National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (Pub. L. 91-190, 42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4321 et seq.) (NEPA) Section 101 established the national environmental policy of the Federal government to use all practicable means and measures to foster and promote the general welfare, create and maintain conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.
The appropriate level of review under NEPA depends on the significance of the potential environmental impacts, which fall into three different levels of analysis, including a categorical exclusion determination (CX), environmental assessment (EA) and environmental impact statement (EIS).
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Categorical Exclusion (CX): A categorical exclusion is a “category of actions that a Federal agency has determined normally does not significantly affect the quality of the human environment” (NEPA Section 111). Those classes of actions are listed in DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures Appendices B and C.
Environmental Assessment (EA): An EA is a “a concise public document prepared by a Federal agency to set forth the basis of such agency’s finding of no significant impact or determination that an environmental impact statement is necessary." DOE prepares an environmental assessment for a proposed action that cannot be categorically excluded and for which “does not have a reasonably foreseeable significant effect on the quality of the human environment, or if the significance of such effect is unknown” (NEPA Section 106(b)(2)).
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): An EIS is a “detailed statement” prepared when DOE determines that a proposed action will have “a reasonably foreseeable significant effect on the quality of the human environment” (NEPA Section 106).