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The University of Akron

National Environmental Policy Act

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Law

The National Park System And Nepa: Non-Impairment In An Age Of Disruption, Jamison E. Colburn Jun 2017

The National Park System And Nepa: Non-Impairment In An Age Of Disruption, Jamison E. Colburn

Akron Law Review

We live in an age of disruption. “Disruptive innovations,” typically digital in nature, create new markets and value chains that grow and overthrow market leaders and other incumbents. The founders of our National Park System and National Park Service (NPS) had little sense of such disruption and, judging by how our park ideals have fared in recent decades, too little sense of how disruption works in nature, either. The parks embody a set of ideals and, as one of the most noted inventions of America’s democracy, sit in uneasy tension with the constant disruption of nature’s composition and function. The …


Four Years Of Environmental Impact Statements: A Review Of Agency Administration Of Nepa, Mary Anne Sullivan Aug 2015

Four Years Of Environmental Impact Statements: A Review Of Agency Administration Of Nepa, Mary Anne Sullivan

Akron Law Review

This article will focus on the environmental impact statement process of NEPA functions. It will analyze some of the structural weaknesses of the process, some of the interests private parties are using it to protect and, finally, whether or not it is bringing us closer to a realization of the lofty goals the Act sets forth in Section 4331.


Nepa At 21: Over The Hill Already?, David G. Burleson Jul 2015

Nepa At 21: Over The Hill Already?, David G. Burleson

Akron Law Review

The first part of this Comment will briefly review the somewhat meteoric rise of NEPA including the increase in public awareness which led to federal action, its projected effect, and the manner in which the courts seemed to be heading in their treatment of NEPA. The Comment will then review the decline of NEPA due to subsequent Supreme Court decisions. Finally, the Comment will consider possible remedies for the present anemic condition of this first federal environmental statute.


The Fox Is Guarding The Henhouse: Enhancing The Role Of The Epa In Fonsi Determinations Pursuant To Nepa, Wendy B. Davis Jul 2015

The Fox Is Guarding The Henhouse: Enhancing The Role Of The Epa In Fonsi Determinations Pursuant To Nepa, Wendy B. Davis

Akron Law Review

This article suggests an enhanced role for the EPA and the other agencies that have authority to protect our natural resources, including the FWS, NPS, and others. These agencies should have authority to evaluate the environmental assessments leading to a FONSI and require preparation of an EIS pursuant to NEPA. This paper also suggests that these agencies need more authority in the substantive decision of choice of an alternative action pursuant to the EIS, and the determination of whether the proposed action should proceed based on the conclusions in the EIS. This could be accomplished with an amendment to the …