On November 8, 1977, President Carter signed into law a joint congressional resolution¹ ratifying his selection of a proposal by the Alcan Company to construct a pipeline to transport natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to the lower 48 states. This event marked the culmination of a new and complex procedure established by the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act of 1976 (ANGTA)² to facilitate the identification of the most advantageous means of tapping this important new energy source. The Act directed the president to make the initial selection of a gas transportation system, provided for public and state and federal government input, subjected the president's decision to congressional ratification, and exempted the entire process from judicial review. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was given the central role of holding public hearings and expressing a formal opinion as to the substance of the environmental impacts of the various proposals under consideration and the adequacy of the environmental impact statements (EISs) previously prepared. This procedure represents a provocative approach to resource decision making which avoids much of the delay inherent in the established administrative and judicial mehods of preparing and reviewing environmental impact statements. It thus may hold promise as a starting point on which to model similar mechanisms which may, in the future, be deemed necessary when confronted with national questions requiring expedited resolution of complex issues. Questions exist, however, as to whether this procedure allows the sober and deliberate consideration of environmental amenities contemplated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),³ and whether it ensures an accuracy and soundness of judgment commensurate with the importance of the Alaskan gas transportation decision.