About NEPA
Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) on December 23, 1969, and President Nixon signed it into law on January 1, 1970. Congress amended NEPA in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. The law declares an ambitious and visionary national policy to fulfill the responsibility of each generation to protect the environment for succeeding generations.
NEPA’s purpose is to “encourage productive and enjoyable harmony” between humans and the environment. In passing the law, Congress recognized that human activity has a profound impact on the environment, and emphasized the critical importance to all humankind of restoring and maintaining the quality of the environment.
NEPA requires the Federal Government to “look before it leaps” and conduct an appropriate environmental analysis before it makes a decision. When decision makers understand, consider, and engage the public regarding their decisions’ environmental effects, agency decision makers are able to make informed decisions that often result in improved environmental outcomes.
NEPA’s requirements apply to a broad range of actions affecting the daily lives of Americans across the country—from the construction of roads, bridges, airports, energy infrastructure, and national security installations to the management of activities on Federal lands, such as grazing, forest management, and wildfire protection to environmental restoration and other projects.
NEPA also created the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) as a Federal agency within the Executive Office of the President.
Congress also enacted the Environmental Quality Improvement Act in 1970 addressing CEQ operations. Finally, section 309 of the Clean Air Act provides for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) review of Federal agency environmental impact statements and for EPA referrals to CEQ.
Legislative History of NEPA
During the process of drafting and enacting NEPA, Congress produced a number of documents that discuss the intent of the law. Links to these documents and additional information on the most recent amendments to NEPA are listed below: