Why Is NEPA Important?

NEPA is necessary in achieving a high quality environment and is certainly relevant in serving public interests. NEPA’s main goals were to 1)draw attention to the potential environmental impacts of federal projects and programs, 2)and give the public the opportunity to take part in the decision making process. While some may see the EIS review process as arduous, NEPA does its job in driving agencies to fully review how the environment will be impacted by their actions. Thus, agencies are able to discover potential violations with other environmental laws during one review process. Does NEPA adequately facilitate public debate? Well, that depends on what is considered “adequate”. My opinion is mixed about this because NEPA does provide avenues for citizens to get information and participate, but only individuals who are actively interested in environmental protection efforts would know this. The average citizen, especially those with little environmental awareness, would have no idea that they can participate in this process by submitting comments. As many of you have already stated, the Trump Administration would likely see NEPA as a waste of time. However, I don’t believe that NEPA will hinder the Administration’s environmentally harmful pursuits, compared to other laws with more regulatory authority. In regards to NEPA’s scope and whether it should be expanded, I feel that NEPA’ language is broad enough for an all-encompassing reach that can remain relevant well into the future.
It seems like as long as the agency follows the procedural requirements of NEPA, there is no follow-up after the final decision.
Source: The National Environmental Policy Act of