An Act to establish a national policy for the environment; to authorize studies, surveys, and research relating to ecological systems, natural resources, and the quality of the human environment; and to establish a Board of Environmental Quality Advisers
PL 91-190 (S.1075), enacted 01/01/1970

852 
PUBLIC LAW 91-190-JAN. 1, 1970 
[83 STAT. 
Public Law 91-190 
January 1, 1970 
[S. 1075] 
National En-
vironmental 
Balicy Act of 
1969. 
AN ACT 
To establish a national policy for the environment, to provide for the establish-
ment of a Council on Environmental Quality, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may 
be cited as the "National Environmental Policy Act of 1969''. 
PURPOSE 
SEC. 2. The purposes of this Act are: To declare a national policy 
which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man 
and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or elimi-
nate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the 
health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the eco-
logical systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to 
establish a Council on Environmental Quality. 
TITLE I 
Policies and 
goals. 
DECLARATION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY 
SEC. 101. (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 maintain-
ing environmental quality to the overall welfare and -development of 
man, declares that it is the continuing policy of the Federal Govern-
ment, in cooperation with State and local governments, and other con-
cerned public and private organizations, to use all practicable means 
and measures, including financial and technical assistance, in a man-
ner 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 Act, it is the 
continuing responsibility of the Federal Government to use all prac-
ticable 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 environ-
ment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other unde-
sirable and unintended consequences; 
(4) preserve impprtant 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 
83 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 91-190-JAN. 1, 1970 
853 
(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 health-
ful environment and that each person has a responsibility to contribute 
to the preservation and enhancement of the environment. 
SEC. 102. The Congress authorizes and directs that, to the fullest 
Administration. 
extent possible: (1) the policies, regulations, and public laws of the 
United States shall be interpreted and administered in accordance 
with the policies set forth in this Act, and (2) all agencies of the Fed-
eral Government shall— 
(A) utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will 
insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and 
the environmental design arts in planning and in decisionmaking 
which may have an impact on man's environment; 
(B) identify and develop methods and procedures, in con-
sultation with the Council on Environmental Quality established 
by title II of this Act, which will insure that presently unquanti-
fied environmental amenities and values may be given appropriate 
consideration in decisionmaking along with economic and tech-
nical considerations; 
(C) include in every recommendation or report on proposals 
for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly af-
fecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed state-
ment by the responsible official on— 
(i) the environmental impact of the proposed action, 
(ii) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be 
avoided should the proposal be implemented, 
(iii) alternatives to the proposed action, 
(iv) the relationship betw^een local short-term uses of 
man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of 
long-term productivity, and 
(v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of re-
sources which would be involved in the proposed action 
should it be implemented. 
Prior to making any detailed statement, the responsible Federal 
official shall consult with and obtain the comments of any Fed-
eral agency which has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with 
respect to any environmental impact involved. Copies of such 
copies o
f state-
statement and the comments and views of the appropriate Federal, "bmt^y.^ """ ''^^' " 
State, and local agencies, which are authorized to develop and en-
force environmental standards, shall be made available to the 
President, the Council on Environmental Quality and to the pub-
lic as provided by section 552 of title 5. United States Code, and 
^^ ^*^'' ^4. 
shall accompany the proposal through the existing agency review^ 
processes; 
(D) study, develop, and describe appropriate alternatives to 
recommended courses of action in any proposal which involves 
unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available re-
sources ; 
(E) recognize the worldwide and lon^-range character of en-
vironmental problems and, where consistent with the foreign 
policy of the United States, lend appropriate support to initiatives, 
resolutions, and programs designed to maximize international 
cooperation in anticipating and preventing a decline in the quality 
of mankind's world environment; 
(F) make available to States, counties, municipalities, institu-
tions, and individuals, advice and information useful in restoring, 
maintaining, and enhancing the quality of the environment; 
854 
PUBLIC LAW 91-190-JAN. 1, 1970 
[83 STAT. 
(G) initiate and utilize ecological information in the ])lanning 
and development of resource-oriented projects; and 
(H) assist the Council on Environmental Quality established 
by title II of this Act. 
Policy review. 
SF.C. 103. All agcucies of the Federal Government shall review 
their present statutory authority, administrative regulations, and cur-
rent policies and procedures for the purpose of determining whether 
there are any deficiencies or inconsistencies therein which prohibit 
full compliance with the purposes and provisions of this Act and shall 
propose to the President not later than July 1, 1971, such measures as 
may be necessary to bring their authority and policies into conform-
ity with the intent, purposes, and procedures set forth in this Act. 
SEC. 104. Nothing in Section 1
0
"
> or 103 shall in any way affect the 
specific statutory obligations of any Federal agency (1) to comply 
wnth criteria or standards of environmental quality, {^) to coordinate 
or consult with any other Federal or State agency, or (3) to act, or 
refrain from acting contingent upon the recommendations or certifi-
cation of any other Federal or State agency. 
SEC. 105. The policies and goals set forth in this Act are supplemen-
tary to those set forth in existing authorizations of Federal agencies. 
