In 1969 the US Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), our national charter for protection of the environment. NEPA provides for the consideration of environmental issues in Federal agency planning and decision-making.

NEPA requires that agencies prepare a detailed statement for major federal actions with the potential to significantly affect the quality of the human or natural environment. The FAA, as the lead Federal agency, will prepare the EA in accordance with NEPA CEQ, and its own implementing regulations as part of its licensing process for the proposed Oklahoma Spaceport. The purpose of the EA is to analyze the environmental consequences of OSIDA’s proposed launch facility. Positive and negative effects to the current environmental baseline will be evaluated during this process. Specific areas of analysis will include:

· Air space
· Land Use (recreation and prime and unique farmland)
· Air Quality
· Noise
· Socioeconomics
· Environmental Justice
· Visual Resources
· Biological Resources (wildlife, vegetation, and threatened
  and endangered species)
· Water quality (groundwater, surface water, wetlands,
  floodplains, and storm water))
· Stormwater
· Geology and Soils
· Cultural Resources
· Native American Issues
· Safety and Health (including accidents/incidents during
  construction and operations
· Hazardous Waste