LECTURE 12C – FEDERAL ROLES IN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING

The Federal Side of Things
Federal Agencies
•        Independent agencies
•        Cabinet level departments
The Cabinet
Independent Agencies

USDA - Agriculture
–        NRCS - Natural Resource Conservation Service
•        Soil and Water Conservation
•        Soil Surveys
•        Farm Conservation Plans
–        Forest Service
•        Wilderness Areas
•        Recreation Areas
•        Commercial Forestry

DOD - Defense
–        Armed Forces
•        Service academies
•        Military Bases – Active and Inactive
–        US Army Corps of Engineers
•        Coastal areas
•        Navigable waterways
•        Wetlands

Commerce
–        NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
•        National Weather Service
•        National Marine Fisheries Service
•        National Geodetic Survey
–        Bureau of the Census

EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
–        Enforcement of environmental laws
•        NEPA
•        Superfund
•        Clean Air
•        Clean Water
–        Projects and Programs
•        Brownfields
•        Green Communities

 HHS - Health and Human Services
–        Medicare, Medicaid
–        Urban health issues
–        Infectious diseases
–        Hospitals, health care

HUD - Housing and Urban Development
–        Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
–        Lead Hazard Control
–        Mortgage controls
•        Making homeownership affordable for many
–        Community Planning and Development
•        Empowerment/Enterprise Zones

DOT - Transportation
–        National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
–        Federal Highway Administration
–        Federal Aviation Administration
–        Bureau of Transportation Statistics
–        US Coast Guard
•        Bridges over rivers?

Interior
–        Fish and Wildlife Service (1871)
•        National Wildlife Refuge System
•        Protection of Endangered Species
–        National Park Service
•        Over 300 different locations
–        USGS - Geologic Survey
•        National Mapping Division
–        Bureau of Land Management
•        Land for recreation, resource extraction, agricultural use, and for sale
•        Responsible for about 264 million acres
–        Bureau of Indian Affairs 
–        Minerals Management Service 
–        Bureau of Reclamation 
–        Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
What You Own
•        From The Wilderness Society (a national NGO) at www.wilderness.org

Nevada - The Federal State
•        Total - 69,700,000 acres
•        BLM lands - 47,970,000 acres
•        Forest land - 5, 813,980 acres
•        Refuge areas - 2,313,507 acres
•        Park areas - 778,532 acres

Major Federal Powers?
•        Capital Improvements Investment
–        Build a road and shape a community
–        Eminent Domain
–        $$$ with Strings attached
•        Environmental Regulation
•        Grants – Shaping Behavior
–        Ag. conservation grants
–        Urban development grants
•        Leadership