TITLE 
II 
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL 
QUALITY 
Report to Con- 
g^c. 201. The President shall transmit to the Congress annually 
^'^^^^' 
beginning July 1, 1970, an P^nvironmental Quality Report (herein-
after referred to as the "report") which shall set forth (1) the status 
and condition of the major natural, manmade, or altered environ-
mental classes of the Nation, including, but not limited to, the air, 
the aquatic, including marine, estuarine, and fresh water, and the 
terrestrial environment, including, but not limited to, the forest, dry-
land, wetland, range, urban, suburban, and rural environment; (2) 
current and foreseeable trends in the quality, management and utiliza-
tion of such environments and the effects of those trends on the social, 
economic, and other requirements of the Nation; (3) the adequacy of 
available natural resources for fulfilling human and economic require-
ments of the Nation in the light of expected population pressures; (4) 
a review of the programs and activities (including regulatory ac-
tivities) of the Federal Government, the State and local governments, 
and nongovernmental entities or individuals, with particular reference 
to their effect on the environment and on the conservation, develop-
ment and utilization of natural resources; and (5) a program for 
remedying the deficiencies of existing programs and activities, to-
gether with recommendations for legislation. 
Council on En- 
SEC. 202. There is created in the Executive Office of the President 
QuaiiTy."*^^ 
a Council on Environmental Quality (hereinafter referred to as the 
"(^ouncil''). The Council shall be composed of three members who shall 
be appointed by the President to serve at his pleasure, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall designate 
one of the members of the Council to serve as Chairman. Each mem-
ber shall be a person who, as a result of his training, experience, and 
attainments, is exceptionally well qualified to analyze and interpret 
environmental trends and information of all kinds: to appraise pro-
grams and activities of the Federal Government in the light of the 
policy set forth in title I of this Act; to be conscious of and responsive 
to the scientific, economic, social, esthetic, and cultural needs and in-
terests of the Nation; and to formulate and recommend national 
policies to promote the improvement of the quality of the environment. 
80-Stat. 416. 
Duties and 
83 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 91-190-JAN. 1, 1970 
855 
SEC. 203. The Council may employ such officers and employees as 
may be necessary to carry out its functions under this Act. In addition, 
the Council may employ and fix the compensation of such experts and 
consultants as may be necessary for the carrying out of its functions 
under this Act, in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 
Code (but without regard to the last sentence thereof). 
SEC. 204. It shall be the duty and function of the Council— 
(1) to assist and advise the President in the fjreparation of the 
Environmental Quality Keport required by section 201; 
(2) to gather timely and authoritative information concerning 
the conditions and trends in the quality of the environment both 
current and prospective, to analyze and interpret such informa-
tion for the purpose of determining whether such conditions and 
trends are interfering, or are likely to interfere, with the achieve-
ment of the policy set forth in title I of this Act, and to compile 
and submit to the President studies relating to such conditions 
and trends; 
(3) to review and appraise the various programs and activities 
of the Federal Government in the light of the policy set forth in 
title I of this Act for the purpose of determining the extent to 
which such programs and activities are contributing to the 
achievement of such policy, and to make recommendations to the 
President with respect thereto; 
(4) to develop and recommend to the President national poli-
cies to foster and promote the improvement of environmental 
quality to meet the conservation, social, economic, health, and 
other requirements and goals of the Nation; 
(5) to conduct investigations, studies, surveys, research, and 
analyses relating to ecological systems and environmental quality; 
(6) to document and define changes in the natural environment, 
including the plant and animal systems, and to accumulate neces-
sary data and other information for a continuing analysis of these 
changes or trends and an interpretation of their underlying 
causes; 
(7) to report at least once each year to the President on the president'" 
state and condition of the environment; and 
(8) to make and furnish such studies, reports thereon, and 
recommendations with respect to matters of policy and legisla-
tion as the President may request. 
SEC. 205. In exercising its powers, functions, and duties under this 
Act, the Council shall—• 
(1) consult with the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Environ-
mental Quality established by Executive Order numbered 11472, 
dated May 29, 1969, and with such representatives of science, 
^
^ '^^'^ ^'^^ 
industry, agriculture, labor, conservation organizations. State 
and local governments and other groups, as it deems advisable; 
and 
(2) utilize, to the fullest extent possible, the services, facilities, 
and information (including statistical information) of public and 
private agencies and organizations, and individuals, in order that 
duplication of effort and expense may be avoided, thus assuring 
that the Council's activities will not unnecessarily overlap or con-
flict with similar activities authorized by law and performed by 
established agencies. 
856 
PUBLIC LAW 91-190-JAN. 1, 1970 
[83 STAT. 
Tenure and 
compensation. 
Post, p. 864. 
Appropriations. 
SEC. 206. Members of the Council shall serve full time and the 
Chairman of the Council shall be compensated at the rate provided 
for Level 11 of the Executive Schedule Pay Kates (5 U.S.C. 5313). 
The other members of the Council shall be compensated at the rate 
provided for Level IV or the Executive Schedule Pay Rates (5 
U.S.C. 5315). 
SEC. 207. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the 
provisions of this Act not to exceed $300,000 for fiscal year 1970, 
$700,000 for fiscal year 1971, and $1,000,000 for each fiscal year 
thereafter. 
Approved January 1, 1970.