NEPA at Great Basin National Park: What the Process Really Does

By Beth Cristobal, Environmental Protection Specialist, Great Basin National Park. First published in The Midden*, Vol. 15, No. 2, Winter 2015.*

"Yuck"?

Tell someone your work involves the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and you'll likely hear "yuck" or "I feel sorry for you." Many people don't know what NEPA is, or assume your job is to block their project. Neither is true.

What the law is for

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, set a national environmental policy. According to the Park Service's 2015 NEPA Handbook, it also aims to:

• encourage harmony between people and their environment;
• prevent or eliminate environmental damage;
• promote people's health and welfare;
• deepen understanding of ecological systems and natural resources important to the nation;
• establish the Council on Environmental Quality, which oversees NEPA.

What the process does

Before a decision, federal agencies must consider a proposed action and its effects on the environment. NEPA doesn't make the decision: it's a process that keeps interested and affected people informed as the decision is made.

Four paths in the Park Service

1. Categorical exclusion, no documentation required.
2. Categorical exclusion, documentation required.
3. Environmental assessment.
4. Environmental impact statement.

Have your say: anyone can read about — and comment on — projects parks are proposing on the Park Service's Planning, Environment & Public Comment website.

Sources

Based on "National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)," by Beth Cristobal, The Midden — Great Basin National Park, Vol. 15, No. 2, Winter 2015, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source calls it the "Council of Environmental Quality."