The National Environmental Policy Act

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a mandatory decision-making framework used by federal agencies to assess the potential impacts of "major federal actions" before committing resources. It serves as an "umbrella" statute, integrating requirements from other laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. The process does not approve or deny projects but informs decision-making through three types of analyses: categorical exclusions (CE), environmental assessments (EA), and environmental impact statements (EIS). Stakeholders can engage by providing local knowledge, submitting specific and solution-oriented comments during public review periods, and monitoring mitigation commitments after a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) or record of decision (ROD) is issued.

• NEPA is a decision-making framework rather than a permitting process; it does not have the authority to approve or deny projects, nor does the discovery of environmental impacts automatically determine if a project proceeds.
• The NEPA process functions as an "umbrella" statute, allowing federal agencies to combine various environmental, safety, and historic preservation requirements into a single analysis, including those from the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Endangered Species Act.
• Public engagement occurs at multiple stages: before analysis begins (early project and community meetings), during the publication of draft environmental assessments (EA) or environmental impact statements (EIS), and after the issuance of a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) or record of decision (ROD).
• To maximize impact, public comments should not be treated as "yes" or "no" votes but should instead provide new, specific information, refer to particular sections of the NEPA analysis, and cite relevant studies or data.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). The National Environmental Policy Act. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/18085750/NEPA-process-fact-sheet.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. The National Environmental Policy Act. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/18085750/NEPA-process-fact-sheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=The National Environmental Policy Act |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/18085750/NEPA-process-fact-sheet.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforcendnational, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{The National Environmental Policy Act}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/18085750/NEPA-process-fact-sheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }