National Environmental Policy Act - Council On Environmental Quality (CEQ)

Council On Environmental Quality (CEQ)

The CEQ was modeled after the Council of Economic Advisers created by the employment act of 1946. Shortly after the act was signed into law, President Nixon expanded the CEQ's mandate by Executive Order directing it to issue guidelines to federal agencies for the proper preparation of Environmental Impact Statements and to assemble and coordinate federal programs related to environmental quality. The Council was placed within the executive office of the President and is composed of three members. These members must be appointed by the president and subsequently confirmed by the Senate. The CEQ has some fundamental roles which include assisting and advising the President in the preparation of the annual environmental quality report on the present progress of federal agencies in implementing the act, on national policies to nurture and promote the improvement of environmental quality and on the current state of the environment.

The CEQ has played a key part in the development of the EIS process. Its initial guidelines were issued in 1971 and required each department and agency of the government to adopt its own guidelines consistent with the guidelines established by CEQ. These set forth guidelines did not carry the status of formal agency regulations but were often held up in the court of law as such. Eventually President Jimmy Carter authorized via an Executive Order to adopt regulations rather than simple guidelines on EIS preparation. However, the CEQ has no authority to enforce its regulations.

The CEQ regulations begin by calling for agencies to integrate NEPA regulations and requirements with other various planning requirements at the earliest possible time to ensure that all decisions are reflective of environmental values, avoid potential delays in the future and eliminate potential future conflicts. NEPA's action-forcing provision, Section 102(2)(C), stipulates that an EIS shall be "included in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment..."

The CEQ has taken strides within the past several years to prepare advisory documentation to explain the general structure of the environmental document, the nature of cumulative impacts and other advisories. The CEQ also maintains a web site that is useful for NEPA information and guidance at www.nepa.gov.