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From Consultation To Consent: Community Approval As A Prerequisite To Environmentally Significant Projects, Nicholas A. Fromhertz

West Virginia Law Review

Since the United States enacted the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969, nations all around the world have adopted similar statutes. What started as a unique response to the American environmental movement grew to become a nearly global standard. Although the details of the regimes vary from country to country, there are two constants: (1) the regimes force the government to consider environmental impacts before conducting or authoriz- ing projects, and (2) they allow some degree of public participation. This Arti- cle focuses on the latter of these two features. Public participation in NEPA-style regimes generally means public consultation: …