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NEPA stands for National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It's a foundational environmental regulation that requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. It aims to ensure that environmental factors are weighted equally when compared to other factors in the decision making process involving federal actions.

A Finding of No Significant Impact is a document that a federal agency uses to announce that there are no significant environmental impacts associated with a proposed project, based on the results of an Environmental Assessment. A FONSI allows the project to move forward without the preparation of an EIS.

A Record of Decision is a publicly available document that explains the final decisions of a federal agency regarding a proposed action after an EIS has been prepared. The ROD includes the chosen alternative, mitigation measures, and a discussion of all factors considered in making the decision, including public and agency comments.

Categorical Exclusion refers to a category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and for which neither an environmental assessment (EA) nor an environmental impact statement (EIS) is required. CEs speed up the NEPA review process by reducing paperwork and time.

The term 'Significantly' as used in NEPA refers to the degree to which a federal action is likely to impact the environment. NEPA guidelines require an analysis of context and intensity to determine an action's significance. Actions deemed 'significant' typically require a full EIS, while those not significant may proceed with less extensive review.

Public Involvement is a key component of the NEPA process that ensures federal agencies involve the public when preparing EAs and EISs. This process includes public notices, comment periods, and hearings. It allows the public to have a say in decisions that may affect their environment and promotes transparency in the decision-making process.

An Environmental Assessment is a concise public document prepared by a federal agency that serves to determine whether a federal action would have significant environmental effects, thereby requiring an environmental impact statement. If the EA concludes with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), an EIS is not required.

The Scoping Process in NEPA is an early and open process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed in an EIS. It identifies the significant issues that should be examined in depth, while simultaneously eliminating from further study the non-significant issues. Scoping helps to ensure that the EIS will be a focused document.

An Environmental Impact Statement is a detailed analysis required under NEPA for any major federal action that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. It describes the positive and negative environmental effects of proposed actions, and it often includes discussions of the purpose and need of the action, alternatives to the action, and the potential impacts.