The role of impact assessment in environmental decision making in New England: A ten-year retrospective

Abstract

Environmental impact assessment in the United States began with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq). Passed in 1969, NEPA underscored the nation's commitment to protect the environment. Adding muscle to this promise, NEPA included an action-forcing mechanism, namely that public agencies must prepare Environmental Impact Statements (EISs). NEPA also created the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to interpret and enforce this requirement. NEPA directs federal agencies to consider the impacts of their actions early in the planning stages of large projects. Due to the emphasis on evaluation before action the adage look before you leap is used to describe the goal of impact assessment. Using an EIS an agency can consider the probable impacts associated with the alternative versions of an action and select the least environmentally damaging option. NEPA requires federal agencies to (1) forecast and assess the impacts of proposed actions; (2) apply this information in planning and decision making; and (3) protect and enhance the quality of the environment. Ideally, impact assessment at both the federal and state level is used to influence project definitions and to encourage the consideration of less environmentally damaging alternatives. At the very least, careful analysis can eliminate the most inappropriate alternatives. Not only should impact assessment lead to wise en: vironmental decisions in the individual cases, but the process of impac t assessment should lead public agencies to become increasingly more adept at defining environmentally sound projects and policies. In theory the process of impact assessment enables public agencies and various interest groups to work cooperatively to protect the quality of the environment.