Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T05:18:03.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND CASE STUDIES: A Method for Preparing for and Executing Conflict of Interest Assessments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2010

Bradley Werling  and
David Turner
Bradley Werling*
Affiliation:
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, Geosciences and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
David Turner
Affiliation:
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, Geosciences and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
*
Address correspondence to: Bradley Werling, Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, Geosciences and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238-5166; (phone) 210-522-6565; (fax) 210-522-5155; (email) bwerling@swri.org
Get access

Abstract

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations stipulate that when an agency opts to have a private contractor prepare an environmental impact statement, contractor selection should be conducted in such a way as to avoid conflicts of interest (COIs) that might adversely affect the integrity of the NEPA process. The goal is to ensure an unbiased, credible, and defensible environmental impact statement that supports public and transparent decision making. The contractor is responsible for executing a COI disclosure statement prepared by the agency, stating that the contractor has “no financial or other interest” in the outcome of the project. Because determining freedom from COIs after the fact may be difficult, private NEPA contractors should proactively collect information that supports a broad COI analysis of all aspects of their business models, taking into consideration requirements from other regulations that may govern a specific contractor/agency relationship.

Environmental Practice 12:168–174 (2010)

Type
Features
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 168 - 174
Copyright
Copyright © National Association of Environmental Professionals 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals (ABCEP). 2010. Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for Environmental Professionals. ABCEP, Towson, MD. Available at http://www.abcep.org/ (accessed March 1, 2010).Google Scholar
Bekelman, J.E., Li, Y., and Gross, C.P.. 2003. Scope and Impact of Financial Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research: A Systematic Review. Journal of the American Medical Association 289(4):454–465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). 1981. Forty Most Asked Questions. 46 FR 18026. CEQ, Washington, DC, 12 pp. Available at http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/40/40p3.htm (accessed January 4, 2010).Google Scholar
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). 1983. Guidance Regarding NEPA Regulations. 48 FR 34263. CEQ, Washington, DC, 13 pp. Available at http://gc.energy.gov/NEPA/nepa_documents/TOOLS/GUIDANCE/Volume1/4-6-ceq1983guid.html (accessed January 4, 2010).Google Scholar
DC Cir. 2004. Communities against Runway Expansion v. Federal Aviation Administration. 355 F.3d 678, 686. Available at http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200401/02-1267a.pdf (accessed March 1, 2010).Google Scholar
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 2009. The Food and Drug Administration's Oversight of Clinical Investigators' Financial Information. OEI-05-07-00730.HHS, Office of Inspector General, Washington, DC, 44 pp. Available at http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-05-07-00730.pdf (accessed January 6, 2010).Google Scholar
Hansen, R.P., McCold, L.N., and Wolff, T.A.. 1997. The Conflict of Interest Problem in EIS Preparation. SAND–97-1047C; CONF-9705100-2.Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 15 pp. Available at http://www.osti.gov/bridge/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=474882 (accessed January 4, 2010).Google Scholar
Obama, B. 2009, December 31.40th Anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act, 2010, by the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation. White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Washington, DC, 2 pp. Available at http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/2009nepa_prc_rel.pdf (accessed January 6, 2010).Google Scholar
Office of Personnel Management (OPM). 2004. Summary of Post-Employment Restrictions of 18 U.S.C. § 207. OPM, Washington, DC, 14 pp. Available at http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ethics/docs/oge-summ-of-207-2004.pdf (accessed March 1, 2010).Google Scholar
Thacker, P.D. 2006. Environmental Journals Feel Pressure to Adopt Disclosure Rules. Environmental Science & Technology 40(22):6873–6875.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed