NEPA -- the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 -- was
signed by President Nixon to implement important national
environmental policies.
An overview of NEPA can be found here:
http://www.answers.com/topic/national-environmental-policy-act
I've excerpted some key items to note:
...The action forcing provision of the law required an environmental
impact statement (EIS) to be written for all major federal actions. A
major federal action was later defined as something that a federal
agency could prohibit or regulate. In practice, a project is required
to meet NEPA guidelines when a federal agency provides any portion of
the financing for the project. Sometimes, however, review of a project
by a federal employee can be viewed as a federal action and would
then, therefore, require NEPA-compliant analyses be performed.
...An EIS is a document written to aid in decision making. It explores
alternatives to a proposed action, and the environmental consequences
of those actions. NEPA sought to put environmental concerns on par
with economic motivations and technological feasibility when making a
decision that could effect the environment. Hydrological/geological,
biological/ecological and social are among the consequences
considered.
...NEPA established the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to
write regulations for EISs and advise the executive branch on
environmental issues.
In essence, Title I of NEPA mandates the EIS, and Title II creates the
CEQ to implement the EIS regulations and other national environmental
policies. CEQ also prepares an annual national report on the state of
the environment. You can see these goals reflected in the stated
purpose of the act (the language of which is below).
The actual language of NEPA is here:
http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/nepa/nepaeqia.htm
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
and again, some particularly relevant excerpts are:
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.
TITLE I
CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Sec. 102
...all agencies of the Federal Government shall 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...the
environmental impact of the proposed action
TITLE II
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Sec. 204
It shall be the duty and function of the Council...to review and
appraise the various programs and activities of the Federal Government
in the light of the policy set forth in title I of this Act for the
purpose of determining the extent to which such programs and
activities are contributing to the achievement of such policy, and to
make recommendations to the President with respect thereto...
I trust this information fully answers your question. However, please
don't rate this answer until you have everything you need. If you
would like any additional information, just post a Request for
Clarification to let me know how I can assist you further, and I'm at
your service.
All the best,
pafalafa-ga
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