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OCM Metadata Library > MarineCadastre >

National Environmental Policy Act

Data Set (DS) | Office for Coastal Management (OCM)
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:48903 | Updated: January 30, 2026 | Published / External

Short Citation:

Full Citation Examples

Office for Coastal Management, 2026: National Environmental Policy Act, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/48903.

Title:	National Environmental Policy Act
Status:	Completed
Publication Date:	2016-05-11
Abstract:	The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was the first major environmental law in the United States and established national environmental policies for the country. NEPA mandates federal agencies to consider the impacts of their activities-including the issuance of federal permits, Federal funding, and other federal agency actions-on the environment, and to ensure that information about these environmental impacts is available to the public before final decisions are made. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) promulgates regulations that require agencies to create their own NEPA implementing procedures. These procedures must meet the CEQ standard while reflecting each agency's unique mandate and mission. Consequently, NEPA procedures vary from agency to agency. Source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-10352/pdf/COMPS-10352.pdf Date enacted: January 1, 1970 Codification: 42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq. Authority: U.S. Council on Environmental Quality
Purpose:	To support ocean planning activities pursuant to the Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States, the Energy Policy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act.
Supplemental Information:	Bureau Code: 006:48, Program Code: 006:055

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Theme Keywords
Thesaurus	Keyword
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords	EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE/MANAGEMENT
ISO 19115 Topic Category	boundaries
ISO 19115 Topic Category	oceans
ISO 19115 Topic Category	planningCadastre
UNCONTROLLED
None	maritime boundaries
None	ocean planning

Spatial Keywords

Spatial Keywords
Thesaurus	Keyword
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords	CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UNCONTROLLED
None	Alaska
None	American Samoa
None	Exclusive Economic Zone
None	Guam
None	Hawaii
None	Northern Mariana Islands
None	Outer Continental Shelf
None	Puerto Rico
None	Territorial Sea
None	United States of America

Physical Location

Organization:	Office for Coastal Management
City:	Charleston
State/Province:	SC

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code:	Data Set
Maintenance Frequency:	None Planned
Entity Attribute Overview:	citation, codification
Distribution Liability:	https://www.marinecadastre.gov/about/disclaimer.html
Data Set Credit:	U.S. Council on Environmental Quality, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Support Roles

Point of Contact

CC ID: 653261

Date Effective From:	2016-05-11
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization):	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address:	2234 South Hobson Ave Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone:	(843) 740-1202
URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov

Extents

Currentness Reference:	Publication Date

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 653266

W° Bound:	-180
E° Bound:	180
N° Bound:	74.708840004
S° Bound:	-17.555000002

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 653265

Time Frame Type:	Discrete
Start:	2016

Spatial Information

Spatial Representation

Representations Used

Grid:	No
Vector:	Yes
Text / Table:	No
TIN:	No
Stereo Model:	No
Video:	No

Vector Representation 1

CC ID: 1463589

Topology Level:	Geometry Only
Curve Object Present?:	Yes

Reference Systems

Reference System 1

CC ID: 1463590

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 2D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:4269

EPSG Name:

NAD83

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Access Information

Security Class:	Unclassified
Data Access Constraints:	None
Data Use Constraints:	For coastal and ocean planning

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 1121316

Download URL:	https://marinecadastre.gov/data/
Distributor:
Description:	Marine Cadastre Data Registry

Distribution 2

CC ID: 1121317

Download URL:	https://marinecadastre.gov/downloads/data/mc/NationalEnvironmentalPolicyAct.zip
Distributor:

Activity Log

Activity Log 1

CC ID: 653292

Activity Date/Time:	2016-05-11
Description:	Date that the source FGDC record was last modified.

Activity Log 2

CC ID: 653291

Activity Date/Time:	2017-11-14
Description:	Converted from FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (version FGDC-STD-001-1998) using 'fgdc_to_inport_xml.pl' script. Contact Tyler Christensen (NOS) for details.

Activity Log 3

CC ID: 717445

Activity Date/Time:	2018-02-08
Description:	Partial upload of Positional Accuracy fields only.

Data Quality

Accuracy:	Untested
Horizontal Positional Accuracy:	Compiled to meet 10 meters horizontal accuracy at 95% confidence level
Completeness Report:	Untested
Conceptual Consistency:	These data are logically consistent

Lineage

Sources

Binational Features for the United States and Mexico Border Region

CC ID: 653252

Contact Name:	Department of the Interior (DOI), United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Publish Date:	2006-01-01
Extent Type:	Discrete
Extent Start Date/Time:	2006
Citation URL:	http://txpub.usgs.gov/BEHI/Data_download/Boundaries_Layers/International_Boundary.zip
Source Contribution:	US/Mexico international boundary \| Type of Source Media: online

U.S. Maritime Limits and Boundaries

CC ID: 653251

Contact Name:	Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office for Coast Survey (OCS)
Publish Date:	2013-09-13
Extent Type:	Discrete
Extent Start Date/Time:	2013-09-13
Citation URL:	https://maritimeboundaries.noaa.gov/downloads/USMaritimeLimitsAndBoundariesSHP.zip
Source Contribution:	National boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone and equivalent boundaries \| Source Geospatial Form: vector digital data \| Type of Source Media: online

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 653253

Description:	1. The National Environmental Policy Act's geographic coverage was developed from two existing data sets: (A) OCS's U.S. Maritime Limits and Boundaries shapefile (EEZ and equivalent boundary), and (B) USGS's US/Mexico international boundary. 2. Where boundaries from the two data sources intersected in Texas and California, boundaries were cut accordingly so that no ArcGIS "dangles" remained. 3. Where boundaries in the Pacific Ocean crossed the International Date Line, the single part polylines were manually closed within an edit session. 4. Topology errors were addressed, which included two errors in southern Alaska and two errors in the Gulf of Mexico (within the OCS data). 5. The national polyline (including Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. territories) was converted to a polygon. 6. Added fields and populated accordingly.
Process Date/Time:	2016-01-01 00:00:00

Description:

1. The National Environmental Policy Act's geographic coverage was developed from two existing data sets: (A) OCS's U.S. Maritime Limits and Boundaries shapefile (EEZ and equivalent boundary), and (B) USGS's US/Mexico international boundary.

2. Where boundaries from the two data sources intersected in Texas and California, boundaries were cut accordingly so that no ArcGIS "dangles" remained.

3. Where boundaries in the Pacific Ocean crossed the International Date Line, the single part polylines were manually closed within an edit session.

4. Topology errors were addressed, which included two errors in southern Alaska and two errors in the Gulf of Mexico (within the OCS data).

5. The national polyline (including Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. territories) was converted to a polygon. 6. Added fields and populated accordingly.

Process Date/Time:

2016-01-01 00:00:00

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID:	48903
GUID:	gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:48903
Metadata Record Created By:	Anne Ball
Metadata Record Created:	2017-11-14 15:56+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By:	Jesse Brass
Metadata Record Last Modified:	2026-01-30 15:51+0000
Metadata Record Published:	2026-01-30
Owner Org:	OCM
Metadata Publication Status:	Published Externally
Do Not Publish?:	N
Metadata Last Review Date:	2026-01-30
Metadata Review Frequency:	1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date:	2027-01-30