§ 408.1 Background.

(a) The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) establishes national policies and goals for the protection of the environment. Section 102(2) of NEPA contains certain procedural requirements directed toward the attainment of such goals. In particular, all Federal agencies are required to give appropriate consideration to the environmental effects of their proposed actions in their decision-making and to prepare detailed environmental statements on recommendations or reports on proposals for legislation and other major Federal Actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. (b) Executive Order 11991 of May 24, 1977, directed the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to issue regulations to implement the procedural provisions of NEPA (NEPA Regulations). Accordingly, CEQ issued final NEPA Regulations which are binding on all Federal agencies as of July 30, 1979 (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508) on November 29, 1979. These Regulations provide that each Federal agency shall as necessary adopt implementing procedures to supplement the NEPA Regulations. Section 1507.3(b) of the NEPA Regulations identifies those sections of the NEPA Regulations which must be addressed in agency procedures.