Checklist · Planning & Environment
NEPA alternatives review checklist
Checklist for the alternatives discussion in 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C)(iii) and § 4332(2)(F). It reviews what the statement says. It does not choose an alternative.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- United States
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the authority it cites, for United States.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when a lawyer is reviewing how a detailed statement treats alternatives, including a no-action alternative. Do not use it to select the agency's alternative.
Used for these tasks
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
Yellow: the lawyer compares the statement's alternatives discussion with the two statutory sentences and does not pick an outcome.
AI may
- Set out the reasonable-range and no-action language in section 4332(2)(C)(iii).
- Set out the feasible-alternatives direction in section 4332(2)(F).
- Leave the purpose and need as a quotation from the statement.
AI must not
- Do not choose the alternative the agency should adopt.
- Do not add alternatives that are not technically and economically feasible unless the commenter identifies a basis.
- Do not invent a purpose and need.
- Do not decide that the proposal significantly affects the environment.
The lawyer checks
- Quote the purpose and need from the statement.
- List only alternatives the statement discusses, plus any the commenter identifies.
- Keep feasibility as a question for the lawyer, not a conclusion of this list.
- Do not import a state planning-consent test.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
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