|
A | B |
C | D | E
| F | G | H
| I | J | K
| L | M | N
| O | P | Q
| R | S | T
| U | V | W
| X | Y | Z
N
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - (3) the federal
law, going into effect on January 1, 1970, that establishes a national
policy for the environment and requires federal agencies (a) to
become aware of the environmental ramifications of their proposed
actions, (b) to fully disclose to the public proposed federal actions
and provide a mechanism for public input to federal decisionmaking,
and (c) to prepare environmental impact statements for every major
action that would significantly affect the quality of the human
environment.
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) - (3) a federal
statute that established a federal program to further the efforts
of private agencies and individuals in preserving the Nation's historic
and cultural foundations. NHPA authorized the establishing of the
National Register of Historic Places, established the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation and a National Trust Fund to administer
grants for historic preservation, and authorized the development
of regulation to require federal agencies to consider the effects
of federally assisted activities on properties included on or eligible
for the National Register of Historic Places.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
- (3) a process for controlling the amount of pollution discharged
into waters by requiring polluters to obtain NPDES permits from
the states involved and to comply with discharge standards. The
NPDES is mandated by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments.
National Primary Drinking Water Standards (NPDWS) - (3)
Developed by the Environmental Protection Agency to keep drinking
water clean and protect the public from waterborne disease, these
standards define either a maximum contaminant level or a treatment
technique requirement to control the presence of contaminants in
drinking water.
National Register of Historic Places - (3) the official
list, established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966,
of the Nation's cultural resources worthy of preservation.
The National Register lists archeological, historic, and architectural
properties (districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects)
nominated for their local, state, or national significance by state
and federal agencies and approved by the National Register Staff.
The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service.
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System - (3) a system of
nationally designated rivers and their immediate environments that
have outstanding scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife,
historic, cultural and other similar values and are preserved in
a free-flowing condition. The system consists of three types of
streams: (a) recreational - rivers or sections of rivers that are
readily accessible by road or railroad and that may have some development
along their shorelines and may have undergone some impoundments
or diversion in the past, (b) scenic - rivers or sections of rivers
free of impoundments with shorelines or watersheds still largely
undeveloped but accessible in places by roads, and (c) wild - rivers
or sections of rivers free of impoundments and generally inaccessible
except by trails with watershed or shorelines essentially primitive
and waters unpolluted.
native species - (3) a species that is part of an area's
original fauna or flora. See also exotic species.
neotropical migratory birds - (3) birds that travel to Central
America, South America, the Caribbean and Mexico during the fall
to spend the winter and then return to the United States and Canada
during the spring to breed. These birds include almost half of the
bird species that breed in the United States and Canada.
neutralization - (4) raising the pH of acidic materials
or lowering the pH of alkaline materials to near-neutral
pH values (pH of 7) through a reaction in which the hydrogen ion
of an acid and the hydroxyl ion of a base combine to form water,
the other product being a salt.
neutralization potential - (4) a general term for a sample's
or a material's capability to neutralize acidity. See also acid/base
accounting, acid generation, acid potential.
noxious weed - (3) according to the Federal Noxious Weed
Act (PL 93-629), a weed that causes disease or has other adverse
effects on humans and their environment and is therefore detrimental
to public health and the agriculture and commerce of the United
States.
nutrient cycling - (3) the circulation of chemical elements
such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and phosphorus in specific pathways
from the abiotic (not involving or produced by organisms) portions
of the environment into organic substances in plants and animals
and then back into abiotic forms.
Educational Materials
| Glossary | Links
| Products & Services
|
