Appendix 22: Application of NEPA to Proposed Federal Actions in the United States With Transboundary Effects

• Author: Nicholas C. Yost
• Pages: 435-439

Application of NEPA to Proposed Federal Actions in the United States With Transboundary Effect Page 435

COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY GUIDANCE ON

NEPA ANALYSES FOR TRANSBOUNDARY IMPACTS

JULY 1, 1997

The purpose of this guidance is to clarify the applicability of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to proposed federal actions in the United

States, including its territories and possessions, that may have

country's environment. While the guidance arises in the context of

negotiations undertaken with the governments of Mexico and Canada to

develop an agreement on transboundary environmental impact assessment

in North America, 1 the guidance pertains to all federal agency actions that

are normally subject to NEPA, whether covered by an international

agreement or not.

It is important to state at the outset the matters to which this guidance is

addressed and those to which it is not. This guidance does not expand the

range of actions to which NEPA currently applies. An action that does not

otherwise fall under NEPA would not now fall under NEPA by virtue of this

guidance. Nor does this guidance apply NEPA to so-called “extraterritorial

actions”; that is, U.S. actions that take place in another country or otherwise

outside the jurisdiction of the United States2. The guidance pertains only to

those proposed actions currently covered by NEPA that take place within the

United States and its territories, and it does not change the applicability of

NEPA law, regulations or case law to those actions. Finally, the guidance is

consistent with long-standing principles of international law.

NEPA LAW AND POLICY

harmony between human beings and their environment, promotes efforts

stimulates the health and welfare of human beings, and enriches the

understanding of ecological systems.3 Section 102(1) of NEPA “authorizes

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CEQ Transboundary Guidance http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/transguide.html