The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently performed a study on the number of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses performed each year and the costs and benefits of performing such analyses. GAO found that very little information is available on the cost of these analyses, and even the amount of NEPA analyses performed is not easily accessible. Interestingly, of the data provided it appears that the USDA Forest Service reported the most Environmental Impact Statements required as a result of the NEPA process, even more than those required by the Army Corps of Engineers going back to 2008. Of the analyses required by the NEPA process, an Environmental Impact Statement is the most costly and complex avenue under the NEPA process. Department of Energy numbers put the median price tag of an EIS at $1.4 million from 2003-2012. From available information, it is estimated that less than 1 percent of all NEPA analyses are EIS’s, with the majority (95%) of NEPA analyses resulting in the least comprehensive analysis – Categorical Exclusions (CE).
- http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/662546.pdf