In 2003, ESC was selected as a sole source contractor to provide training to North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) personnel from the Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch, Office of Natural Environment (ONE) in wetlands policy and permitting.

Our firm generated a three-volume set of training manuals for NCDOT.  The first volume included background information on permitting, definitions, important legislation, the history of the Clean Water Act (CWA), a discussion of Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines, and relevant court cases.  Volume two provided specifics on Sections 404 and 401 of the CWA, details about Section 404 permits and Section 401 Water Quality Certification, and information on other permitting programs (NC CAMA, US Coastal Guard, TVA, and FERC licensing).   The final volume included detailed information on Nationwide Permits and associated General Certifications likely to be used daily by NCDOT staff.

A course outline was produced at the onset of planning for this course and approved by NCDOT senior staff.  Lesson plans were developed in PowerPoint presentations to provide visual aids during the training session.

Training involved two intensive days of instruction using the manuals as the basis for teaching.  ESC staff was responsible for all training and presentations, with input from NCDOT senior staff.  The course included a final examination, again developed by ESC personnel, to test knowledge retention of the information.

ESC received high marks from NCDOT on the presentation.  Given the importance of permitting to the highway program, this course was deemed relevant and very important to the continuing role of the ONE staff.