Navigating the EIS Process
Date Released
April 2022

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a law that requires federal agencies to examine the environmental impacts of their proposed activities. Under NEPA, if a federal action is likely to “significantly affect” the environment, the agency must prepare a detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before taking any action.

This fact sheet provides information about the EIS process in general; it also includes some specific information about the ongoing EIS process for the proposed Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion (MBSD),

Do Habitat Conservation Plans Deserve Wider Implementation?
Subtitle
Visionary But Flawed Program Needs to Evolve
An All Lands, All Hands Approach
The Flapping of Butterfly Wings -- 36 Years Later
Incorporating Relevant Laws Into Planning
Bigger May Sometimes Be Better
Mapping Tech Key to Data Apps That Bust Silos
It's All About Finding the Money
It Ain't Broke but It Should Be Fixed
Author
Alejandro E. Camacho - University of California, Irvine
Jim Lyons - Department of the Interior
Lindell Marsh - Center for Collaboration in Governance
T. O'Rourke Bradford - Bureau of Reclamation
Lynn Scarlett - The Nature Conservancy
James R. Strittholt - Conservation Biology Institute
Martin Wachs - University of California
Douglas P. Wheeler - Hogan Lovells-US LLP
University of California, Irvine
Department of the Interior
Center for Collaboration in Governance
Bureau of Reclamation
The Nature Conservancy
Conservation Biology Institute
University of California
Hogan Lovells-US LLP
Current Issue
May-June 2016
Issue
3

There are now more than 700 HCPs nationwide, with additional plans in preparation. While a number of HCPs have been based on a more conventional model of bilateral, single-project permits that merely seek to mitigate harm to listed species, the more noteworthy HCPs are landscapewide and focused on multiple species. These plans each cover hundreds if not millions of acres and even an entire state. As this concept matures, it is outgrowing the ad-hoc way in which plans have been crafted, funded, and managed.

Flowback
Author
Bernard Goldstein, M.D. - University of Cologne
University of Cologne
Current Issue
January/February 2016
Issue
33

It’s not the material injected underground to release shale gas — it’s the dangerous fluid and gases that come back to the surface. The lost opportunity to perform a thorough evaluation of the potential adverse health consequences of fracking has hurt the industry.

Judging NEPA: A "Hard Look" at Judicial Decision Making Under the National Environmental Policy Act
Author
Jay E. Austin, John M. Carter II, Bradley D. Klein and Scott E. Schang
Date Released
December 2004
Judging NEPA: A "Hard Look" at Judicial Decision Making Under the National Envir

This new report shows that federal judges’ political affiliation may be a decisive factor in determining the outcome of cases brought under the nation’s premier environmental law. The study of recent litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which governs a wide variety of federal agency actions that affect pollution control, natural resources, and public lands, reveals a wide division between appointees of Democratic and Republican presidents in rulings in these cases.

NEPA Success Stories: Celebrating 40 Years of Transparency and Open Government
Author
The Partnership Project, the Grand Canyon Trust, and the Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
August 2010
NEPA Success Stories: Celebrating 40 Years of Transparency and Open Government

This report presents 13 vignettes of how the National Environmental Policy Act helped improve government decisionmaking through public comment and vetting ideas with other agencies. This is a joint project of the Environmental Law Institute along with the Grand Canyon Trust and the Partnership Project.

Considering NEPA: Comments to the National Environmental Policy Act Task Force
Author
James M. McElfish, Jr., Jay Austin, D. Bruce Myers, Jr., Lisa Goldman
Date Released
February 2006
Considering NEPA: Comments to the National Environmental Policy Act Task Force

ELI submitted these comments to the House Resources Committee Task Force on Improving/Updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that warn the Task Force’s draft recommendations could have the unintended consequences of increasing NEPA litigation and cutting the public out of important federal decision-making.

Rediscovering the National Environmental Policy Act: Back to the Future
Author
Environmental Law Institute Staff
Date Released
September 1995
Rediscovering the National Environmental Policy Act: Back to the Future

One principle of conservation has always been to find new uses for old things. One such old thing, in mint condition, is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), signed on January 1, 1970. Like an unexpected legacy from a forgotten relative, it is about to come in handy.

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