For Customs and Border Protection, TCG developed a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) under NEPA on the implementation of the land and sea travel phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative rule. The rule changed the document requirements for many types of U.S. travelers and foreign nationals entering the United States at land and sea ports‐of‐entry. The NEPA analysis examined the environmental consequences, both positive and negative, of a range of potential changes in travel document requirements, technology, and operations associated to meet the requirements for standardized, secure travel documents under WHTI. In the case of the WHTI plan, a national or programmatic analysis was appropriate given the geographic scope of port-of-entry locations and the national application of WHTI.

TCG was selected to conduct the national-level PEA, which included a multi-disciplinary evaluation of the potential impacts to the environment and historic and cultural resources resulting from changes to hundreds of land and sea ports of entry throughout the United States (many of which are historic buildings). The Clark Group conducted interviews during site visits to identify site-specific concerns to inform the larger effort. Our team conducted the analyses, wrote a reader-friendly NEPA document, and conducted public involvement and agency collaboration for the NEPA process. The programmatic approach encompassed both state and federal coordination on NEPA and various natural resource issues.