Council on Environmental Quality Submits Fifth Report to Congress on Environmental Analysis of Recovery Act Activities and Projects
WASHINGTON, DC – In accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) submitted its fifth report today to Congress regarding the status and progress of projects and activities receiving funds under the Act and how they have complied thus far with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements.
The report is an overview of the fifteen Executive Branch departments and nine agencies required to report on their current NEPA status under the Recovery Act. As of March 31st, the departments and agencies reported almost 184,000 Recovery Act funded projects or activities. The completed reviews support implementing projects and activities that have had over $215 billion Recovery Act dollars obligated.
“I am happy to report that over 95 percent of the Recovery Act funded projects or activities have undergone the necessary and required environmental analysis,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “These reports have proven time and time again that projects aimed at stimulating our nation’s economic health can also protect and further the health of our environment.”
Of the more than 176,000 NEPA reviews of Recovery Act projects or activities, more than 173,000 of the NEPA reviews have been completed and the remaining NEPA reviews are underway. NEPA reviews found that more than 165,000 of the projects or activities fit into categories of activities that do not have significant individual or cumulative effects on the human environment (otherwise known as categorical exclusions).
The departments and agencies also reported having completed more than 7,300 environmental assessments with findings of no significant impact for Recovery Act funded projects or activities. Those environmental assessments provide the basis for findings of no significant impact. More than 820 of the projects or activities were the subject of completed environmental impact statements, which is the most intensive NEPA review for projects or activities with significant effects on the human environment.
The full report is available upon request. Further information regarding the status of agency obligations is available on the Recovery Act website at www.recovery.gov.
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