Use of the environmental assessment by federal agencies in NEPA implementation

In recent years it has become clear that federal agencies are preparing more environmental assessments (EAs) and fewer environmental impact statements (EISs) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To assist in determining not only why this might be occurring but also whether EAs are facilitating effective NEPA compliance, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently tabulated the results of an EA survey it sent to every federal agency NEPA coordinator. The survey results indicate that, while the EA process often results in the mitigation of adverse impacts, most agencies do not use the EA as envisioned by the CEQ regulations for implementing NEPA. This paper examines the survey results.