There was no national environmental law in the U.S. prior to ____________.

• A. Clean Water Act
• B. Clean Air Act
• C. NEPA
• D. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

Answer: (C)

National environmental policy took a major step with the National Environmental Policy Act, enacted in 1969. NEPA is widely regarded as the first broad national framework that required the federal government to consider the environmental effects of its actions. It established the requirement for an environmental impact statement for major federal actions and created the Council on Environmental Quality to oversee the process. While there were environmental laws before NEPA, such as statutes addressing water or air protection or pesticide regulation, they did not provide a nationwide, cross-agency process for evaluating environmental consequences. The other acts listed came after NEPA and focus on specific environmental issues, not a comprehensive national policy.