Prior to the 1960s, little formal consideration was given to the potential impact of human activity on the environment. Beginning in the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the public became increasingly aware of and concerned about those impacts. During that time, Members of Congress debated the need for national policy on the environment and for an executive-level council or committee that could provide advice to the President on environmental policy issues. The statute that ultimately addressed these needs was the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). This book provides an overview of the background and history of NEPA, as well as its implementation protocol for disaster response, recovery and mitigation projects.