Opinion ID: 772447
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Application of NEPA

Text: 11 Among the purposes of NEPA are [t]o declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man. 42 U.S.C. §4321. The statute requires, to the fullest extent possible, that all agencies of the Federal Government: 12 [I]nclude in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on-- 13
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16 (iv) the relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and 17 (v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented. 18 42 U.S.C. §4332(2)(C). NEPA is one of our most important tools for ensuring that all federal agencies take a hard look at the environmental implications of their actions or non-actions. Kleppe v. Sierra Club, 427 U.S. 390, 410 n.21. The statute is procedural in nature and does not require that agencies achieve particular substantive environmental results but it is action-forcing in that it compels agencies to collect and disseminate information about the environmental consequences of proposed actions that fall under their respective jurisdictions. Marsh v. Oregon Natural Resources Council, 490 U.S. 360, 371 (1989). FHWA is governed by a set of regulations that apply NEPA and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, see 23 C.F.R. §771.101 et seq., to FHWA actions. Thus, the FHWA is required to conduct a review of all major Federal action[s] within its jurisdiction to ensure that they comply with NEPA requirements. 19 Typically, a project is considered a major federal action when it is funded with federal money. This case, however, requires us to determine at what point a state-funded project is transformed into a major federal action by virtue of multiple federal agencies' involvement in the project. This determination admits of no simple litmus test. In order to evaluate whether the FHWA has been remiss in its responsibilities under NEPA, we will review de novo the district court's legal conclusions regarding the extent of federal involvement required to convert a state highway project into a major federal action.