U.S. Code
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Title 42
» Chapter CHAPTER 55— NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— POLICIES AND GOALS
42 U.S.C. § 4331
Congressional declaration of national environmental policy
(a) The Congress, recognizing the profound impact of man’s activity on the interrelations of all components of the natural environment, particularly the profound influences of population growth, high-density urbanization, industrial expansion, resource exploitation, and new and expanding technological advances and recognizing further the critical importance of restoring and maintaining environmental quality to the overall welfare and development of man, declares that it is the continuing policy of the Federal Government, in cooperation with State and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations, to use all practicable means and measures, including financial and technical assistance, in a manner calculated to foster and promote the general welfare, to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.(b) In order to carry out the policy set forth in this chapter, it is the continuing responsibility of the Federal Government to use all practicable means, consistent with other essential considerations of national policy, to improve and coordinate Federal plans, functions, programs, and resources to the end that the Nation may—(1) fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations;(2) assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and esthetically 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.(c) The Congress recognizes that each person should enjoy a healthful environment and that each person has a responsibility to contribute to the preservation and enhancement of the environment.(Pub. L. 91–190, title I, § 101, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852.)Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesCommission on Population Growth and the American FuturePub. L. 91–213, §§ 1–9, Mar. 16, 1970, 84 Stat. 67–69, established the Commission on Population Growth and the American Future to conduct and sponsor such studies and research and make such recommendations as might be necessary to provide information and education to all levels of government in the United States, and to our people regarding a broad range of problems associated with population growth and their implications for America’s future; prescribed the composition of the Commission; provided for the appointment of its members, and the designation of a Chairman and Vice Chairman; required a majority of the members of the Commission to constitute a quorum, but allowed a lesser number to conduct hearings; prescribed the compensation of members of the Commission; required the Commission to conduct an inquiry into certain prescribed aspects of population growth in the United States and its foreseeable social consequences; provided for the appointment of an Executive Director and other personnel and prescribed their compensation; authorized the Commission to enter into contracts with public agencies, private firms, institutions, and individuals for the conduct of research and surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activities necessary to the discharge of its duties, and to request from any Federal department or agency any information and assistance it deems necessary to carry out its functions; required the General Services Administration to provide administrative services for the Commission on a reimbursable basis; required the Commission to submit an interim report to the President and the Congress one year after it was established and to submit its final report two years after Mar. 16, 1970; terminated the Commission sixty days after the date of the submission of its final report; and authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as might be necessary to carry out the provisions of Pub. L. 91–213.
Executive DocumentsExecutive Order No. 11507Ex. Ord. No. 11507, eff. Feb. 4, 1970, 35 F.R. 2573, which related to prevention, control, and abatement of air and water pollution at federal facilities was superseded by Ex. Ord. No. 11752, eff. Dec. 17, 1973, 38 F.R. 34793, formerly set out below.
Executive Order No. 11752Ex. Ord. No. 11752, Dec. 17, 1973, 38 F.R. 34793, which related to the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution at Federal facilities, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12088, Oct. 13, 1978, 43 F.R. 47707, set out as a note under section 4321 of this title.
Notes of Decisions
United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures (SCRAP) (1973)
scotus · cites it 4×
“" 42 U. S. C. § 4331 . To implement these lofty purposes, Congress imposed a number of responsibilities upon federal agencies, most notably the requirement of producing a detailed environmental impact statement for "major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of…”
Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council (1989)
scotus · cites it 2×
“852 , 42 U. S. C. § 4331 . To ensure that this commitment is "infused into the ongoing programs and actions of the Federal Government, the act also establishes some important `action-forcing' procedures.”
Kleppe v. Sierra Club (1976)
scotus · cites it 2×
“" § 101 (b), 42 U. S. C. § 4331 (b). Section 102 (2) (C) is one of the "action-forcing" provisions intended as a directive to "all agencies to assure consideration of the environmental impact of their actions in decisionmaking.”
Sierra Club v. Froehlke (1973)
txsd · cites it 9×
“Consistent with other essential considerations of national policy, all federal agencies must “use all practicable means” to assure safe surroundings, 42 U.S.C.A. § 4331 (a), (b)(2), to attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without unintended consequences,…”
Izaak Walton League of America v. Marsh (1981)
cadc · cites it 4×
“It also ruled that the Corps had fulfilled its substantive obligation under Section 101 of NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4331 (1976), to balance the economic benefits of the project against its environmental costs.”
Save Our Springs Alliance, Inc. v. City of Dripping Springs (2010)
texapp · cites it 2×
“Thus, the Ninth Circuit concluded that the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged an injury in fact for constitutional standing purposes in that they "observed and enjoyed" endangered birds that could be evicted by the defendants' actions.”
I-291 Why? Association v. Burns (1974)
ctd · cites it 8×
“2 In moving for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of 1-291, plaintiff has by agreement with defendants restricted its attack to its first cause of action: defendants’ alleged breach of the duties imposed on them by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969…”
— 42 U.S.C. § 4331(a) — 1 case
— 42 U.S.C. § 4331(b) — 2 cases
— 42 U.S.C. § 4331(b)(2) — 1 case
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