Introduction - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 2

resources. Also, the initiation of space exploration in the 1960s resulted in obser-
vations of the entire planet from afar for the first time in human existence. These
observations brought home the fact to many that the planet is finite, fragile, and
the only place suitable for human habitation and that they had better be nice to
Mother Nature. Many of these proactive “environmentalists” believed that the
damage resulted from a combination of development with little or no control,
profit motive, and general lack of understanding and concern for the environ-
ment. As a result of the increased environmental awareness and pressure to
do something about it, the U.S. Congress passed in late 1969 and the President
signed on January 1, 1970 the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This
Act established a policy of environmental awareness and commitment to not
ignore the environment. It was directed at actions by the U.S. federal govern-
ment and mandated openness, and active solicitation of input from the public
whenever the government took actions that could affect the environment.
Following the enactment of NEPA, there was a flurry of new or enhanced
environmental protection activities including passage of legislation, promul-
gation of regulations, and creation of agencies. Almost immediately, several
other countries followed suit with their own environmental policy state-
ments and environmental protection regulations. The United States and
other countries also followed with resource-specific environmental protec-
tion acts and regulations, such as the Clean Water Act, enhancement of the
Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Air Act. States within the United
States and in some cases, municipalities, also started to pass legislation and
promulgate regulations to expand environmental protection beyond the
scope of NEPA and tailor environmental analysis and protection to condi-
tions and activities important and specific to their jurisdiction. The passage
of legislation and promulgation of regulations continues to be an ongoing
process, as evidenced by the current movement to require strategic environ-
mental assessment or SEA (see Chapter 6). SEA encourages a strong focus on
broad issues and proactive environmental protection rather than the general
focus on individual actions and specific projects typical of NEPA and related
environmental regulations and policies.
The environmental protection approach and regulatory infrastructure that
evolved in the early 1970s from the passage of legislation and enactment of
regulations was a three-pronged strategy. The first was an official statement
of overall environmental policy at the local, state/provisional, national, and
in some cases international level. In general, the policy statement was unen-
forceable and lacked any forcing function for compliance, but in most cases it
did set the stage and provide the mission statement for subsequent develop-
ment of the other, more enforceable prongs of the environmental protection
and regulatory infrastructure.
The second prong of the strategy was the requirement for an environ-
mental analysis process for specific actions. The environmental analysis
process has evolved and matured, as described throughout this topic, but
the original intent was multifaceted. The requirement for environmental