What constitutes a successful National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process? Responses by NEPA supporters would likely include statements such as "a full examination of the relevant issues," "understanding the implications of a proposed action," or "making informed and reasoned decisions." In 2007, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) asked NEPA compliance staff at the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Forest Service the same question.

The results, published in April 2007, suggest that agencies implementing NEPA may not share the lofty goals that the congressional sponsors of NEPA envisioned in 1969. In response to the question what constitutes a successful NEPA process, 72% of agency staff responded stating "the project was implemented," 16% responded "a good final decision," and 4% responded "a well-documented rationale for the decision." These results bespeak a view among key federal resource management agencies that a successful NEPA process is not about improved analysis and decisionmaking but is about completing the agency's action plan.