"The public interest requires doing today those things that men of intelligence and good will would wish, five or ten years hence, had been done," declared Edmund Burke nearly two centuries ago. At the turn of this decade, in pursuit of the public interest, Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act¹—a comprehensive national policy for restoring, protecting, and enhancing the quality of our environment.

In NEPA, Congress declared that "each person should enjoy a healthful environment, and . . . each person has the responsibility to contribute to the preservation and enhancement of the environment." Congress also authorized and directed that "to the fullest extent possible . . . the policies, regulations, and public laws of the United States shall be interpreted and administered in accordance with the policies set forth in this Act." And focusing on the decisionmaking processes of Federal departments and agencies, Congress ordered that agencies prepare an environmental impact statement in connection with every major action which significantly affects the environment. Congress further ordered that this environmental analysis accompany the corresponding proposal through the agency's decisionmaking process and that agency officials carefully consider it at each stage. In passing the law, Congress demanded no less than a major new way of thinking and acting by the executive agencies of the Federal Government.