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nrro:. cs.epa.goYloecalor"a,. brochure. hr THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL F:lICY ACT ANC CEQ The i'iational Environmemal Policy Act fNEPA. 42 use ..:.321 -:t seq.) was :nacted on Januarv 1. 1970 in recognition of the widening int1uence on the hUffia:: and naruraJ en\"l:"orunem that indivIdual federal agency actions can exert. With its stated purpose (se~ Highlight D) ar.: with hei\!htened public awareness of environmemal quality questions. NEPA makeS its goals and pc:rcies "suD~Dlemental to those set forth in existing authorities of Federal agencies NEPA. Section :1)5), In this wav. the agencies' authorizing statutes were amended to ::lclude NEPA re~~irements. . Title I of ;:.JEP A requires the federal governmem to use all practicable means to preserve and maimain conditions under which human bein2:s can coexist with the natural world in productive harmony. Section 102 directs federal agencies to lend appropriate sUPPOrt to initiatives and programs meam to anticipate and prevent degradation of world environmemal quality, Further. this section requires federal agencies to incorporate environmental considerations in their decisiof1-making, using a systematic. interdisciplinary approach. HIGHLIGHT D: The Purposes of NEPA :-;:~ ::u---poses cfUus Ac: ~e: T () declare Ii national FC~C:J"wr..lch will encct::;~e prcc:';C'..1ve and ,,::: :ryable harmotry' be~~ '!:'l m:::n i::':.c1 his er.."'.!on:~ent: to promC"'_~ :rrorts which will prevent c: e l:.mlnate dam age to ::. ~ enyirCl".n'. ent a.'1d c::Js:::here a...d stimulate :."'.e hea1t.~ and welfare of m:.n: to er..--:.ch the uncie:;:.amung cft.~e ecological $';.:;"..ems a...d n1liural re 5~'::C es lmc ortant to the N-~:Jon:. ~"1d to establish ~ Cot.ncil on E:'"", .,~:::,..:':"lo enUll Quali t:.r. Title II of NEPA establishes the Councii on Environmental Quality (CEQ, or the Council). Two months after enactment of NEPA. the President issued Executive Order 11514 authorizing CEQ to guide the Sec. 102 process. Under Ihis order. the Council immediately published guidelines. followed in 1978 by regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) requiring all Federal agencies to issue NEP A regulations consistent with CEQ' s. Advisory to the President. CEQ conducts studies. prepares the annual Environmental Quality RepOrt to Congress. and reviews EISs. Moreover, CEQ mediates interagency disputes concerning environmental analyses of matters of national imponance. (See Referrals section, below.) 0;;:'" 91.190. 42 use 432: et seq.) As evidence of compliance with the NEP A Section 102 provisions for a proposed major action that could significantly affect the environment. CEQrequires the lead agency to prepare a detailed written statement addressing NEPA concerns, i.e.. an EIS (40 CFR Pan 1501). The lead agency may first prepare an environmental assessment (EA), which is a concise public document (40 CFR Part 1501.3) that detennines whether an EIS or a FaNS! (40 CFR Part 1501.4(e)) should be prepared. An EA is not necessary, however, if the agency has decided at the outset to prepare an EIS. For review, the lead agency provides the EIS to those federal agencies having statutory jurisdiction or special expertise, as well as to appropriate other federal, stare. and local agencies; Indian tribes, when the proposed action might impact tribal lands; and, the interested or affected public (40 CFR Part 1503.1). Once the EIS is fInal, the lead agency must fIle it formally, simultaneously making it available to the public, together with the reviewers' comments and the lead agency's responses to those comments (40 CFR Part 1506.9). The CEQ regulations designate EPA the official recipient of all final EISs, which responsibility the EP A Administrator delegates to OF A. REFERRALS TO THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALJTY A-41 , ::>f7 5/8/00 12: 11 PM