National Environmental Policy Act

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

Long title	National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
Acronyms (colloquial)	NEPA
Enacted by	the 91st United States Congress
Effective	January 1, 1970
Citations
Public law	Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 91–190
Statutes at Large	83 Stat. 852
Codification
Titles amended	42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Welfare
U.S.C. sections created	42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 1075 by Henry M. Jackson (D–WA) on February 18, 1969 Committee consideration by Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs Passed the Senate on July 10, 1969 (Unanimous) Passed the House of Representatives on September 23, 1969 (372-15[1]) Reported by the joint conference committee on December 17, 1969; agreed to by the Senate on December 20, 1969  and by the House of Representatives on December 23, 1969  Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970
Major amendments
Public Law 94-52, July 3, 1975, Public Law 94-83, Aug 9, 1975 and Public Law 97-258, section 4(b), Sep 13, 1982
United States Supreme Court cases
United States v. SCRAP, 412 U.S. 669 (1973) Aberdeen & Rockfish R. Co. v. SCRAP, 422 U.S. 289 (1975) Flint Ridge Development Co. v. Scenic Rivers Assn. of Okla., 426 U.S. 776 (1976) Kleppe v. Sierra Club, 427 U.S. 390 (1976) Andrus v. Sierra Club, 442 U.S. 347 (1979) Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council, Inc. v. Karlen, 444 U.S. 223 (1980) Weinberger v. Catholic Action of Haw./Peace Ed. Project, 454 U.S. 139 (1981) Metropolitan Edison Co. v. People Against Nuclear Energy, 460 U.S. 766 (1983) Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 462 U.S. 87 (1983) Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council, 490 U.S. 332 (1989) Marsh v. Oregon Natural Resources Council, 490 U.S. 360 (1989) Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen, 541 U.S. 752 (2004) Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, 542 U.S. 55 (2004) Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 555 U.S. 7 (2008) Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U.S. 139 (2010)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law designed to promote the enhancement of the environment. It created new laws requiring U.S. federal government agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of their actions and decisions, and it established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in December 1969 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970.^[2] To date, more than 100 nations around the world have enacted national environmental policies modeled after NEPA.^[3]

NEPA requires Federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of their actions.^[4]: 2–3 NEPA's most significant outcome was the requirement that all executive Federal agencies prepare environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs). These reports state the potential environmental effects of proposed Federal agency actions.^[5] Further, U.S. Congress recognizes that each person has a responsibility to preserve and enhance the environment as trustees for succeeding generations.^[6] NEPA's procedural requirements do not apply to the President, Congress, or the Federal courts since they are not a "Federal agency" by definition.^[5][7] However, a Federal agency taking action under authority ordered by the President may be a final agency action subject to NEPA's procedural requirements.^{[4]: 117–118}