Enacted in 1970 by overwhelming bi-partisan majorities, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) establishes a national policy calling for "productive harmony" between man and nature. The law directs federal agencies to take into account, and publicly disclose, the environmental consequences of their proposed actions.
Apart from improving the substance of agency decisions, NEPA reinforces the democratic system by providing an avenue for citizens to comment upon and influence government decisions that affect their lives. NEPA is a law that puts people before politics and values science over short-term thinking by requiring that the public is involved and the environmental impacts of proposed projects are disclosed. This common sense "look before you leap" requirement leads to better decisions and helps the government avoid making mistakes.
Threat to NEPA
The Republican staff of the House Resources Committee's NEPA Task Force released a draft report of their initial findings and proposals on December 21, 2005. Despite the fact that 10 former members of the Council on Environmental Quality -- representing both political parties -- and more than 200 law professors have said that NEPA does not need any legislative changes, 13 of the draft proposals would amend existing statutory law, including re-writing key definitions within NEPA and distorting established jurisprudence and common law.
Among the many proposals that would significantly weaken NEPA, some of the most serious would:
- Add mandatory timelines for the completion of NEPA documentation and only allow for occasional extensions;
- Place significant restrictions on a citizen's ability to participate in the public process and to challenge an agency's decision-making process; and
- Require that "reasonable alternatives" including those proposed by individual citizens or community groups, be supported by "feasibility and engineering studies," including those proposed by individual citizens or community groups. Ordinary citizens and few organizations have the technical or financial resources to prepare such studies, where as industry often has more ample resources to do so.
Additional Resources
- Former Chairs and General Counsels of the Council on Environmental Quality, the White House agency charged with implementing the Act recently filed a letter with the House Resources Committee's NEPA Task Force. The CEQ Chairs letter asks the Task Force to respect the principles of meaningful environmental review, and expresses concern that recent legislative proposals may undermine these principles. View the letter here (PDF)
- On October 12, 2005, 162 professors of Administrative, Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy sent a letter to the NEPA Task Force saying that they support NEPA, but advocate stronger administrative rules and the will to make them effective. View the letter (PDF).
- NEPA Under Siege, The Political Assault on the National Environmental Policy Act, by Robert G. Dreher, Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute. (PDF)
- The Road to Better Transportation Projects: Public Involvement and the NEPA Process (2003), Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council. (PDF)
- Testimony of Michael Anderson, Senior Resource Analyst for The Wilderness Society, to the House Resources Committee National Environmental Policy Act Task Force, Field Hearing on the Role of NEPA in the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska in Spokane, WA, April 23, 2005. (PDF)
- Sierra Club website
- Comments from The Wilderness Society and numerous other organizations on the NEPA Task Force staff report entitled Initial Findings and Draft Recommendations to the U.S. House of Representatives Resources Committee, Feb. 3, 2006. (PDF)
- Additional factsheets, press releases, and other documents: