Article by William Murray Tabb
By requiring an environmental impact assessment before a development project begins, a government creates the obligation to conduct an assessment of the potential consequences to human health and the environment. This assessment aids government authorities in deciding the most efficacious manner of pursuing the accomplishment of a project's goal. The international community has begun to recognize the fundamental role that an environmental impact assessment plays in the decisionmaking process for major development projects. Over the last several decades, the European Community has incorporated environmental goals into the original goals of retaining state sovereignty and economic growth. Through a 1997 Directive, the Council of Ministers of the European Community implicitly promised to provide a comprehensive and effective procedure for conducting environmental impact assessments. This Article traces the development of environmental policy and practices, and comparatively examines the newly issued E.C. Directive with reference to the National Environmental Policy Act of the United States.
About the Author
William Murray Tabb. Associate Dean for External Affairs and Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law; B.A. 1974, M.A. 1977, J.D. 1982, University of Arkansas; LL.M. 1986, University of Illinois College of Law.
Citation
73 Tul. L. Rev. 923 (1999)