permitting and plans of operation

Fairweather Science has significant experience in federal, state, and local permitting for both onshore and offshore environments. We secure permits for oil and gas exploration, development, and production; remote ice-road and ice-pad construction; large construction and excavation projects; and marine vessel activities.

Our team also prepares Letters of Authorization (LOA), Biological Assessments (BA), Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHA), and petitions for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) for onshore and offshore industrial operations.

We have significant experience conducting surveys of animals listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and are experts on the permitting and regulations associated with studies on ESA-listed species. For information on our full suite of marine-mammal permitting and other services, please visit our marine-mammals page.

Fairweather Science has cultivated a strong relationship with federal, state, and local permitting authorities, which has fostered a culture of transparency and trust that promotes the efficiency of the permitting process.

NEPA Permitting

Fairweather Science has been involved in several large-scale, Alaskan NEPA projects as authors of affected environment, development of alternatives, and analysis of direct and cumulative effects to the environment. This experience includes authoring and providing subject matter expertise for biological and noise sections of environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs). The Fairweather Science team is well versed in the development of best-interest findings, the requirements of the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ), and the preparation of other documents necessary to create a legally defensible EA or EIS.

Compliance Tracking

Once a project is underway, it can be difficult to manage compliance with a stack of permits containing dozens (and sometimes hundreds or thousands) of stipulated commitments! Fairweather Science is here to help — our team has experience in compliance verification management for high-profile Alaskan industrial operators including ConocoPhillips Alaska and Oil Search Alaska. We design, build, and manage compliance matrices that are customized to our clients' needs and maintain regular communication about upcoming deliverables in order to ensure that each project commitment is honored.