NEPA and Environmental Review

NEPA and Environmental Review

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), signed into law on January 1, 1970, is often called the "Magna Carta of environmental law." It requires federal agencies to consider the environmental effects of their proposed actions before making decisions.

NEPA's Core Requirements

NEPA does not mandate specific environmental outcomes. Instead, it imposes procedural requirements — agencies must:

Categories of NEPA Review

Federal actions fall into three categories:

Categorical Exclusions (CEs) — routine actions with no significant environmental impact (e.g., minor building repairs). These require no detailed analysis.

Environmental Assessments (EAs) — brief analyses to determine whether an action may have a significant impact. If the agency finds no significant impact, it issues a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). If it finds potentially significant impacts, it must prepare a full EIS.

Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) — detailed, comprehensive documents required for major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. An EIS includes:

The EIS Process

1. Notice of Intent (NOI) — published in the Federal Register

2. Scoping — public input on issues to be addressed

3. Draft EIS — circulated for public and agency comment (minimum 45-day comment period)

4. Final EIS — responds to comments and revises analysis as needed

5. Record of Decision (ROD) — the agency's final decision, including the chosen alternative and mitigation commitments

NEPA Litigation

NEPA is one of the most litigated federal environmental statutes. Common challenges include:

Courts review NEPA compliance under the arbitrary and capricious standard, asking whether the agency took a sufficiently thorough and reasoned approach.