ES&H at Fermilab

NEPA stands for the National Environmental Policy Act which Congress passed in 1969 in order to: "declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; promote efforts that will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and establish a Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)."

NEPA directs Federal Agencies to:

1. Include and institutionalize environmental values in planning and decision making.
2. Consider alternative courses of action.
3. Document consideration of environmental effects.
4. Involve the public in Agency decision making.
5. Involve the regulatory community, as appropriate, for sound environmental data.
6. Make decisions cognizant of environmental effects.

"The purpose of NEPA is not to generate paperwork - even excellent paperwork - but to foster excellent action." CEQ Regulations