The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)

The chemistry of the atmosphere is changing in many ways. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) established the basic US national charter for protection of the environment. The act establishes policy, sets goals, and provides means for carrying out the policy. It states that it is the obligation of the Federal government to:

1. fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations;
2. assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings;
3. attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable and unintended consequences;
4. preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage, and maintain, wherever possible, an environment which supports diversity, and variety of individual choice;
5. achieve a balance between population and resource use which will permit high standards of living and a wide sharing of life's amenities; and
6. enhance the quality of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources.

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