The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions, such as building and remodeling federal buildings, airports, and road construction; assessing federal land management modifications; and making decisions on permit applications, before making decisions or implementing the project. The NEPA must be completed before beginning construction or conducting changes to federal lands. The NEPA is a federal law designed to protect the environment.

One job of an environmental consultant is to assist in the development of an ecological investigation and environmental impact statement (EIS), which is a large portion of the NEPA. By completing this assignment, you will better understand the challenges of an environmental consultant in completing an ecological investigation and an EIS.

Locate two articles in the CSU Online Library, one article referring to an ecological investigation (such as point and nonpoint pollution, ecological risk assessment, or surface water and soil remediation) and one article relating to an EIS.

Provide a one-page analysis for each article. Your analysis should include the following information:

Ecological investigation article:

Summarize the author's main arguments.

Describe where the project is proposed, and outline what the project included in the NEPA.

Summarize the needs and objectives of the project.

Describe the steps involved or conducted in the ecological investigation.

What is your opinion of the article? How could you apply what you have learned in this article on the job?

EIS article:

Summarize the author’s main arguments.

Summarize the prescribed steps involved in the EIS.

Describe the outcome of the plan.

Did the source trigger a NEPA violation? Describe and summarize the violation. (Note: if it did not trigger a violation, skip this bullet).

Summarize any planned restoration steps.

What is your opinion of the article? How could you apply what you have learned in this article on the job?

Each of your analyses should be one page each (for a total of two pages) and should be submitted in the same document. Be sure to use in-text citations, and include your full references at the end of your critique. You must include an introduction to your analyses and adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. APA formatting, however, is not necessary.