National Enviromental Policy Act 0f 1969 (NEPA)

DOE-HDBK-1188-2006

sufficiently high levels, cause increased fatalities, irreversible health effects, or incapacitating illness.

These standards are given in 40 CFR Parts 61 and 63. NESHAPs are given for many specific

categories of sources (e.g., equipment leaks, industrial process cooling towers, dry cleaning facilities,

petroleum refineries). (See hazardous air pollutants.) [Derived from EPA Terms, 40 CFR 61, 40

CFR 63]

121. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969 (NEPA). NEPA is the basic national

charter for protection of the environment. It establishes policy, sets goals (in Section 101), and

provides means (in Section 102) for carrying out the policy. Section 102(2) contains "action-forcing"

provisions to ensure that Federal agencies follow the letter and spirit of the Act. For major Federal

actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA

requires Federal agencies to prepare a detailed statement that includes the environmental impacts of

the proposed action and other specified information. [Derived from 40 CFR 1500.1(a)]

122. NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES). A provision of

the Clean Water Act which prohibits discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States unless a

special permit is issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, a state, or, where delegated, a tribal

government on an Indian reservation. The NPDES permit lists either permissible discharges, the level

of cleanup technology required for wastewater, or both. [Derived from EPA Glossary]

123. NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL). The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) list of the

most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites identified for possible long-term

remedial action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

(CERCLA). The list is based primarily on the score a site receives from the Hazard Ranking System

described in 40 CFR Part 300, Appendix A. EPA must update the NPL at least once a year. (See

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.) [Derived from EPA

Terms]

124. NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. The official list of the Nation's cultural

resources that are worthy of preservation. The National Park Service maintains the list under

direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts are included

in the National Register for their importance in American history, architecture, archeology, culture, or

engineering. Properties included on the National Register range from large-scale, monumentally

proportioned buildings to smaller scale, regionally distinctive buildings. The listed properties are not

just of nationwide importance; most are significant primarily at the state or local level. Procedures for

listing properties on the National Register are found in 36 CFR 60. [Derived from 106 SBS, 106

RV, NRHP]

125. NATURAL URANIUM. Uranium with the naturally occurring distribution of uranium isotopes

(approximately 0.7 weight percent uranium-235, and the remainder essentially uranium-238). (See

uranium, depleted uranium, enriched uranium, highly enriched uranium, and low-enriched uranium.)

[10 CFR 71, 49 CFR 173.403]

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