Environmental Issues: U.S. Law & Policy
U.S. Law & Policy Main Page
All Documents in U.S. Law & Policy Tagged NEPA
- Never Eliminate Public Advice!
Fact Sheet - With an emphasis on "smart from the start" federal decision making, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) protects our health, our homes, and our environment. Thanks to this law, hundreds of millions of Americans have participated in important federal decisions. We are able to know the risk a government project or practice could pose to our community or health because of NEPA -- and we are guaranteed a voice.
- NRDC Policy Basics
An Introduction to Federal Environmental Policy
Analysis - NRDC works with Congress, the White House, courts and federal agencies to defend and expand the framework of U.S. environmental policies to safeguard the health of our communities and environment.
- Democracy in Action: The Energy Permitting Process Under NEPA
Testimony - Testimony of NRDC senior attorney Sharon Buccino at hearing on permitting of energy projects, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, May 25, 2005.
- E-law: What Started It All?
It began with a court battle over a power plant slated for Storm King Mountain and matured with test cases modeled on tactics pioneered by the NAACP.
History - Environmental public interest attorneys use America's environmental statutes and legal precedents to defend and advocate for wildlife and wild places and to protect public health. Environmental law has only been around since about the time of the first Earth Day in 1970. It began with a court battle over a power plant slated for an unspoiled area in the Hudson River valley, and matured with test cases modeled on tactics pioneered by the NAACP.
Documents Tagged NEPA in All Sections
- Clean Cargo Center
Community Resources for Reducing Diesel Air Pollution from the Freight Industry
Guide - Freight transportation hubs may help deliver the products that fill our stores and homes, but for those who live near them -- disproportionately low-income people of color -- finding ways to clean up cargo is truly as important as the air we breathe. Fortunately, the National Environmental Policy Act offers communities public oversight over federal or federally-funded projects that will affect the environment.
- U.S. Forest Service Efforts to Avoid Environmental Review
Testimony - Testimony presented by Nathaniel Lawrence, NRDC senior attorney, on June 28, 2007, before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests & Public Lands of the Committee on Natural Resources.
For additional policy documents, see the NRDC Document Bank.
For older publications available only in print, click here.
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Switchboard Blogs
- Botching the Budget, Ignoring the Infrastructure Debt
- posted by Deron Lovaas, 6/28/13
- Capturing the Value of Public Transportation
- posted by Deron Lovaas, 3/21/13
- Rotten to the Corps: Public Reviews Targeted in New Bill
- posted by Deron Lovaas, 3/20/13
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