<P> The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970 . To date, more than 100 nations around the world have enacted national environmental policies modeled after NEPA . </P> <P> NEPA's most significant outcome was the requirement that all executive federal agencies prepare environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs). These reports state the potential environmental effects of proposed federal agency actions . NEPA does not apply to the President, Congress, or the federal courts . </P> <P> NEPA grew out of the increased public appreciation and concern for the environment that developed during the during the 1960s, amid increased industrialization, urban and suburban growth, and pollution across the United States . During this time, environmental interest group efforts and the growing public awareness resulting from Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring, led to support for the 1964 Wilderness Act and subsequent legislation (including the 1970 Clean Air Act and 1972 Clean Water Act). The public outrage in reaction to the Santa Barbara oil spill in early 1969 occurred just as the NEPA legislation was being drafted in Congress . Another major driver for enacting NEPA were the 1960s highway revolts, a series of protests in many American cities that occurred in response to the bulldozing of many communities and ecosystems during the construction of the Interstate Highway System . </P> <P> Since its passage, NEPA has been applied to any major project, whether on a federal, state, or local level, that involves federal funding, work performed by the federal government, or permits issued by a federal agency . Court decisions have expanded the requirement for NEPA - related environmental studies to include actions where permits issued by a federal agency are required regardless of whether federal funds are spent to implement the action, to include actions that are entirely funded and managed by private - sector entities where a federal permit is required . This legal interpretation is based on the rationale that obtaining a permit from a federal agency requires one or more federal employees (or contractors in some instances) to process and approve a permit application, inherently resulting in federal funds being expended to support the proposed action, even if no federal funds are directly allocated to finance the particular action . </P>

What event most affected the passage of the national environmental protection act of 1969