Case analysis of policy implementation: the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1976 · Nat. Resour. J.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7339852

Cortner, H J

Policy adopted by the legislature is not self-executing. Administrators must apply policy to problems. In so doing they exercise discretion as to how and to what extent their actions comply with statutory provisions. The discretion exercised by administrators varies from policy to policy. For any particular policy, the availability and use of discretion depend on internal agency factors and external patterns of support and pressure. Because of these interactions in the administrative system during the implementation process, actual policy impacts may differ significantly from the legislative articulation of objectives. This essay summarizes a number of factors that affect implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The findings are synthesized from the literature on NEPA that studies the statute's impact upon environmental decisions and the process of decisionmaking. On the whole, Federal agencies have reluctantly and incompletely complied with NEPA's requirements. Barriers and restraints have discouraged the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Congress and private interest groups from playing a significant role in policing agency implementation. Yet a number of incentives have encouraged Federal courts to assume an aggressive role. But as the major tool for achieving the goals of NEPA, establishing a national policy on the environment, and reforming administrative decision making in environmental management, judicial activism has serious limitations. This essay concludes that the interaction of these institutional limitations accounts for the gap between NEPA's statutory promise and its policy performance.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
• OSTI ID: 7339852
• Journal Information: Nat. Resour. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Nat. Resour. J.; (United States) Vol. 16:2; ISSN NRJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
ENERGY POLICY
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
LAWS
LEGISLATION
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT