1. EPA!!!!

2.  One of the first laws ever created to protect the environment  Came into effect due to public concern about the deteriorating human environment and the environmental impacts of major federal projects.

3.  The intent of NEPA is to insure safe, healthful productive, and esthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings.  The basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action.

4.  The Santa Barbara Oil Spill was the leading catalyst for the act.  Another driving force were the Freeway Revolts that occurred in the ‘60’s when the interstate highway system was being built.  The law has since been applied to any project federal state or local that involves federal funding

5.  Introduced in the Senate by Henry M. Jackson on February 18, 1969  Agreed to by the Senate on December 20, 1969 and by the House of Representatives on December 23, 1969  Signed into law by Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970

6.  Three important sections: - The statement of national environmental policies and goals - The establishment of action-forcing provisions for federal agencies to enforce those policies and goals - The establishment of a Council of Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President

7.  Who are they? - a division of the Executive Office of the President that organizes federal environmental efforts in the United States What do they do? - Work closely with agencies and other White House offices in the development of environmental and energy policies and initiatives o Under NEPA, CEQ works to balance environmental, economic, and social objectives in pursuit of NEPA's goal of "productive harmony" between humans and the human environment

8.  Categorical Exclusion (CE)- actions which do not have a significant effect on the human environment and do not need an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement.  Environmental Assessment (EA)- When the significance of impacts of a transportation project proposal is unknown, an EA is made to help make this decision. If it is found that there will be significant impacts, there will be an EIS implemented.  Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)- NEPA requires Federal agencies to prepare EISs for major Federal actions that affect the quality of the human environment. An EIS is a document that states the process through which a transportation project was developed. It includes a range of reasonable alternatives, analyzes the possible impacts resulting from the alternatives, and demonstrates cooperation with other environmental laws and executive orders

9. CEQ process chart

10.  EPA. (n.d.). National Environmental Policy Act. US EPA. Retrieved August 24, 2011. From http://www.epa.gov/region1/nepa/http://www.epa.gov/region1/nepa/  FEMA. (n.d.). National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). FEMA. Retrieved August 24, 2011. From http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/ehplaws/nepa.shtm http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/ehplaws/nepa.shtm  http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/fhpl_ntlenvirnpolcy.pdf http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/fhpl_ntlenvirnpolcy.pdf  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Environmental_Quality http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Environmental_Quality  http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/projdev/docuce.asp http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/projdev/docuce.asp