The Jicarilla Apache Tribe of Indians v. Rogers C. B. Morton, Secretary of the Interior

This appeal concerns the application of the procedural requirements of § 102(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to certain government actions taken in connection with the construction of a series of coal-fired electric generating facilities in the southwestern United States. The stated purposes of NEPA are “[t]o declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental Quality.” To achieve these ends, NEPA requires that certain procedures be followed for all major federal actions having a significant environmental effect. Among these procedures is the mandate of § 102(2) (C) that a “detailed statement” must be prepared on the environmental impact of all such actions. Appellants, the Jiearilla Apache Tribe of Indians, six individual Indians, the Committee to Save Black Mesa, Inc., and three environmental organizations, contend…