The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).PPTVIP

NEPA The NationalEnvironmental Policy Act (NEPA) Objectives Terminal Objective Given the Environmental Laws and Regulations course manual as a reference, you will be able to: Explain the purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and how to meet its requirements. Objectives Enabling Objectives State NEPA’s purposes Identify the resources available that facilitate the Department’s compliance with NEPA. Outline the NEPA environmental review planning procedures. Objectives Enabling Objectives (continued) Describe the documentation required in the NEPA environmental review process. Specify how Federal statutes and regulations are coordinated with NEPA review requirements. Overview The National EnvironmentalPolicy Act (NEPA) of 1969 is the basic national charter for protection of the environment. Overview NEPA was necessary to ensure that Federal agencies would consider environmental concerns when making decisions, because often the statutes that created the agencies did not include an environmental mandate. Overview NEPA: Established policy [Section 101(a)] Set goals [Section 101(b)] Provided the means for carrying out policy (Section 102) Established the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (Section 202) Objectives The objectives of NEPA are to: Declare a national policy that will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and the environment Objectives Promote efforts that will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man Enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation Establish the CEQ Objectives How does NEPA accomplish these objectives? By ensuring considerations of environmental issues before conducting major Federal actions Title I Section 101 Section 101(a) declares NEPA’s general policy: It is the continuing policy . . . to use all practicable means and measures . . . to create and