Legal Definitions - Council on Environmental Quality

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is a small, three-person council within the Executive Office of the President. Its primary role is to develop and advise the President on national policies related to environmental protection and sustainability. Established by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, its members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The CEQ works to ensure that federal agencies consider environmental impacts in their decision-making, coordinates environmental efforts across the federal government, and helps shape the nation's environmental agenda.

Here are some examples of how the Council on Environmental Quality operates:

• Policy Development for Climate Resilience: When the President seeks to launch a new national strategy for climate change adaptation, focusing on making critical infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather events, the CEQ would be instrumental. It would draft the policy framework, coordinate input from various federal agencies like the Department of Transportation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and ensure the proposed strategy aligns with broader environmental goals before presenting it to the President. This demonstrates the CEQ's role in developing and recommending national policy.

• Guidance for Federal Environmental Reviews: If a federal agency, such as the Department of Energy, plans a large-scale project like constructing new transmission lines for renewable energy, it must conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment under NEPA. The CEQ would issue guidance or clarify existing regulations to ensure the Department of Energy conducts a thorough and legally compliant environmental review process, considering all potential impacts on ecosystems and communities, and exploring reasonable alternatives. This illustrates the CEQ's function in overseeing and guiding federal agencies on their environmental responsibilities.

• Inter-agency Coordination for Conservation: Imagine several federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defense, are working on separate initiatives that could impact a critical endangered species habitat spanning multiple states. The CEQ might step in to coordinate these disparate efforts, ensuring that the agencies' actions are harmonized, avoid duplication, and collectively contribute to the protection of the habitat, rather than inadvertently working at cross-purposes. This highlights the CEQ's role in coordinating federal environmental efforts and ensuring a cohesive approach to national environmental goals.