CHAPTER 2 NEPA: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

• Jurisdiction: United States

NEPA and Federal Land Development
(Feb 2006)
CHAPTER 2
NEPA: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
Horst G. Greczmiel
Associate Director for NEPA Oversight
White House Council on Environmental Quality
Washington, D.C.

HORST G. GRECZMIEL

Horst G. Greczmiel joined the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in November 1999 as the Associate Director for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Oversight. He is responsible for overseeing and implementing the NEPA and CEQ mandates to ensure that federal agencies integrate environmental values into decision-making.

Prior to joining CEQ, he worked in the Office of Environmental Law at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., responsible for policy development and litigation involving environmental planning compliance responsibilities under NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. Mr. Greczmiel served in the U.S. Army for fifteen years, including tours with the Office of The Judge Advocate General's Environmental Law Division and a detail as environmental advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health.

Mr. Greczmiel received his B.A. from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania; J.D. from Rutgers -- Camden School of Law, Camden, New Jersey; and LL.M. in environmental law from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

CEQ and NEPA Trends February 2006

NEPA's Mandate

Sec. 2 [42 USC § 4321 ].

The purposes of this Act are: To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental Quality.

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NEPA's Other Mandate

Sec. 102 [42 USC § 4332 ].

The Congress authorizes and directs that, to the fullest extent possible: ... (2) all agencies of the Federal Government shall --

...

(C) include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on --

(i) the environmental impact of the proposed action,

(ii) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented,

(iii) alternatives to the proposed action,

(iv) the relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and

(v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented.

CEQ Regulations Implementing the Procedural Requirements of NEPA

Sec. 1502.10 Recommended format.

Agencies shall use a format for environmental impact statements which will encourage good analysis and clear presentation of the alternatives including the proposed action. The following standard format for environmental impact statements should be followed unless the agency determines that there is a compelling reason to do otherwise:

¦ (a) Cover sheet.

(b) Summary.

(c) Table of contents.

(d) Purpose of and need for action.

(e) Alternatives including proposed action (sections 102(2)(C)(iii) and 102(2)(E) of the Act).

(f) Affected environment.

(g) Environmental consequences (especially sections 102(2)(C)(i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of the Act).

(h) List of preparers.

(i) List of Agencies, Organizations, and persons to whom copies of the statement are sent.

(j) Index.

(k) Appendices (if any).

If a different format is used, it shall include paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (h), (i), and (j), of this section and shall include the substance of paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (g), and (k) of this section, as further described in Secs. 1502.11 through 1502.18, in any appropriate format.

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Sec. 1502.13 Purpose and need.

The statement shall briefly specify the underlying purpose and need to which the agency is responding in proposing the alternatives including the proposed action.

Sec. 1502.14 Alternatives including the proposed action.

This section is the heart of the environmental impact statement. Based on the information and analysis presented in the sections on the Affected Environment (Sec. 1502.15) and the Environmental Consequences (Sec. 1502.16), it should present the environmental impacts of the proposal and the alternatives in comparative form, thus sharply defining the issues and providing a clear basis for choice among options by the decisionmaker and the public. In this section agencies shall:

(a) Rigorously explore and objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives, and for alternatives which were eliminated from detailed study, briefly discuss the reasons for their having been eliminated.

(b) Devote substantial treatment to each alternative considered in detail including the proposed action so that reviewers may evaluate their comparative merits.

(c) Include reasonable alternatives not within the jurisdiction of the lead agency.

(d) Include the alternative of no action.

(e) Identify the agency's preferred alternative or alternatives, if one or more exists, in the draft statement and identify such alternative in the final statement unless another law prohibits the expression of such a preference.

(f) Include appropriate mitigation measures not already included in the proposed action or alternatives.

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Sec. 1502.15 Affected environment.

The environmental impact statement shall succinctly describe the environment of the area(s) to be affected or created by the alternatives under consideration. The descriptions shall be no longer than is necessary to understand the effects of the alternatives. Data and analyses in a statement shall be commensurate with the importance of the impact, with less important material summarized, consolidated, or simply referenced. Agencies shall avoid useless bulk in statements and shall concentrate effort and attention on important issues. Verbose descriptions of the affected environment are themselves no measure of the adequacy of an environmental impact statement.

Sec. 1502.16 Environmental consequences.

This section forms the scientific and analytic basis for the comparisons under Sec. 1502.14. It shall consolidate the discussions of those elements required by sections 102(2)(C)(i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of NEPA which are within the scope of the statement and as much of section...