Council on Environmental Quality Submits Report to Congress on Environmental Analysis of Recovery Act Activities and Projects
WASHINGTON, DC – The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today submitted its sixth report to Congress regarding the status and progress of projects and activities receiving funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 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 June 30th, the departments and agencies reported more than 215,000 Recovery Act funded projects or activities. The completed reviews support implementing projects and activities that have had over $243 billion Recovery Act dollars obligated.
“Over 97 percent of the Recovery Act funded projects or activities have completed environmental analysis,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “It is clear that the Departments and agencies can complete the necessary and required environmental analyses and that projects designed to stimulate our nation’s economy can also protect and further the health of our environment.”
Of the more than 215,000 NEPA reviews of Recovery Act projects or activities, more than 184,500 of the NEPA reviews have been completed and the remaining NEPA reviews are underway. NEPA reviews found that more than 174,600 of the projects or activities fit into categories of activities that did not have significant individual or cumulative effects on the human environment (categorical exclusions).
The departments and agencies also reported having completed more than 9,000 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 790 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 at www.nepa.gov. Further information regarding the status of agency obligations is available on the Recovery Act website at www.recovery.gov.
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