Here is a secion of it. I'm not entirely sure how to tab these yet, so itll be this for now. The website is- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_statement
"According to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) whenever the US Federal Government takes a "major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment" it must first consider the environmental impact in a document called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
An EIS typically has four sections:
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- An Introduction including a statement of the Purpose and Need of the Proposed Action.
- A description of the Affected Environment.
- A Range of Alternatives to the proposed action. Alternatives are considered the "heart" of the EIS.
- An analysis of the environmental impacts of each of the possible alternatives.
The purpose of NEPA is to promote excellence in decision making by federal agencies by making "detailed information concerning significant environmental impacts" available to both agency leaders and the public. [1]
Not all federal actions require a full EIS. If the action is not likely to cause a significant impact the agency may prepare a smaller, shorter document called an Environmental Assessment (EA). However, EAs are only appropriate if there will be "no significant impact."
Contrary to a widespread misconception, NEPA does not prohibit the federal government or its licensees/permittees from harming the environment, but merely requires that the prospective impacts be understood and disclosed in advance."
2 comments:
Wow, that was really informative. I'd never heard about NEPA or the EIS or the EA. I feel more empowered in my ability to access information about what the government is doing. I look forward to more thought-provoking posts.
I agree with Porsche: it's good to know there are checks and balances on the government's power to make decision that will affect the environment. Hopefully, we'll get to here more about federal regulations on nature as this project progresses.
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