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Nepa In The Hot Seat: A Proposal For An Office Of Environmental Analysis, Aliza M. Cohen
Nepa In The Hot Seat: A Proposal For An Office Of Environmental Analysis, Aliza M. Cohen
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Judicial deference under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) can be problematic. It is a well-established rule of administrative law that courts will grant a high degree of deference to agency decisions. They do this out of respect for agency expertise and policy judgment. This deference is applied to NEPA lawsuits without acknowledging the special pressures that agencies face while assessing the environmental impacts of their own projects. Though there is a strong argument that these pressures undermine the reasons for deferential review, neither the statute nor the courts have provided plaintiffs with adequate means to remedy this problem. Agency …
Putting Bite In Nepa's Bark: New Council On Environmental Quality Regulations For The Preparation Of Environmental Impact Statements, David M. Lesser
Putting Bite In Nepa's Bark: New Council On Environmental Quality Regulations For The Preparation Of Environmental Impact Statements, David M. Lesser
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article will examine the new regulations to assess the manner in which they will affect federal decisionmaking. Part I briefly reviews the role the NEPA process has heretofore played in agency decisionmaking and its potential for the future. Parts II, III, and IV discuss specific provisions of the new regulations which may profoundly affect the agencies. Part II examines those sections of the regulations which seek to ensure that the EIS contains the substantive information necessary to fulfill NEPA's policies. Part III discusses significant procedural changes in the environmental assessment process designed to insure that this substantive information is …