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<br />Issued By <br />The Council On Environmental Quality <br />and <br />The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency <br /> <br />The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPAl, <br />[42 V.S.C. 4321 et seq,], was signed into law on <br />January 1, 1970. The Act establishes national <br />environmental policy and goals for the <br />protection, maintenance, and enhancement of <br />the environment and it provides a process for <br />implementing these goals within the federal <br />agencies. The Act also establishes the Council <br />on Environmental Quality (CEQ). <br /> <br />NEP A Requirements <br /> <br />Title'I of NEPA contains a Declaration of <br />National Environmental Policy which requires <br />the federal government to use all practicable <br />means to creete and maintain conditions under <br />which man and nature can exist in productive <br />harmony. Section 102 requires federal agencies <br />to incorporate environmental considerations in <br />their planning and decision-making through a <br />systematic interdisciplinary approach. <br />Specificelly, all federal agencies are to prepare <br />detailed statements assessing the environmental <br />impact of and alternatives to major federal <br />actions significantly affecting the environment, <br />These statements are commonly referred to as <br />environmental impact statements (EISs). Section <br />102 also requires federal agencies to lend <br />appropriate support to initiatives and programs <br />designed to anticipate and prevent a decline in <br />the quality of mankind's world environment. <br />Title II of NEP A establishes the Council on <br />Environmental Quality (CEQ) and requires the <br />President to transmit to Congress, with the <br />assistance of CEQ, an annual Environmental <br />Quality Report on the state of the environment. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Oversight Of NEP A <br /> <br />The Council on Environmental Quality, which is <br />headed by a fulltime Chairperson, oversees <br />NEP A. A staff assists the Council. The duties <br />and functions of the Council are listed in Title <br />II, Section 204 of NEP A and include: gathering <br />information on the conditions and trends in <br />environmental quality; evaluating federal <br />programs in light of the goals established in <br />Title I of the Act; developing and promoting <br />national policies to improve environmental <br />quality; and conducting studies, surveys. <br />research, and analyses relating to ecosystems <br />and environmental quality. <br /> <br />. <br />i <br />