Summary of the National Environmental Policy Act and Implementing Regulations - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 11

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Summary of the National Environmental
Policy Act and Implementing Regulations

2.1 Development of a National Environmental Policy

In the early 1960s, the U.S. Congress responded to the increased environ-
mental awareness and pressure for action discussed in Chapter 1, with the
exploration of options to address environmental degradation and lack of
sustainability. The effort to respond to the environmental threat and public
pressure for environmental action was led by academics and members of
Congress from districts reliant on the economic and recreational opportuni-
ties afforded by natural resources that were being threatened by continued
environmental neglect and insult. An option considered in response to the
threat and public demand was a comprehensive mandate requiring every
entity, both public and private, to achieve a specified level of environmental
protection, or at least implement the alternative that was the least damaging
to the environment. Such an approach with specific requirements and penal-
ties for lack of compliance would have had some similarities to the landmark
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had been
recently passed by Congress.
These critical human rights acts were specifically directed and enforced,
and resulted in some of the most important cultural and social shifts of the
century by initiating a change in the U.S. lifestyle and culture as experienced
by many citizens. The Acts specifically outlawed certain practices including
an unequal application of voter registration and racial segregation. A similar
approach to environmental policy, which would outlaw development that
resulted in a net loss of environmental value or require mitigation of impacts
below a specified level, was considered by legislators and environmental
advocates.
An environmental protection approach similar to civil and voters' rights
protection was rejected for a number of reasons. First, the ongoing environ-
mental damage was not as immediate, obvious, blatant, or damaging to indi-
viduals on a daily basis, as compared with the violation of civil and voting
rights in certain sectors of the country in the 1960s. Thus, environmental

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