Introduction
| Author | Environmental Law Institute |
| Pages | 5-8 |
NEPA SUCCESS STORIES 5
INTRODUCT ION:
RECOGNIZ ING NEPA’S VALUE TO THE AMERI CAN PEOPL E
cannot be avoided should the proposal be imple-
mented, (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. NEPA §102, 42
U.S.C. §4332(2)(C).
Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine insisted on re-
quiring that federal, state, and local agencies consult
with one another and provide public disclosure
throughout the process. e resulting “environ-
mental impact statement” requirements and related
provisions were designed to ensure rigorous con-
sideration of the national environmental policy by
agencies throughout the federal government. NEPA
passed both houses of Congress by large bipartisan
majorities.
Senator Jackson described the importance of this
process in a oor statement just before passage of the
law:
e basic principle of this policy is that we must
strive in all that we do to achieve a standard of
excellence in man’s relationships to his physical
surroundings. If there are to be departures from this
standard of excellence they should be exceptions to
the rule and the policy. And as exceptions they will
have to be justied in light of the public scrutiny
as required by Section 102. 115 Cong. Rec. 40416
(Dec. 20, 1969).
On January 1, 1970, President Nixon signed NEPA
into law and launched the “environmental decade”
of the 1970s. e inuence of NEPA has extended
far beyond that decade and has changed govern-
mental decisionmaking in fundamental ways for the
better. In a 1970 Executive Order, President Nixon
directed the Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) to prepare guidelines for federal agency
implementation. e CEQ published several sets of
e National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
is often characterized as an environmental impact
review law, and it is that – but it is more than that.
It is a law that has made informed decisionmaking
about the environment a key component of every
major federal action or approval. NEPA also enlists
the participation of the public in sharing its wisdom
and knowledge to assist federal agencies in making
informed decisions that seek to improve rather than
degrade the environment.
NEPA established the process by which federal agen-
cies must systematically consider the environmental
and health and safety consequences of choosing one
option over alternatives, and enables agencies to
identify particular options that could reduce, miti-
gate, or eliminate signicant environmental impacts.
e NEPA process derives its power and usefulness
from the way in which it provides other agencies,
tribes, local governments, independent scientists,
companies, and citizens an opportunity to actively
participate in and contribute to these considerations.
is publication recognizes the 40th anniversary
of NEPA. In 1969, Senator Henry M. Jackson of
Washington introduced S. 1075, a bill intended to
articulate a national policy to include the environ-
ment in government actions. Lynton K. Caldwell,
who is considered one of the principal architects
of NEPA, was working as a consultant to Senator
Jackson, who was head of the Senate Interior and
Insular Aairs Committee at the time. Professor
Caldwell’s sta report following a Senate hearing was
instrumental in laying the groundwork for creating
a “system” to ensure that relevant information would
be considered by governmental decisionmakers. e
key to that system was an “action-forcing mecha-
nism”—what became in the nal legislation the
requirement for
a detailed statement by the responsible ocial on
(i) the environmental impact of the proposed ac-
tion, (ii) any adverse environmental eects which
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