Until it was abolished by the Clinton Administration in 1993, the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was the White House Office that advised the President and coordinated executive branch policy on the environment. CEQ was established by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 to "formulate and recommend national policies" to promote the improvement of the quality of the natural environment.

CEQ had three basic responsibilities: to serve as advisor to the President on environmental policy matters; to coordinate the positions of the various departments and agencies of government on environmental issues; and to carry out the provisions of NEPA. The latter responsibility included working with federal agencies on complying with the law and issuing the required regulations for assessing the environmental impacts of federal actions. (NEPA requires that all agencies of the federal government issue "a detailed statement" on "the environmental...