Study of Ways to Improve the Scientific Content and Methodology of Environmental Impact Analysis

摘要

Results are reported on research undertaken to find more effective ways of building science into the environmental policy process by (1) comparing the efficacy of principal analytic methods presently in use; and (2) by ascertaining possible new methods and combinations of methods to strengthen the validity and reliability of environmental decisions. It is noted that the most promising route toward improving the scientific content and methodology of environmental impact analysis is political rather than technical and that effective use of science in impact analysis, and the results of analysis in planning and decisionmaking, depend greatly upon how agency personnel understand the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the purpose of the environmental impact statement (EIS).