42 U.S.C. § 4332 : US Code - Section 4332: Cooperation of agencies; reports; availability of information; recommendations; international and national coordination of efforts

Search 42 U.S.C. § 4332 : US Code - Section 4332: Cooperation of agencies; reports; availability of information; recommendations; international and national coordination of efforts

The Congress authorizes and directs that, to the fullest 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 chapter, and (2) all agencies
of the Federal 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
consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality
established by subchapter II of this chapter, which will insure
that presently unquantified environmental amenities and values
may be given appropriate consideration in decisionmaking along
with economic and technical considerations;
(C) include 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 - 
(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 between 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
resources 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
Federal agency which has jurisdiction by law or special expertise
with respect to any environmental impact involved. Copies of such
statement and the comments and views of the appropriate Federal,
State, and local agencies, which are authorized to develop and
enforce environmental standards, shall be made available to the
President, the Council on Environmental Quality and to the public
as provided by section 552 of title 5, and shall accompany the
proposal through the existing agency review processes;
(D) Any detailed statement required under subparagraph (C)
after January 1, 1970, for any major Federal action funded under
a program of grants to States shall not be deemed to be legally
insufficient solely by reason of having been prepared by a State
agency or official, if:
(i) the State agency or official has statewide jurisdiction
and has the responsibility for such action,
(ii) the responsible Federal official furnishes guidance and
participates in such preparation,
(iii) the responsible Federal official independently
evaluates such statement prior to its approval and adoption,
and
(iv) after January 1, 1976, the responsible Federal official
provides early notification to, and solicits the views of, any
other State or any Federal land management entity of any action
or any alternative thereto which may have significant impacts
upon such State or affected Federal land management entity and,
if there is any disagreement on such impacts, prepares a
written assessment of such impacts and views for incorporation
into such detailed statement.
The procedures in this subparagraph shall not relieve the Federal
official of his responsibilities for the scope, objectivity, and
content of the entire statement or of any other responsibility
under this chapter; and further, this subparagraph does not
affect the legal sufficiency of statements prepared by State
agencies with less than statewide jurisdiction.(!1)
(E) study, develop, and describe appropriate alternatives to
recommended courses of action in any proposal which involves
unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available
resources;
(F) recognize the worldwide and long-range character of
environmental 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;
(G) make available to States, counties, municipalities,
institutions, and individuals, advice and information useful in
restoring, maintaining, and enhancing the quality of the
environment;
(H) initiate and utilize ecological information in the planning
and development of resource-oriented projects; and
(I) assist the Council on Environmental Quality established by
subchapter II of this chapter.