Evidence-Based Recommendations for Improving National Environmental Policy Act Implementation

Abstract

The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to consider environmental impacts before acting. NEPA is the Magna Carta of U.S. environmental law, a topic of intense debate, and the subject of ongoing rulemaking efforts. Prior NEPA scholarship focuses almost exclusively on Environmental Impact Statements, which account for just 1% of all NEPA decisions. Little is known about the length of time required to complete the other 99% of agency decisions, which involve a more streamlined review. This is a critical gap in the literature because NEPA compliance involves an estimated 50,000 federal decisions annually. NEPA reform, we believe, should begin with a careful understanding of NEPA practice at all levels of review. 
 To help advance effective NEPA reform, we studied over 41,000 NEPA decisions completed by the U.S. Forest Service between 2004 and 2020. Using this data, we conducted a multivariate statistical analysis of the length of time required to complete the NEPA process at each level of review. We then investigated factors associated with longer decisionmaking times. Our model accounts for interactions between 3 levels of NEPA analysis, 43 activities involved in these decisions, 9 geographic regions, and the year of project initiation. Contrary to widely held assumptions, we found that a less rigorous level of analysis often fails to deliver faster decisions. Delays, we found, are often caused by factors only tangentially related to the Act, like inadequate agency budgets, staff turnover, delays receiving information from permit applicants, and compliance with other laws. Improving NEPA efficacy, we argue, should therefore focus on improving agency capacity. This approach, we believe, would improve the NEPA process and advance NEPA’s mandate to engage with key stakeholders and carefully consider environmental impacts before making decisions.

Climate Risk Assessment in Petroleum Operations: A Review of CSR Practices for Sustainable Resilience in the United States and Africa

“…Federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy, set overarching environmental standards, while individual states have the autonomy to enact additional regulations. The Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are key federal legislations that shape climate risk assessment practices (Ruple, Pleune & Heiny, 2022, Ulibarri, Figueroa & Grant, 2022. In the U.S., climate risk assessment in the petroleum sector is intricately linked to compliance with emissions standards, spill response planning, and adherence to environmental impact assessment requirements.…”

Curtailing environmental impact assessment unlikely to speed implementation of natural resource management

“…NEPA, which requires US federal agencies to disclose and analyze the potential environmental impacts of their actions using "the best available science" and public input, is often the scapegoat of sluggish government decision-making. Studies show that the most rigorous NEPA analyses take an average of 2.5-3.5 years to complete 9,10 , but they lack clear implications without a reference point. Is 2.5-3.5 years a long or short time?…”