§4332. Cooperation of agencies; reports; availability of information; recommendations; international and national coordination of efforts

The Congress authorizes and directs that, to the fullest extent possible: (1) the policies, regulations, and public laws of the United States shall be interpreted and administered in accordance with the policies set forth in this chapter, and (2) all agencies of the Federal Government shall-

(A) utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will ensure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the environmental design arts in planning and in decisionmaking which may have an impact on man's environment;

(B) identify and develop methods and procedures, in consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality established by subchapter II of this chapter, which will ensure that presently unquantified environmental amenities and values may be given appropriate consideration in decisionmaking along with economic and technical considerations;

(C) consistent with the provisions of this chapter and except where compliance would be inconsistent with other statutory requirements, include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on-

(i) reasonably foreseeable environmental effects of the proposed agency action;

(ii) any reasonably foreseeable adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented;

(iii) a reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed agency action, including an analysis of any negative environmental impacts of not implementing the proposed agency action in the case of a no action alternative, that are technically and economically feasible, and meet the purpose and need of the proposal;

(iv) the relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity; and

(v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of Federal resources which would be involved in the proposed agency action should it be implemented.

Prior to making any detailed statement, the head of the lead agency shall consult with and obtain the comments of any Federal agency which has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved. Copies of such statement and the comments and views of the appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, which are authorized to develop and enforce environmental standards, shall be made available to the President, the Council on Environmental Quality and to the public as provided by section 552 of title 5, and shall accompany the proposal through the existing agency review processes;

(D) ensure the professional integrity, including scientific integrity, of the discussion and analysis in an environmental document;

(E) make use of reliable data and resources in carrying out this chapter;

(F) consistent with the provisions of this chapter, study, develop, and describe technically and economically feasible alternatives;

(G) any detailed statement required under subparagraph (C) after January 1, 1970, for any major Federal action funded under a program of grants to States shall not be deemed to be legally insufficient solely by reason of having been prepared by a State agency or official, if:

(i) the State agency or official has statewide jurisdiction and has the responsibility for such action,

(ii) the responsible Federal official furnishes guidance and participates in such preparation,

(iii) the responsible Federal official independently evaluates such statement prior to its approval and adoption, and

(iv) after January 1, 1976, the responsible Federal official provides early notification to, and solicits the views of, any other State or any Federal land management entity of any action or any alternative thereto which may have significant impacts upon such State or affected Federal land management entity and, if there is any disagreement on such impacts, prepares a written assessment of such impacts and views for incorporation into such detailed statement.

The procedures in this subparagraph shall not relieve the Federal official of his responsibilities for the scope, objectivity, and content of the entire statement or of any other responsibility under this chapter; and further, this subparagraph does not affect the legal sufficiency of statements prepared by State agencies with less than statewide jurisdiction.¹

(H) study, develop, and describe appropriate alternatives to recommended courses of action in any proposal which involves unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources;

(I) consistent with the provisions of this chapter, recognize the worldwide and long-range character of environmental problems and, where consistent with the foreign policy of the United States, lend appropriate support to initiatives, resolutions, and programs designed to maximize international cooperation in anticipating and preventing a decline in the quality of mankind's world environment;

(J) make available to States, counties, municipalities, institutions, and individuals, advice and information useful in restoring, maintaining, and enhancing the quality of the environment;

(K) initiate and utilize ecological information in the planning and development of resource-oriented projects; and

(L) assist the Council on Environmental Quality established by subchapter II of this chapter.

( Pub. L. 91–190, title I, §102, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 853 ; Pub. L. 94–83, Aug. 9, 1975, 89 Stat. 424 ; Pub. L. 118–5, div. C, title III, §321(a), June 3, 2023, 137 Stat. 38 .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023-Par. (2)(A), (B). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(1), (2), substituted "ensure" for "insure".

Par. (2)(C). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(3)(A), (C), inserted "consistent with the provisions of this chapter and except where compliance would be inconsistent with other statutory requirements," before "include in every" in introductory provisions and substituted "the head of the lead agency" for "the responsible Federal official" in concluding provisions.

Par. (2)(C)(i) to (v). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(3)(B), added cls. (i) to (v) and struck out former cls. (i) to (v) which read as follows:

"(i) the environmental impact of the proposed action,

"(ii) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented,

"(iii) alternatives to the proposed action,

"(iv) the relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and

"(v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented."

Par. (2)(D). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(6), added subpar. (D). Former subpar. (D) redesignated (G).

Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(4), substituted "any detailed" for "Any detailed".

Par. (2)(E), (F). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(6), added subpars. (E) and (F). Former subpars. (E) and (F) redesignated (H) and (I), respectively.

Par. (2)(G), (H). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(5), redesignated subpars. (D) and (E) as (G) and (H), respectively.

Par. (2)(I). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(5), (7), redesignated subpar. (F) as (I) and inserted "consistent with the provisions of this chapter," before "recognize".

Par. (2)(J) to (L). Pub. L. 118–5, §321(a)(5), redesignated subpars. (G) to (I) as (J) to (L), respectively.

1975-Par. (2)(D) to (I). Pub. L. 94–83 added subpar. (D) and redesignated former subpars. (D) to (H) as (E) to (I), respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Certain Commercial Space Launch Activities

Pub. L. 104–88, title IV, §401, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 955 , provided that: "The licensing of a launch vehicle or launch site operator (including any amendment, extension, or renewal of the license) under [former] chapter 701 of title 49, United States Code [now chapter 509 (§50901 et seq.) of Title 51, National and Commercial Space Programs], shall not be considered a major Federal action for purposes of section 102(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(C)) if-

"(1) the Department of the Army has issued a permit for the activity; and

"(2) the Army Corps of Engineers has found that the activity has no significant impact."

Executive Documents

Ex. Ord. No. 13352. Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation

Ex. Ord. No. 13352, Aug. 26, 2004, 69 F.R. 52989, provided:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of this order is to ensure that the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency implement laws relating to the environment and natural resources in a manner that promotes cooperative conservation, with an emphasis on appropriate inclusion of local participation in Federal decisionmaking, in accordance with their respective agency missions, policies, and regulations.

Sec. 2. Definition. As used in this order, the term "cooperative conservation" means actions that relate to use, enhancement, and enjoyment of natural resources, protection of the environment, or both, and that involve collaborative activity among Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, private for-profit and nonprofit institutions, other nongovernmental entities and individuals.

Sec. 3. Federal Activities. To carry out the purpose of this order, the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations and in coordination with each other as appropriate:

(a) carry out the programs, projects, and activities of the agency that they respectively head that implement laws relating to the environment and natural resources in a manner that:

(i) facilitates cooperative conservation;

(ii) takes appropriate account of and respects the interests of persons with ownership or other legally recognized interests in land and other natural resources;

(iii) properly accommodates local participation in Federal decisionmaking; and

(iv) provides that the programs, projects, and activities are consistent with protecting public health and safety;

(b) report annually to the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality on actions taken to implement this order; and

(c) provide funding to the Office of Environmental Quality Management Fund (42 U.S.C. 4375) for the Conference for which section 4 of this order provides.

Sec. 4. White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation. The Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations:

(a) convene not later than 1 year after the date of this order, and thereafter at such times as the Chairman deems appropriate, a White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation (Conference) to facilitate the exchange of information and advice relating to (i) cooperative conservation and (ii) means for achievement of the purpose of this order; and

(b) ensure that the Conference obtains information in a manner that seeks from Conference participants their individual advice and does not involve collective judgment or consensus advice or deliberation.

Sec. 5. General Provision. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities or entities, its officers, employees or agents, or any other person.

George W. Bush.      

¹ So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon.