Chapter 14: National Environmental Policy Act

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the central federal charter for the protection of the environment. Although the original legislation is only three pages long, its enactment in 1969 prompted one Senator to remark that it is “the most important and far-reaching environmental and conservation measure ever enacted by the Congress.” The statute commands “all agencies of the Federal Government” to consider the effects of their actions before authorizing “major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” NEPA declares a “national policy” to “prevent or eliminate damage to the environment,” yet the obligations imposed in the statute upon federal agencies are procedural—agencies must simply consider the “environmental impact” of a “proposed action” and “alternatives to the proposed action” before authorizing that action.

§ 14.1 Introduction to NEPA
§ 14.2 Scope of EPA
§ 14.3 Major Federal Action
§ 14.4 The NEPA Obligation
§ 14.5 The NEPA Process
§ 14.6 Contents of the EIS or EA
§ 14.7 Duty to Supplement NEPA Analysis
§ 14.8 Tiering and the Programmatic/Site-Specific Concept
§ 14.9 Challenges to an Agency’s NEPA Compliance

EZEKIEL J. WILLIAMS, ESQ.
Faegre & Benson LLP

Ezekiel “Zeke” Williams is a partner with Faegre & Benson LLP in Denver, Colorado. He specializes in natural resources, federal lands, oil and gas, environmental law, and litigation. Zeke advises clients nationwide on all aspects of the National Environmental Policy Act, as well as the Clean Water Act, Federal Land Policy Management Act, National Forest Management Act, Mineral Leasing Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act, and other federal laws. Zeke has taught Natural Resources and Environmental Law as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver College of Law. He graduated from the University of Denver College of Law and has an undergraduate degree from Montana State University. Following law school, Zeke served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Bobby R. Baldock of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.