Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

12-7-2014

SSRN Discipline

PSN Subject Matter eJournals; Political Economy - Comparative eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; ERN Subject Matter eJournals; Management Research Network; Economics Research Network; Legal Scholarship Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Law & Society eJournals; Law & Society: Public Law eJournals; Administrative Law eJournals; AARN Subject Matter eJournals; Cognitive Science Network; Political Institutions eJournals; Political Science Network; Environmental & Natural Resources Law eJournals; Anthropology & Archaeology Research Network

Abstract

The NEPA process does not end with the preparation of satisfactory impact statements NEPA requires more than just the preparation of paperwork even excellent paperwork It requires an action agency to come to terms with what was learned in an EIS to balance competing policy interests and to make a decision that to the fullest extent possible furthers the goal of environmental protection The courts however have declined to supervise that balancing process The executive branch through the US EPA and the Council on Environmental Quality on the other hand possess the authority to oversee the substantive implementation of NEPA through section 309 of the Clean Air Act The full potential of this authority however remains untappedThis article begins with a thorough exploration of the legislative history of NEPA and section 309 of the Clean Air Act in order to discern in a more concrete way what Congress intended to achieve through NEPA and how executive branch oversight was intended to serve those ends After examining the limited manner in which the executive branch has used its oversight authority the article explores a number of administrative reforms that could help create a more effective link between impact statements agency decisionmaking and what agencies actually do In short the article argues that EPA's watchdog role should extend to records of decision and the implementation of the commitments found in those decisions

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