal agencies evaluate and publicly disclose a project's environmental impacts before making any decisions. NEPA is considered an “umbrella law” that encompasses over 40 Executive Orders and Legislative Acts that collectively guide the implementation and enforcement of NEPA.
Led by an experienced and versatile group of professionals, DRMP’s team is equipped to tackle the most complex aspects of NEPA and environmental compliance for a wide range of projects. With a focus on the transportation sector, we provide a variety of services, including public engagement, traffic noise studies, community impact assessments/environmental justice (EJ) analyses, wetland and stream delineations, endangered species surveys, and environmental permitting.
NEPA studies evaluate the impacts a project will have on four key environments: natural (wetlands, habitat, wildlife); human (community, visual, relocation, environmental justice (EJ) populations); physical (noise, air quality, contamination); and cultural (parks, archaeological, and historic resources). Although we partner with cultural resource firms for services covering historic property surveys and archaeology, DRMP handles all other aspects in-house, providing clients with a one-stop solution for their NEPA and environmental permitting needs.
For example, one aspect of NEPA is to ensure that federally funded projects make considerations for low-income and minority neighborhoods that could be affected by a proposed project. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was customary to direct public infrastructure projects through areas where the land was the cheapest. These areas were often inhabited by low-income and/or cultural or ethnic minorities that were disproportionately impacted and underrepresented. To address these inequities, Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice) was passed in 1994 directing federal agencies to identify and address impacts on minority and low-income populations. That order falls under the NEPA umbrella and requires that the agency consider alternatives to avoid or minimize impacts to special populations.
Growing PDES/NEPA Services in Florida, The Carolinas, and Beyond
Florida and North Carolina are two key markets for DRMP. In Florida, we are actively pursuing projects with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) across almost every district, focusing on highways, bridges, and multi-modal infrastructure, such as bicycle and pedestrian trails, and across multiple divisions all over North Carolina for NCDOT.
One of our recent milestones is winning an IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) contract with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) with our Trilon partner firms, Waggoner and Horrocks. This win reflects our expanding capabilities as a Trilon team and the trust clients place in us for both design and environmental services.
Beyond transportation, we are expanding our presence in the non-transportation sector and federal arena. While building strong relationships with our Trilon partner firms and expanding into new regions, we still remain focused on our commitment to our PDES/NEPA clients in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia.
We recently assisted Waggoner with the development of Watershed Plan-Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI) projects in the Arkansas Delta region. Small and large communities alike throughout delta regions across the nation have experienced increasing flood events in recent years. The National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) authorized funding to conduct Watershed Planning studies that recommended “works of improvements,” culminating in a NEPA document (EA/FONSI) to obligate the funding. Due to an aggressive schedule requirement, DRMP was brought on to assist with the NEPA documentation. Members of our PDES team found the work rewarding. They enjoyed working on projects with new clients and the community mayors of traditionally underserved areas.
Meet Our PDES Specialists
Our team’s leadership spans various specialties, which allows us to tailor our approach based on the needs of each project and adapt our structure for each client.
