Michael Francis O’Donovan | Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County

The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) requires agencies to analyze the environmental effects of proposed actions, such as infrastructure development, and incorporate those impacts in a detailed statement accompanying their proposal. NEPA stipulates that direct and indirect environmental effects must be included in this statement, defining indirect effects as those “caused by the action and are later in time or farther removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable.” 40 C.F.R. §1508.1(i)(2).